I met Raegan Teller through our local Sisters in Crime Palmetto Chapter. In fact, Raegan and I were two of the founding members of the chapter. Since that time, she has independently published seven Enid Blackwell mysteries, marketing them herself through personal appearances at unique festivals and events, most of which are not focused on books. In addition, she has written numerous short stories and organized local Noir at the Bar programs.
Raegan, it’s a great pleasure to have you here at The Stiletto Gang to tell us about your writing journey.
If you have not already read Raegan Teller’s work, add it to your “to be read” list. You’ll truly enjoy it and find it’s an excellent holiday gift!
Paula Gail Benson
Raegan Teller
Q: What was your earliest memory of wanting to be an author?
RT: I began reading mysteries as a young girl: Nancy Drew, Trixie Belton, and then later Agatha Christie, Daphne Du Maurier, Victoria Holt, and Phyllis Whitney. Those were the mystery authors the library carried. And like most avid readers, I dreamed of writing my own novels one day. But it was just a pipe dream for most of my life.
Q: Your work experiences have shaped your writing. Tell us about your background and how it helped or found its way into your stories.
RT: I worked for a Fortune 100 company for most of my working life. I held numerous positions and roles, but the ones I enjoyed most were those with a lot of writing involved. But working for a large insurance company, I also investigated auto and other accidents, took statements from accident witnesses, and much more. When I left that company after 20+ years, I started my own management consulting company and found myself doing a lot of writing for my clients. I particularly enjoyed writing white papers because they are just another form of storytelling. I also did some editing work for clients. While my dream of writing a mystery got buried somewhere along the way, little did I realize that all those experiences would help me write mysteries. And my main character, Enid Blackwell, mirrors a lot of my own frustrations with large corporations. All of my work and life experiences have contributed in some way to my stories.
Q: In developing your craft, you studied a number of places with wonderful instructors. Tell us about your journey to becoming a fiction writer.
RT: I’m laughing as I respond to this question because my journey was rocky. First of all, while I was an experienced business writer and editor, I had never written fiction. The goal of business writing is to make sure all questions are answered and that you keep yourself and your feelings out of your writing. I was good at that. But when I tried to write fiction, I was baffled when it came to diving into my emotions and letting them feed by stories, or how to hide information from readers. Worse yet was allowing myself to mislead the readers with red herrings—false clues. Writing fiction was the total opposite of what I knew how to do, and it was maddening! So I took a number of workshops from writing experts around the country. One was Jerry Cleaver, who wrote Immediate Fiction and taught classes at The Writers’ Loft in Chicago. I quickly became annoyed with him, even though he was right. I can still hear him repeatedly saying “add more conflict.” As acclaimed as he was, his teaching style just never clicked for me—but I did learn to add more conflict! I also took a few workshops with Donald Maas (Writing the Breakout Novel), where I learned that my first novel would not be a breakout by his definition. At some point in my journey, I saw an advertisement for Alan Watt’s LA Writers Lab. He believed you should quickly write a novel in 90 Days and clean it up later. And I actually did finish a draft of my first novel in 90 days. (I’ve kept it to remind me how awful my writing can be.) But Watt clicked with me for reasons other than writing quickly, and I ended up doing individual coaching and numerous workshops with him. I loved how he taught story structure and made it less intimidating. He is a screenwriter, so I learned to visualize my story as I wrote. Like Cleaver, Watt offered me a constant reminder, but his was “go deeper.” By far, Watt was the most influential instructor I worked with. With his coaching, I produced the final version of my first novel, Murder in Madden, after three years of trial and error. (I wrote the second novel in eight months.)
Q: You base your novels on cold cases and pending court matters. How did you decide the subject matter for each of your novels?
RT: My novels are inspired by, rather than based on, real-life crimes and events, that either happened near me or just resonated with me in some way. The genesis of my series was the murder of my husband’s seventeen-year-old cousin, who disappeared from a bus stop in Columbia, SC, in 1990. Several days later, they found her body but no has ever been charged with the murder. I wanted to write a non-fiction book about her with the message that we shouldn’t forget these victims. But I didn’t have enough material for a book. Instead, I decided to write a fictional story about a forgotten teenage victim, Rose Marie Garrett, in Murder in Madden. Following that pattern, I chose a real-life victim to be my muse for each subsequent novel.
Q: Is your protagonist, reporter Enid Blackwell, based on a real person? Does she share any of your characteristics?
RT: One of my earliest childhood heroes was Nellie Bly, one of the first female investigative journalists. From the time I read her biography, I wanted to be a journalist just like her. But like many young people, I was encouraged instead to pursue a more practical career. In many ways, Enid Blackwell is a contemporary version of Nellie Bly. As to whether Enid and I share characteristics, I get asked that question a lot. Many of my close friends and family see a lot of me in her. We both have red hair, and we’re both determined to accomplish what we set out to do—some would call that hardheaded. We both value friends and family. But she’s far braver than I, and unlike Enid, I like to cook.
Q: How did you decide to publish independently? What benefits does that offer? What difficulties does it present?
RT: I used to teach a class on self-publishing that was four hours long, but I’ll try to be brief here. When I began looking at publishing options for my first book around 2015, I interviewed both traditionally published and independently published authors—of which there were few at that time. Self-publishing was just emerging as a viable option and was still shaking off its vanity press reputation. The indie authors I talked with had all turned to SP when they were unable to get an agent and/or publisher. SP was not their choice but their fallback. After spending all my working life in large corporations and then owning my own consulting firm, managing my own publishing company was appealing. I knew how to set up and run a small business. And I made a vow to myself that if I made the decision to go indie, I would not try traditional publishing at all. I wanted to choose SP, not use it as a fallback. So I formed Pondhawk Press LLC. SP is a lot of work because you’re running a business. You make investments in cover design, editing, proofing, etc., with your own money, so you need to have cash to get started. DIY is not advised! I do a lot of in-person events, so my husband, who is also my business partner, manages our inventory, provides set-up assistance, helps scope out new venues, and much more. I couldn’t do it without the help of my team, which also includes my editor, proofreader, cover designer, and more. And of course, you have to promote your work constantly on social media and elsewhere. You have to have a marketing plan. It’s a lot of work, but very rewarding for me. I’ll conclude by saying that SP is definitely not for everyone, but for some of us it’s the only way to go.
Q: Which characters have you particularly enjoyed writing? Are they the characters readers identify with most?
RT: My protagonist, Enid Blackwell, has become a close friend. We talk all the time, and she helps me when I get stuck—usually in the dreaded “middle.” I sometimes ask her questions before I fall asleep at night, and she usually gives me an answer. Aside from Enid, there are many “favorite” characters in my books. In addition to Enid, my readers love Jack Johnson, the newspaper editor, and Josh Hart, Enid’s love interest. Some of my favorites include Sheriff Boogie Waters (Secrets Never Told) and Drake Harrow the police investigator and Cassandra the fortune teller, in my latest novel Murder Vision. Harrow, aka Big D, is part Jamaican and I enjoyed learning a bit of Patois, a form of Jamaican creole, for his character. My readers love the series’ characters and often comment on them. I’m fortunate to have both male and female loyal readers, and I’m always surprised and delighted when they tell me who their favorite characters are and what they like about them.
Q: Did you always know you would write a series?
RT: Heck no! I wrote Murder in Madden as a way to honor a real-life, forgotten victim. But I fell in love with my characters and knew they had more stories to tell. So I declared at my first book launch that I would have four books in the series—a number I just pulled out of the air. But after four books, I kept going. The seventh novel in the series, Murder Vision, was published in September 2024 and will be the last in that series—at least for a while. But I already miss talking with Enid.
Q: You also write short stories. What challenges do they present?
RT: I love the challenge of developing a character and telling a story in a few words. My sweet spot is around 2000 words, but I enjoy flash fiction also. Short stories are fun to write, and they keep me writing between novels. I love to write stories from image prompts. There’s a picture on the bulletin board in my office of a lone grave in the middle of a field in Lexington that I took not long ago. I can’t wait to write a story about it.
Q: How do you like organizing Noir at the Bar events? What do writers learn from reading their stories out loud?
RT: I absolutely love Noir at the Bar! I host these at a local bar several times a year and invite other authors to participate. Humans are storytellers by nature, and sharing stories with others is very primal for me. Writing for an audience, like at Noir events, is different than writing for print readers. For one thing, you have to use more dialogue tags because the audience can’t see where the characters change as they would on a page, so they can get confused if the writer isn’t clear on who’s speaking. I read all my novels and stories aloud during the editing process, and it’s a great way to spot areas that may be confusing. Also, writing for a live audience is not the place to be “literary.” Stories that might be appropriate for a literary magazine typically don’t play well to an audience because they are often abstract. Reading for a live audience works best when you stick to writing an entertaining story that has a clear beginning, middle, and end—like a story you’d tell around a campfire.
Q: What advice would you give to writers?
RT: Two things. The first is to keep writing. It’s easy to get distracted and lose focus. There are many reasons you can give yourself for not writing but only one reason to keep going: you must write because your heart compels it. The second piece of advice is to be clear to yourself about your writing goals. There’s nothing wrong with writing as a hobby with no inclination to get published. But if you do decide to publish, be clear about what you want from it—recognition or fame, money, self-satisfaction, or something else. And whatever your goal is, be certain you’re willing to invest your time, money, and other resources into achieving that goal. Self-publishing has made it somewhat easy to publish a book, but then many writers despair because their sales are low. And many traditionally published authors are having to do most of the promoting themselves because of budget cuts. Many writers I’ve talked with have admitted they have no marketing plan, run no ads, and have no goals other than to “sell more books.” Then I have to ask, “Why are you writing? What do you hope to achieve? And if that goal is important, what are you willing to do to make it happen?”
Q: How has your family influenced your writing?
RT: My own family has been very supportive, and my husband in particular is my rock. Without him, I couldn’t do what I do. My sister is always talking about and selling my books. While I’m fortunate to have a wonderful, loving family, I know that not everyone is as blessed. Relationships in general are complex. My books often explore the complexities within both blood and chosen families, which often include betrayal, heartache, and worse.
Q: What are you writing now?
RT: I recently started writing a new series set in Raven’s Rest, NC, a small, fictitious town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I prefer to read and write about small towns rather than large cities because I love the interplay of everybody-knows-everybody and everybody-has-a-secret. I’m also working on what I think will be a stand-alone novella titled Burning Memories. I can write short and I can write long, so I want to challenge myself to write a mid-length 30K to 40K story. It will be a departure from murder mysteries—more in the style of Nicholas Sparks. Recently, I’ve been reading Stephen King’s novellas because he’s a master of the novella, as is Jo Nesbo.
For more information, visit Raegan Teller.com or the Enid Blackwell Mystery Series on Amazon.
Special Guest: Winter Austin
/in Author Life, Guest Blogger, Interview, Mysteries, Suspense/by Mary Lee Ashfordby Sparkle Abbey
Today we welcome our friend and fellow Iowa author, Winter Austin! We have some questions for her but before we get started with those, Winter, please share with our readers a little bit about yourself.
I wear many hats; Author, Veteran’s Wife, NG-Army Mom, Awesomest Aunt Ever, Goat & Cattle Wrangler, Fluffy Velociraptor Herder, Dog Mom, and All-Around Butt-Kicker. I’m a long-time resident of the Midwest, mostly living in Iowa, with a decidedly strong lilt to Southern. I’m a self-taught sous chef and darn good customer service representative with a tight hold on my need to be sarcastic or blunt—it’s a struggle, let me tell you. My husband and myself both grew up farm kids, but the military consumed most of our married lives. We had four kids who are all in their twenties now and doing us proud. We’re now settled into the empty nester lifestyle, but I’m trying to drag my husband back into the farming life.
Thanks, Winter. And now to our questions…
What started you on your writing journey? Have you always wanted to write?
I’ve known from an early age I wanted to be an author. The book and author that cemented it was The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. When I read Farley’s bio and learned he was published in his early twenties, I wanted to do that. I couldn’t get published during my twenties, but my thirties saw it come to fruition. I wrote all the time, nonsense stories, a full western by hand in pencil, and a lot of fan fiction. I leaned toward mystery and suspense in my stories. After the birth of my twins, I got serious about being published. Spent many years learning the craft, how to create plot and conflict, and eventually had to learn how to balance suspense with romance—something I was never very strong at writing but managed to pull off. It’s been nearly 12 years since my very first book was published, and now I’m crafting some long desired storylines.
What types of books do you write? And why did you choose that genre or sub-genre?
I’m writing in the mystery/suspense genres in the sub-genres of police procedurals/crime fiction.
These genres have been my schtick for decades, going back to my first story that landed me a coveted spot to go a young writer’s conference in fourth grade—a mystery. I do think I can blame my parents for always having some crime/cop/mystery show on while I was growing up that fed into my wild imagination and stories.
What’s your favorite part of writing?
Creating the characters. I love making people so opposite of myself. I do find I layer in my favorite personalities and characteristics of some of my closest friends and family members into secondary characters in my books, but I always make my female leads women I sometimes wish I could be.
And what’s your least favorite part?
The actual writing, especially on days when I just don’t want to write. I love writing, I love the whole process, but when the words and the ideas just refuse to come, it makes me wonder why I ever thought this was a good idea.
How much planning do you do before you start a book?
My process would drive the majority of writers and authors crazy. They claim there are no true pantsers, but I beg to differ, I’m the shining star of a true pantser. I start with the germ of an idea, but it’s so riddled with holes, I don’t know if it’ll ever work. In the last 6 books I’ve written, I have had no clue who the actual antagonist is and what their motivations for committing their despicable acts. Then comes the agony of getting the opening scene down, the inciting incident to propel the story forward. After that, it’s a free-for-all, no kidding.
Where do your very best ideas come from?
The shower or driving. No kidding. The very places I can’t use a computer to get the scenes and dialogues down, but where the best ideas come. Sometimes I’ll take a break from whatever I’m in the middle of and catch a nap. There have been times where I’ve come awake and realized how things tie in, or why something in a scene I just wrote gave me the final piece of the puzzle I’ve been scratching my head to figure out.
But the plot ideas tend to come from real life events. I just have to find a way to put my own spin on them.
What part of writing is the most difficult for you? Characters? Conflict? Emotion? Something else…?
Action scenes. No kidding. I always have to rewrite those scenes 3 to 4 times before I get them just right. The actions of the characters and the reactions to situations have to make sense and have to work right. I don’t think I’ve written a novel yet without a fight scene or a gun battle of some kind. If I shoot or injure my main characters, I must make sure it’s not something that in real life would actually be fatal, and that’s hard. You can only get away with shooting your MC in the fleshy part of their leg before it gets old.
What’s next for you? Tell us about your next book and when it will be out.
I’m finishing up the first and roughest draft for the first book in my newest suspense series. My publisher and I finalized a title and series title recently and The Stiletto Gang readers get the honor of being the first to know. The series will be called A Bounty of Shadows. Book 1 is Ride a Dark Trail. I get to play around in a modern take on an Old West style of story with my ever-present strong female lead. This book is set to release August of 2025 and I can’t wait. Neither can my editor. When I pitched her the idea of a female bounty hunter she jumped all over it. It took us a bit before we nailed down a story idea that my publisher Tule liked and here we are. Beta readers are already singing praises and they’re getting the worst draft ever on it.
That sounds awesome! Can’t wait to read it. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story with us and the Stiletto Gang readers.
Here’s Winter’s most recent release A Requiem for the Dead, a Benoit and Dayne Mystery.
And readers if you want to know more about Winter and her books, please visit her website: Author Winter Austin
You can also find her on social media in these spots:
Facebook
Instagram
BookBub
Goodreads
Clicking Our Heels – Family Stress Points and the Holidays
/in Christmas, Holiday Gifts, Kwanza, Valentine's Day/by DebraAlthough we could talk about the wonderful aspects of the holiday season, we thought it would be fun to discuss what families often sweep under the rug – whether there are stress points that may become a flashpoint during the holiday season.
Mary Lee Ashford – We’ve worked really hard to not have family stress points during the holidays. After years of rushing about and stressing over food and gifts, we now just stay low-key and flexible. It makes it easier on everyone – I hope.
Bethany Maines – In my immediate family, not so much. But holidays during COVID forced some flashpoints within my extended family.
Debra Sennefelder – Yes. Deep breaths and daily (yes, daily) reminders that it’s only temporary.
Donalee Moulton – Fortunately, we have a holiday rhythm that is fluid and meets our needs individually and collectively. We all pitch in, we all come together, we all do our own thing. We laugh.
Anita Carter – Not very often.
Donnell Ann Bell – I am blessed with grown children who are extremely considerate and even-keeled. Outside interference has certainly turned into flashpoints that add stress. By the time this runs, I hope I can report all is resolved.
Gay Yellen – Our holidays are generally pretty serene. Since we don’t see family often, it’s always fun to catch up with what everyone’s doing.
Debra H. Goldstein – Getting together is wonderful. Our problem is trying to balance everything in terms of timing – whether it be necessary naps, squeezing in visits with non-family friends, figuring out when we want to sit down for meals, or things that come up that nobody anticipated. In the end, it all works out.
Lois Winston – Depends on the family members. It used to be really bad when my mother-in-law was still alive. We never got along. I got even, though. She’s the model for Anastasia’s communist mother-in-law in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. And yes, my mother-in-law was really a communist.
T.K. Thorne – I go into the holidays with the mindset of building treasured memories and relationships. That is a buffer for conflicts. …And I try to sneak in a bit of alone time. 🙂
Dru Ann Love – No.
Barbara J. Eikmeier – I need to bite my tongue or remove myself from the situation or I might say something that unintentionally hurts someone’s feelings.
IYKYK (If You Know You Know)
/in Writing and the Arts, Internet, Slang/by Brooke TerpeningAs authors, the written word is our trade. We strive for authenticity in the way characters talk, the language they use, and the methods used to communicate. Dialog differentiates the speakers, but how to make a teenager sound like, well, a teenager rather than their grandparents? A judicious use of slang can establish a character’s identity, often revealing their social status and education.
Consider these two dialog snippets from Ready Player One, a 2011 science fiction novel by Ernest Cline:
Example 1:
“Great outfit, slick,” he said. “Where did you snag the sweet threads?”
Example 2:
“…what do you have to do to get your hands on all this moolah? Well, hold your horses, kids.”
Without much thought, you can tell the first is from a young person (actually an avatar) by the idioms and slang used. Likewise, you know right away the speaker in Example 2 is a much older person by the use of ‘moolah’ and ‘hold your horses’ — expressions common in past decades.
Historically, spoken language evolves faster than its formal written counterpart. The rise of the internet, social media, and texting has birthed a new language that is written, full of a multitude of unpronounceable expressions.
Which brings me to my conundrum. My characters are often on cellphones, texting each other. How should I use slang to individualize their texts? I’m not even clear on how to represent this dialog. In different fonts? Bolded? Indented? And how do you tag the different speakers in a back-and-forth conversation? My go-to edition of the Chicago Manual of Style has deserted me on this topic, making no formal recommendation. And, shudder, what slang do my characters use when texting?
Internet slang is a non-standard language used to communicate using symbols (emojis) and shorthand acronyms on gaming platforms, phones, chat groups, and social media. Examples most of us know are IYKYK (if you know you know), LOL (laughing out loud), and LMK (let me know). Others are more specialized to particular groups. Try GG (good game) for gamers, API (application programming interface) for software developers, or DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) for fitness groups.
Others are more arcane. How about the sarcastic GPOY (gratuitous pictures of yourself) or 403 (deny access to). My favorite example is PWNED (owned). This linguistic abomination apocryphally arose from a game developer’s misspelling of ‘owned’. I leave the pronunciation to your imagination.
Faster than the spoken language, internet slang is evolving and changing almost daily. Herein lies one of the dangers. The shorthand slang idioms used on one social media platform, say Reddit, differ from those in common usage on X or BlueSky.
That’s not to say that some of these acronyms haven’t wormed their way into everyday English, such as FOMO (fear of missing out). English, the opportunistic and omnivorous language it is, has adopted SNAFU, AWOL, and MIA among others. However, there is no predicting which acronyms will appear in the next edition of the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language or be relegated to the dustbin of archaic cliches. Using what is in favor today may, at best, only sound dated or most likely be cringe-worthy tomorrow.
You might ask why have my characters text at all. A phone call or F2F (face to face) would avoid these problems. First, today everyone is glued to their phones, even conversing over texts while at the same dinner table. Second, I use texting as a technique to create anticipation or suspense. Unlike a phone call or a conversation, a response to a text can be delayed, maybe not even seen for a conveniently inconvenient period of time. Finally, a character can carry on a text conversation while witnessing or participating in exciting action.
So, where does that leave my characters? For now, their texts will be pronounceable. They will contain punctuation. I will treat internet slang as a foreign language, using an expression only if the meaning is clear from the context. What do you think?
IIGHT (alright, okay?)
5 Tips for Finding Reading Time During the Busy Holiday Season
/in Uncategorized/by Debra SennefelderThe holidays are a magical time of year, but they can also be overwhelmingly busy! Between shopping, decorating, cooking, and attending festive events, it’s easy to feel like there’s no time for yourself—let alone for reading. But if you’re a book lover like me, you know how important it is to sneak in those quiet moments with a great story. Here are five tips to help you carve out reading time during the holiday rush.
1. Start Your Day with a Chapter
Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier to enjoy a peaceful start to your day with a book. Pair it with your morning coffee or tea to create a calming ritual that helps you ease into the day.
2. Carry a Book Everywhere
Whether it’s a paperback, e-reader, or audiobook on your phone, having a book with you means you can read during those unexpected pockets of time—waiting in line, during your commute, or between holiday errands.
3. Replace Screen Time with Reading Time
The endless scroll can wait. Dedicate a portion of your evening, even if it’s just 10-20 minutes, to putting down your devices and picking up a book.
4. Embrace Audiobooks
Holiday prep doesn’t have to come at the expense of your TBR pile. Turn on an audiobook while baking cookies, wrapping presents, or decorating your home. It’s multitasking at its finest!
5. Schedule a Cozy Reading Break
Block off time in your calendar for a dedicated reading session. Whether it’s an hour by the fireplace or 30 minutes with a warm blanket and a cup of cocoa, treat it like any other important holiday appointment.
Now that you have these tips, why not put them to good use with a festive mystery? My newest release, A Corpse Among the Carolers, A Food Blogger Mystery, is a Christmas-themed cozy mystery packed with holiday cheer, twisty clues, and plenty of suspense. It’s the perfect book to curl up with during this busy season—or to give as a gift to the mystery lover in your life.
You can order your copy now from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and don’t forget to treat yourself to some well-earned reading time this holiday season. Happy holidays and happy reading!
Grateful for You!
/in Uncategorized/by TK ThorneBook Marketing is a 4-Letter Word
/in author promotion, amateur sleuth mysteries, Cozy Mysteries, crafting cozies, indie publishing, Lois Winston, Marketing, Mysteries, Publishing, women sleuths/by Lois WinstonImage by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
By Lois Winston
Book marketing? Unless you’re someone who majored in marketing in college (and maybe not even those people,) most authors will tell you the part of being an author they hate most is marketing their books to readers. Unless you’re James Patterson, Nora Roberts, or one of the few other “anointed ones,” no matter if you’re traditionally published or indie published, the bulk of book marketing rests on our shoulders. Most publishers, including what is known as The Big Five, do very little, if anything, to promote their authors’ books these days. For most, if they’re lucky, they receive a box of free promotional bookmarks or postcards.
And it doesn’t matter the genre you write in, the awards you’ve received, or whether you hit a bestseller list. I have friends who consistently make the New York Times list with each new release and are still required to do the bulk of the promotion for their books, including arranging their own events and handling social media marketing.
The competition is stiff out there, and it’s getting worse. Every author I’ve spoken with, whether traditionally published or indie published, is complaining about falling sales. This year has seen a flood of A.I. generated books going up for sale on etailer sites. There were so many flooding Amazon that they instituted a new policy, limiting uploads of new books to three a day. It maybe stemmed the influx from a major tsunami to a tidal wave.
Moreover, various marketing that once worked well for authors no longer shows the same results. What’s an author to do?
At the Killer Nashville conference in August, I attended a workshop on creating landing pages at Bookfunnel. Most marketing gurus will tell you every author should have a newsletter, that it’s one of the best tools in your author toolbox. I have a newsletter. Prior to Bookfunnel, I had about 1800 subscribers, some of whom are loyal fans. But the workshop instructor had tens of thousands of subscribers. Talking to other authors at Killer Nashville, I learned the best way I could increase sales of my books was to increase my newsletter subscribers.
The thing about a landing page, though, is that you offer a freebie in exchange for the reader subscribing. I’ve always been opposed to giving away huge numbers of books. I’ve heard from too many readers who only download free books and brag that they haven’t bought a book in years. I have newsletter readers who have told me they love my books but only read them if they can get them from the library or by winning a copy when I do the occasional contest giveaway. They won’t even spend .99 cents for a sale book.
I’ve never had a problem with putting a book on sale for .99 cents for a limited time. I think of it as a loss leader to spur sales of the other books in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. That series currently has 13 novels and 3 novellas. Historically, I’ve seen good results from sales of other books in the series when one is on sale for .99 cents. But even those results have not been what they used to be lately.
So I decided to create a landing page on Bookfunnel and offer one of the novellas in the series for free with sign-up to my newsletter. I’m also taking part in two group promotions with other cozy authors on Bookfunnel throughout November, the Thank Goodness for Cozies promotion and the Cozy Mystery Month promotion. Signing up for any of the authors’ newsletters will get you a free book by that author.
My landing page has been up on my website and on Bookfunnel since mid-October. When the group promotions end at the end of November, I’ll be able to judge the results of the book giveaway. I’ll see how many downloads and new subscribers I’ve had and if all those free books translated into sales of other books in the series. I’m crossing fingers and toes that I’ll be pleased with the numbers.
Love it? Hate it? How do you really feel about marketing? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook download of any one of the first 11 Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. (US and UK residents only)
~*~
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. 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.
Anthologies (and Ghost Stories) for the Holidays
/in Anthologies, Holiday Gifts, Mysteries, Paula Gail Benson, Short Stories/by Paula Bensonby Paula Gail Benson
For today’s short story post, I want to tell you about two new short story anthologies and an annual “Drabble” (100-word story) tradition that celebrates the “haunted” aspect of the holidays!
Two new short story anthologies have been recently released. The Capitol Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime featured fifteen authors in FARM TO FOUL PLAY. The Bethlehem Writers Group’s holiday-based SEASON’S READINGS has twenty-one stories from its members and from winners of its 2023 and 2024 short story contests.
Here’s the information about these anthologies from their Amazon descriptions. Please consider adding them to your “to-be-read” lists!
Farm to Foul Play: 2024 Capitol Crimes Anthology
Edited by Jennifer K. Morita. Forward by Tori Eldridge: “. . . if you want to understand a community, home cooking and agriculture is often the best place to begin.”
Sacramento, California, lies at the heart of the largest agricultural producer in the nation. Known as the Farm-to-Fork Capital of America, this beautiful region produces hundreds of crops each year and has become recognized as a great restaurant city thanks to the chefs who use locally-grown, locally-sourced ingredients.
Fifteen amazing authors — William Bishop, Sarah Bresniker, Chris Dreith, Susan Egan, Elaine Faber, Karen Harrington, Debra Henry, Virginia V. Kidd, Karen A. Phillips, Brian Shea, Linda Joy Singleton, Darrell Smith, Joanna Vander Vlugt, Nick Webster, and Dänna Wilberg — have captured the bounty of all Sacramento has to offer … with a little mayhem thrown in.
Expert judges selected fifteen stories by Capitol Crimes members, who captured the bounty of all Sacramento has to offer … with a little mayhem thrown in.
Season’s Readings: More Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales (A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology)
Edited by Marianne H. Donley and Carol L. Wright.
In this new addition to the “Sweet, Funny, and Strange”(R) series of anthologies, the multi-award-winning Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC, returns to its roots. As denizens in and around Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (also known as “Christmas City, USA”), we were happy to make our first anthology a collection of holiday tales. But one volume just wasn’t enough. Now, in our eighth anthology, we’re returning to the theme to bring you twenty-one new stories that span the holidays from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve.
Emwryn Murphy’s sweet tale tells about a chosen family’s “Friendsgiving,” crashed by a blood relative who might, or might not, be happy with what he sees in “As Simple as That.” Jerome W. McFadden once again reveals his humorous side in his story about a would-be Santa who gets into trouble in “Flue Shot.” A. E. Decker shares an intricate Christmas fantasy about “The Goblin King’s Music Box.” And Paula Gail Benson gives a new twist to a traditional symbol for the New Year in “Star of the Party.” Beyond these holidays, Diane Sismour writes about Krampusnacht, Debra H. Goldstein about Pearl Harbor Day, and Peter J Barbour about Hanukkah. Other favorite BWG authors, including Jeff Baird, Ralph Hieb, D.T. Krippene, Christopher D. Ochs, Dianna Sinovic, Kidd Wadsworth, and Carol L. Wright, also share their holiday musings.
In addition, this volume includes the 2023 and 2024 award-winning stories from the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Awards. Sally Milliken, the 2023 first-place winner, presents “The First Thanksgiving.” From 2024, we have our top three winners with first-place winner Rhonda Zangwill’s “Oh! Christmas Tree,” second-place winner Bettie Nebergall’s “Just Ask Santa,” and third-place winner Mary Adler’s “Narragansett Nellie and the Transferware Platter.”
One more note: Loren Eaton is again hosting his Advent Ghosts 100-word stories beginning on Saturday, December 14 and connected through his blog I SAW LIGHTNING FALL. If you are interested in contributing, here are the rules:
If you haven’t read the collected stories, here’s the link to check them out: https://isawlightningfall.blogspot.com/
Writing good – and evil
/in How to Write, Ideas/by donalee MoultonHeroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write?
I like it when good wins out over evil, so I tend to embrace heroes and heroines. I can sympathize with the villains, even understand their impulses, but in the end, I want the victory to go those with purer hearts.
That said, I am not a fan of what I call the hero at all costs. The person who disobeys the rules because they are morally above them, the champion who charges in because they know best, the defender who goes to the ends of the earth to solve an injustice to the detriment of their friends and family. Excess does not appeal to me.
How do you find your heroes? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the person you want every reader to love?
Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?
For me, heroes (and in the case of a few short stories anti-heroes) do not have the same origin story.
Riel Brava, the main character in Hung Out to Die, started with a bath. I’m a big believer in bubbles, candles, exfoliating scrubs, essential oils, and music with birds chirping in the background. One night immersed in a lavender cloud I realized it was time to begin writing my mystery. Get off the pot kind of thing. That led me to a litany of possible characters and crimes. Through the mist Riel emerged. Not fully formed but outlined enough that I wrote down my ideas before I even moisturized.
My second book, Conflagration!, was a different book and a different process. The book is a historical mystery and follows the trial of an enslaved Black woman accused of arson in Montreal in 1734. I discovered the level of detail in court transcripts and the timelines set by the trial process meant I had a detailed blueprint for the book before I even began. My fictional character, court reporter Philippe Archambeau, had to fit into this world.
Heroines. How do you find them?
I have just finished the second of two new books that feature three main characters, all women – my first heroines. They meet at a yoga studio and the crime unravels mid-downward dog. Like all my characters, these women started as ideas and blurry images. They became more well-defined – and more real – as the stories unfolded. I am always amazed at the unexpected direction characters take me in. I am acutely aware at times that I am not in control of the writing.
Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal.
How do you choose one? How do you make them human?
Three-dimensional characters are important. They’re more challenging to write, but they are also more realistic. I usually start with motive. If I can understand why someone would commit this crime or act in this way, then I can begin to understand the person I want the character to be.
Libations Fit for a King
/in Uncategorized/by Saralyn RichardLibations Fit for a King by Saralyn Richard
Who’s up for some amazing libations at an exclusive party?
The dictionary definition of “libation” is “a drink poured out as a ritual offering to a deity.” (Oxford Dictionary, Oxford University Press). Sometimes libations were given as an offering to a god or spirit, often in memory of those who have passed on. Pouring libations was a common practice in many religions of antiquity, and it continues to be performed in various cultures today.
This is very likely where the ceremony of toasting before drinking alcoholic beverages derives from.
In Murder in the One Percent, the characters attend a birthday party at a mansion in the horse country of Pennsylvania. That Saturday night, they dine from an elegant nine-course menu with wines selected for their best years and perfectly matched to each course.
We would expect nothing less from the wealthy and powerful hosts in the one percent, right?
Just for fun, I priced the wines being served, using 2018 and 2024 market quotes. Following are the prices per bottle:
Champagne Krug, 2000 $225 /$597
Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, 1990 $350 /$1929
Sauternes Chateau d’Yquem, 1990 $265 /$511
Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru, 2006 $125 /$235
Richebourg Leroy, 1991 $3122 /$7957
Chateau Lafitte Rothschild, 1982 $2400 /$3625
Graham’s Vintage Port $139 /$159
Hennessy Paradia Cognac $693 /$1360
That adds up to a hefty $7319 /$16,373 for just one bottle of each. Knowing these characters as I do, they would consume at least two and probably three bottles during the party, bringing the cost of libations to a whopping $21,957 /$49,119.
No wonder the guests had such a fun time at that dinner party! They ate and drank like royalty and went to bed happy. Too bad the next day, one of them woke up dead.
Saralyn Richard writes about the one percent in the Detective Parrott mystery series: MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT, A PALETTE FOR LOVE AND MURDER, CRYSTAL BLUE MURDER, and MURDER OUTSIDE THE BOX. Neither she nor Detective Parrott occupy a place in the one percent, however.
An Interview with Raegan Teller
/in Author Life, characters, Interview, Marketing, New Release, Paula Gail Benson, Publishing, Series, Settings, Short Stories/by Paula BensonI met Raegan Teller through our local Sisters in Crime Palmetto Chapter. In fact, Raegan and I were two of the founding members of the chapter. Since that time, she has independently published seven Enid Blackwell mysteries, marketing them herself through personal appearances at unique festivals and events, most of which are not focused on books. In addition, she has written numerous short stories and organized local Noir at the Bar programs.
Raegan, it’s a great pleasure to have you here at The Stiletto Gang to tell us about your writing journey.
If you have not already read Raegan Teller’s work, add it to your “to be read” list. You’ll truly enjoy it and find it’s an excellent holiday gift!
Paula Gail Benson
Raegan Teller
Q: What was your earliest memory of wanting to be an author?
RT: I began reading mysteries as a young girl: Nancy Drew, Trixie Belton, and then later Agatha Christie, Daphne Du Maurier, Victoria Holt, and Phyllis Whitney. Those were the mystery authors the library carried. And like most avid readers, I dreamed of writing my own novels one day. But it was just a pipe dream for most of my life.
Q: Your work experiences have shaped your writing. Tell us about your background and how it helped or found its way into your stories.
RT: I worked for a Fortune 100 company for most of my working life. I held numerous positions and roles, but the ones I enjoyed most were those with a lot of writing involved. But working for a large insurance company, I also investigated auto and other accidents, took statements from accident witnesses, and much more. When I left that company after 20+ years, I started my own management consulting company and found myself doing a lot of writing for my clients. I particularly enjoyed writing white papers because they are just another form of storytelling. I also did some editing work for clients. While my dream of writing a mystery got buried somewhere along the way, little did I realize that all those experiences would help me write mysteries. And my main character, Enid Blackwell, mirrors a lot of my own frustrations with large corporations. All of my work and life experiences have contributed in some way to my stories.
Q: In developing your craft, you studied a number of places with wonderful instructors. Tell us about your journey to becoming a fiction writer.
RT: I’m laughing as I respond to this question because my journey was rocky. First of all, while I was an experienced business writer and editor, I had never written fiction. The goal of business writing is to make sure all questions are answered and that you keep yourself and your feelings out of your writing. I was good at that. But when I tried to write fiction, I was baffled when it came to diving into my emotions and letting them feed by stories, or how to hide information from readers. Worse yet was allowing myself to mislead the readers with red herrings—false clues. Writing fiction was the total opposite of what I knew how to do, and it was maddening! So I took a number of workshops from writing experts around the country. One was Jerry Cleaver, who wrote Immediate Fiction and taught classes at The Writers’ Loft in Chicago. I quickly became annoyed with him, even though he was right. I can still hear him repeatedly saying “add more conflict.” As acclaimed as he was, his teaching style just never clicked for me—but I did learn to add more conflict! I also took a few workshops with Donald Maas (Writing the Breakout Novel), where I learned that my first novel would not be a breakout by his definition. At some point in my journey, I saw an advertisement for Alan Watt’s LA Writers Lab. He believed you should quickly write a novel in 90 Days and clean it up later. And I actually did finish a draft of my first novel in 90 days. (I’ve kept it to remind me how awful my writing can be.) But Watt clicked with me for reasons other than writing quickly, and I ended up doing individual coaching and numerous workshops with him. I loved how he taught story structure and made it less intimidating. He is a screenwriter, so I learned to visualize my story as I wrote. Like Cleaver, Watt offered me a constant reminder, but his was “go deeper.” By far, Watt was the most influential instructor I worked with. With his coaching, I produced the final version of my first novel, Murder in Madden, after three years of trial and error. (I wrote the second novel in eight months.)
Q: You base your novels on cold cases and pending court matters. How did you decide the subject matter for each of your novels?
RT: My novels are inspired by, rather than based on, real-life crimes and events, that either happened near me or just resonated with me in some way. The genesis of my series was the murder of my husband’s seventeen-year-old cousin, who disappeared from a bus stop in Columbia, SC, in 1990. Several days later, they found her body but no has ever been charged with the murder. I wanted to write a non-fiction book about her with the message that we shouldn’t forget these victims. But I didn’t have enough material for a book. Instead, I decided to write a fictional story about a forgotten teenage victim, Rose Marie Garrett, in Murder in Madden. Following that pattern, I chose a real-life victim to be my muse for each subsequent novel.
Q: Is your protagonist, reporter Enid Blackwell, based on a real person? Does she share any of your characteristics?
RT: One of my earliest childhood heroes was Nellie Bly, one of the first female investigative journalists. From the time I read her biography, I wanted to be a journalist just like her. But like many young people, I was encouraged instead to pursue a more practical career. In many ways, Enid Blackwell is a contemporary version of Nellie Bly. As to whether Enid and I share characteristics, I get asked that question a lot. Many of my close friends and family see a lot of me in her. We both have red hair, and we’re both determined to accomplish what we set out to do—some would call that hardheaded. We both value friends and family. But she’s far braver than I, and unlike Enid, I like to cook.
Q: How did you decide to publish independently? What benefits does that offer? What difficulties does it present?
RT: I used to teach a class on self-publishing that was four hours long, but I’ll try to be brief here. When I began looking at publishing options for my first book around 2015, I interviewed both traditionally published and independently published authors—of which there were few at that time. Self-publishing was just emerging as a viable option and was still shaking off its vanity press reputation. The indie authors I talked with had all turned to SP when they were unable to get an agent and/or publisher. SP was not their choice but their fallback. After spending all my working life in large corporations and then owning my own consulting firm, managing my own publishing company was appealing. I knew how to set up and run a small business. And I made a vow to myself that if I made the decision to go indie, I would not try traditional publishing at all. I wanted to choose SP, not use it as a fallback. So I formed Pondhawk Press LLC. SP is a lot of work because you’re running a business. You make investments in cover design, editing, proofing, etc., with your own money, so you need to have cash to get started. DIY is not advised! I do a lot of in-person events, so my husband, who is also my business partner, manages our inventory, provides set-up assistance, helps scope out new venues, and much more. I couldn’t do it without the help of my team, which also includes my editor, proofreader, cover designer, and more. And of course, you have to promote your work constantly on social media and elsewhere. You have to have a marketing plan. It’s a lot of work, but very rewarding for me. I’ll conclude by saying that SP is definitely not for everyone, but for some of us it’s the only way to go.
Q: Which characters have you particularly enjoyed writing? Are they the characters readers identify with most?
RT: My protagonist, Enid Blackwell, has become a close friend. We talk all the time, and she helps me when I get stuck—usually in the dreaded “middle.” I sometimes ask her questions before I fall asleep at night, and she usually gives me an answer. Aside from Enid, there are many “favorite” characters in my books. In addition to Enid, my readers love Jack Johnson, the newspaper editor, and Josh Hart, Enid’s love interest. Some of my favorites include Sheriff Boogie Waters (Secrets Never Told) and Drake Harrow the police investigator and Cassandra the fortune teller, in my latest novel Murder Vision. Harrow, aka Big D, is part Jamaican and I enjoyed learning a bit of Patois, a form of Jamaican creole, for his character. My readers love the series’ characters and often comment on them. I’m fortunate to have both male and female loyal readers, and I’m always surprised and delighted when they tell me who their favorite characters are and what they like about them.
Q: Did you always know you would write a series?
RT: Heck no! I wrote Murder in Madden as a way to honor a real-life, forgotten victim. But I fell in love with my characters and knew they had more stories to tell. So I declared at my first book launch that I would have four books in the series—a number I just pulled out of the air. But after four books, I kept going. The seventh novel in the series, Murder Vision, was published in September 2024 and will be the last in that series—at least for a while. But I already miss talking with Enid.
Q: You also write short stories. What challenges do they present?
RT: I love the challenge of developing a character and telling a story in a few words. My sweet spot is around 2000 words, but I enjoy flash fiction also. Short stories are fun to write, and they keep me writing between novels. I love to write stories from image prompts. There’s a picture on the bulletin board in my office of a lone grave in the middle of a field in Lexington that I took not long ago. I can’t wait to write a story about it.
Q: How do you like organizing Noir at the Bar events? What do writers learn from reading their stories out loud?
RT: I absolutely love Noir at the Bar! I host these at a local bar several times a year and invite other authors to participate. Humans are storytellers by nature, and sharing stories with others is very primal for me. Writing for an audience, like at Noir events, is different than writing for print readers. For one thing, you have to use more dialogue tags because the audience can’t see where the characters change as they would on a page, so they can get confused if the writer isn’t clear on who’s speaking. I read all my novels and stories aloud during the editing process, and it’s a great way to spot areas that may be confusing. Also, writing for a live audience is not the place to be “literary.” Stories that might be appropriate for a literary magazine typically don’t play well to an audience because they are often abstract. Reading for a live audience works best when you stick to writing an entertaining story that has a clear beginning, middle, and end—like a story you’d tell around a campfire.
Q: What advice would you give to writers?
RT: Two things. The first is to keep writing. It’s easy to get distracted and lose focus. There are many reasons you can give yourself for not writing but only one reason to keep going: you must write because your heart compels it. The second piece of advice is to be clear to yourself about your writing goals. There’s nothing wrong with writing as a hobby with no inclination to get published. But if you do decide to publish, be clear about what you want from it—recognition or fame, money, self-satisfaction, or something else. And whatever your goal is, be certain you’re willing to invest your time, money, and other resources into achieving that goal. Self-publishing has made it somewhat easy to publish a book, but then many writers despair because their sales are low. And many traditionally published authors are having to do most of the promoting themselves because of budget cuts. Many writers I’ve talked with have admitted they have no marketing plan, run no ads, and have no goals other than to “sell more books.” Then I have to ask, “Why are you writing? What do you hope to achieve? And if that goal is important, what are you willing to do to make it happen?”
Q: How has your family influenced your writing?
RT: My own family has been very supportive, and my husband in particular is my rock. Without him, I couldn’t do what I do. My sister is always talking about and selling my books. While I’m fortunate to have a wonderful, loving family, I know that not everyone is as blessed. Relationships in general are complex. My books often explore the complexities within both blood and chosen families, which often include betrayal, heartache, and worse.
Q: What are you writing now?
RT: I recently started writing a new series set in Raven’s Rest, NC, a small, fictitious town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I prefer to read and write about small towns rather than large cities because I love the interplay of everybody-knows-everybody and everybody-has-a-secret. I’m also working on what I think will be a stand-alone novella titled Burning Memories. I can write short and I can write long, so I want to challenge myself to write a mid-length 30K to 40K story. It will be a departure from murder mysteries—more in the style of Nicholas Sparks. Recently, I’ve been reading Stephen King’s novellas because he’s a master of the novella, as is Jo Nesbo.
For more information, visit Raegan Teller.com or the Enid Blackwell Mystery Series on Amazon.