Today, I bring a double treat to the Gang, with S. Lee (Sandy) Manning and J.B. (Jim) Manning, award-winning writers who bill themselves as “A Killing Couple” for a couple of good reasons.
One, they’re married. And two, the award-winning books they write include a few murder victims along the way.
Jim’s books are chock-full of entertaining craziness, while Sandy’s tales are chilling and thrilling.
I am delighted that they agreed to tell us more, in their own words:
We are a couple, but we only kill in our books – hopefully in both senses of the word.
We write thrillers. Not together, at least not so far, because we have very different sensibilities.
Jim writes hilarious action adventures, wild romps with wacky over-the-top characters.
His latest, The Kingdom of Hatch, features a disillusioned attorney who flees the craziness of Manhattan for the peace of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont only to find trouble in paradise. Hilarity ensues.
Sandy writes serious thrillers with troubled characters. Her Kolya Petrov spy series explores themes of betrayal and difficult moral choices, and her latest, Deadly Choice, involves a mother seeking revenge for her daughter’s death.
Though we write separately and in different parts of the house, we share many components of the writing world.
We attend conferences together. We do appearances and book talks together. Neither would think of sending a novel out without the other reading it. We bounce ideas off each other; we read and comment on each other’s work.
Writing has brought us closer together, even as we maintain our distinct styles and spaces.
The emotional component is even more important. Writing can be a lonely and sometimes frustrating pursuit. Since we both experience the ups and the downs, we can understand what the other is going through. We encourage each other when writing or the writing world gets difficult.
Is there jealousy or competition?
Maybe a little. But we’ll live with it. We’ve cheered for each other’s awards—Jim’s debut novel, Richter the Mighty, won the 2023 Silver Falchion for Best Comic Action Novel, and Sandy’s Bloody Soil won the 2023 best genre novel from Independent Publishers of New England—even when both of us were up for an award but didn’t win.
We’ve recently embarked on a new joint venture together.
It’s a YouTube channel called “A Killing Couple on the Prowl,” where we explore interesting, intriguing, or weird people, places, and things, using our backgrounds in journalism. So far, we’ve interviewed sixteen authors at Killer Nashville and at Bouchercon, to get the inside scoop on their different views of the writing experiences. We visited a town in Quebec, Canada and a library that straddles two countries. At a taco restaurant, we enjoyed great food and threw axes. (Actually, Jim threw an axe; Sandy kind of just dropped hers.)
We haven’t gone viral. Yet. Hopefully, we’ll continue to expand our audiences, for our books AND for our videos. In the meantime, we’re having fun together. In the scheme of things, maybe that’s what matters.
So, readers, there you have it: two accomplished writers offering laughs and thrills. Thanks guys, for sitting in on The Stiletto Gang today!
J.B. Manning’s debut novel, Richter The Mighty, won the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Comic Action Novel of 2023. His second novel, The Kingdom of Hatch, launched on September 25, 2024 from Encircle Publications. In prior lives, he was an attorney in New Jersey and New York, a college professor teaching English literature, and a newspaper reporter in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and New Orleans.
S. Lee Manning is the author of the Kolya Petrov international thriller series: Trojan Horse, Nerve Attack, and Bloody Soil. All three were finalists for Silver Falchions. Bloody Soil won best genre novel of 2023 from Independent Publishers of New England. Her stand alone, Deadly Choice, launched in September from Encircle Publications. Formerly, she was an attorney, a high school English teacher, and a magazine editor.
S. Lee and J.B. live in Vermont with their very talky cats, Dmitri and Xiao.
Gay Yellen is the award-winning author of The Samantha Newman Mystery Series: The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News.
Trolls: Character vs. Caricature When Writing Suspects and Antagonists in Mysteries
/in audiobooks, amateur sleuth mysteries, Author Life, characters, Cozy Mysteries, crafting cozies, How to Write, indie publishing, Inspiration, Lois Winston, Mysteries, women sleuths/by Lois WinstonTrolls?
Trolls: Nasty creatures who live under bridges.
Trolls: Nasty people who bully others on social media.
Trolls: Weird looking collectibles from the 1960s (now the stars of animated movies.)
Trolls: Kristoff’s fun-loving adoptive family in Frozen
Trolls: Amazing works of art from recycled materials by Thomas Dambo.
The trolls have noticed that “small people” (us humans) are harming the planet. The goal of these giant trolls is to educate humans, whereby they’ll rediscover nature and become thoughtful, caring stewards of our planet. A more positive message than those other trolls who frequent social media, right?
So what do these trolls have to do with writing mysteries? Actually, quite a lot. When we think of trolls, most of us think of ugly, nasty creatures, either real or fictional. But both Thomas Dambo’s recycled trolls, Kristoff’s adopted family, and those weird bygone mini collectables showed us that not all trolls are nasty and that ugly is subjective.
We’re often asked who is our favorite fictional sleuth, but who is your favorite fictional suspect or antagonist? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free download of any one of the first eleven audiobooks in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series.
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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.
The Generosity of Writers
/in Anthologies, Book events, Mysteries, Paula Gail Benson, Short Stories/by Paula BensonAuthors are amazingly kind in sharing their time and knowledge. When I asked Michael Bracken about collaborating on a virtual short story conference (Mystery in the Midlands: Writing the Short Story, sponsored by the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America), he immediately helped to recruit a panel of “New Voices” (Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier, James Andrew Hearn, Stacy Woodson) whose stories already have garnered awards, and suggested Art Taylor to present a segment on craft. The program took place Saturday, October 19, 2024, with 154 registered. I’m delighted to say the presenters received rave reviews from those listening and calls for the recording from those who could not attend.
To say “thank you” to these fabulous authors for participating in the program, please let me briefly recognize them and provide links where you can find their work.
Michael Bracken is well-known as a writer of almost 1,300 short stories, a renowned editor, and an excellent speaker at conferences and other events. A complete list of his books and short stories is available on his website at https://www.crimefictionwriter.com/. He has been nominated for an Anthony, an Edgar, and a Shamus, and has received multiple awards for copywriting, three Derringer Awards for short fiction, and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer Award for lifetime achievement in short mystery fiction. In 2024 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his contributions to Texas literature.
He edited the Anthony Award-nominated The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods and his most recent anthologies include Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House (co-edited with Stacy Woodson and released October 14, 2024) and Janie’s Got a Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Aerosmith (to be released November 8, 2024). He initiated an in-person short story conference, ShortCon, that took place in Alexandria, Virginia, in May 2024 and will occur again on June 7, 2025. For more information see: https://www.eastcoastcrime.com/#/.
Not only is Art Taylor a first-rate teacher and thoughtful friend, but he is an exceptional author, who has been called by Jon L. Breen in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine “One of the finest short-story writers to come to prominence in the twenty-first century.”
A complete list of his works may be found at https://arttaylorwriter.com/books/. Ashley-Ruth Bernier and I recommend On the Road with Del and Louise: A Novel in Stories (Henery Press, 2015): winner, Agatha Award, Best First Novel, 2015; finalist, Anthony Award, Best First Novel, 2016; finalist, Macavity Award, Best First Novel, 2016. When I began reading this collection, I questioned whether I would ever really like the flawed main characters. By the time I reached the last story, I put off reading it for a while because I didn’t want to finish my connection with them. I remember Margaret Maron praising the book and saying she intended to give up writing novels and concentrate on linked short stories. Art’s other collections include The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions. The Anthony award winning anthology he edited is Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015.
Somehow Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier finds time to write while working as a first-grade teacher as well as being a wife and a mother of four. On her website, she says: “My stories reflect my most treasured identity—that of a daughter of the Virgin Islands. My stories all feature St. Thomas in some way, and hopefully show the joy of a life spent in a dynamic community.” Her short story “Ripen” appears in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023. She has been a Derringer nominee and a Killer Nashville Claymore finalist. “Sweeten: A Naomi Sinclair Short Story” (a Christmas story) is published in Festive Mayhem 4: Thirteen Cozy and Cold Winter Holiday Mystery and Crime Fiction Stories (released October 1, 2024). Her website lists a complete list of her stories at https://ashleyruthbernier.com/.
Drawing on his background with degrees English, mechanical engineering, and law, James A. Hearn writes mystery, crime, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His story “Home Is the Hunter,” originally published in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 3, also appeared in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023. “Blindsided” (in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, September/October 2021), which he wrote with Michael Bracken, was a 2022 Edgar nominee for best short story. A complete list of his work is found at https://jamesahearn.com/.
In addition to her own writing and editing anthologies with Michael Bracken, Stacy Woodson has been a US Army veteran, an instructor at Outliers Writing University, and a member of the Screen Actors Guild, who has appeared in Amazon’s Jack Ryan and Wonder Woman 1984. She is a two-time Derringer Award-winning author and her debut story that appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine’s Department of First Stories won the 2018 Readers Award (only the second time in the award’s history that a debut took first place). On her website (https://stacywoodson.com/), a complete list of her stories is available as well as five stories coming soon including: “A Rose of a Rose” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir Vol 5, Down and Out Books, 2024; and “Confessions of a Background Artist” in Hollywood Kills: Crime Fiction Inspired by Hollywood, Level Best Books.
Please help to thank all these extraordinary authors for their generosity.
Location, location, location
/in Uncategorized, Writing and the Arts/by donalee MoultonAt one end of the spectrum, location is essential.
As a result, you spend time bringing that location to life, making it real, and of real interest to readers. This requires knowing whereof you write or researching whereof you write. Or both. My latest book, a historical mystery entitled Conflagration!, is based on the real-life story of Marie-Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman accused of burning the lower town of Montreal to the ground in 1734. Montreal as a place and as a community is intertwined with the plot and the characters, fictional and otherwise. As a result, I had to immerse myself in a time and place that no longer exist.
Move further along the location spectrum and you’ll arrive here: the location could be anywhere.
The town, island, futuristic community where your characters go about their daily lives is woven into the story but not predetermined. It’s up to you. You may choose a place that is familiar, that fits within the theme of the book, or simply resonates with you.
My first mystery book Hung Out to Die introduces Riel Brava to readers. Riel is originally from Santa Barbara but now living in Nova Scotia, which is where I live. Fact is, Riel could have been uprooted to almost any location where cannabis production is legal. (Riel is CEO of the Canadian Cannabis Corporation. He’s also a psychopath (not the nasty kind), but we’ll save that for another blog.) I chose Nova Scotia because I know this location. Less research would be required, but I also have a deeper connection to this place because it is my place. Many readers have told me how the book feels so much like Nova Scotia. That was not intentional, but it reflects a knowledge of place that goes beyond street maps, tourist locations, and Yelp reviews.
Finally, we reach the other end of the spectrum: place is irrelevant.
Indeed, a specific geographical location may not be necessary. I wrote a short story called “Moist,” that for the most part takes place in the main character’s home. Where that home is situated doesn’t matter.
After the story was published, there was a call for stories for a new anthology Santa Cruz Ghost Stories. I reached out to the editor to explain that my story wasn’t really set anywhere so it could be set in Santa Cruz. She agreed. Minor changes were made (like changing Canadian spelling to American (“savour” became “savor”) and using the name of a dollar store Santa Cruz residents would easily recognize.)
Ultimately, location is about character. The two go hand in hand.
Packing books, Packing rescue supplies
/in Barbara J Eikmeier/by Barbara EikmeierBy Barbara J. Eikmeier
It was a few anxiety-filled days, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, waiting to hear from our daughter, who had just moved to a small mountain community in western North Carolina. Her community was spared the massive flooding and power outages, losing only cell service and internet for a few days.
Once service was restored, we talked nearly every day. She talked about the people who lived in the mountains who were completely cut off due to washed out roads. I’m not from the mountains of North Carolina or the Appalachians, but I know about those remote areas from books I’ve read.
Several years ago, within a short period of time, I read two unrelated books about the Pack Horse Librarians of Appalachia, who delivered books to mountain homes. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson, 2019, while fiction, included historical photos from the WPA project. Until reading The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, I had never heard of the WPA’s Pack Horse Librarians project and after studying the photos and reading every single caption was intrigued enough to research the topic more.
Soon after finishing the book I recommended it to a friend who said she was already reading it. But she wasn’t. She was reading a totally different book, also fiction, also about the Pack Horse Librarians. We swapped books and I read, The Giver of Stars, by JoJo Moyes, 2021.
wikimedia image
The stories of the Pack Horse Librarians have stayed with me these past years, so naturally, when I saw Pack Mules being used to haul supplies to remote locations cut off from civilization by Hurricane Helene’s flood waters, I began to follow their stories. The Mountain Mule Packer Ranch has posted regular social media updates with many pictures showing the mules packing into the mountains, off trail, because the trails were washed away. Initially they packed in food, water, blankets and flashlights. Later they brought fencing materials and feed for livestock. The posts often include the mules’ names and bits about their personalities, stories of how volunteers prepare their loads and manage ground operations, and they describe how people, trapped in their homes for 6-8 days on their own, were just as happy to see the mules as they were to get supplies.
As temporary road repairs are completed and the formerly inaccessible areas reopen to ATVs and other motorized vehicles, the pack mules move on to locations still in need of their services.
Of course the pack mules’ story is one of many recovery operations taking place in areas affected by Hurricane Helene. It resonated with me because of those books I read about the Pack Horse Librarians.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Pack Horse Librarians of Applalachia, libromaniacs has compiled a list of ten books on the topic, including the two mentioned in this post. Here is a link. https://libromaniacs.com/books-about-librarians-on-horseback/
Barbara J. Eikmeier is a quilter, writer, student of quilt history, and lover of small-town America. Raised on a dairy farm in California, she enjoys placing her characters in rural communities.
Distractions
/in Uncategorized/by Saralyn RichardDistractions
by Saralyn Richard
I’ve never been diagnosed with ADD or hyperactivity. In fact, my whole life I’ve been able to focus and concentrate whenever needed. I can read for long periods without becoming antsy, and I’m equally good at listening.
All of these stand me well in writing novels, because long sessions at the computer would be dreadful otherwise. But lately, I find myself ready to jump up in mid-chapter, mid-paragraph, or mid-sentence.
I’m distracted by the internet. Let me just search for a certain outfit for my character to wear to a luncheon. How close is the hurricane to people I worry about? What quasi-newsy item is trending?
Maybe I should check on my brother, who is recovering from major surgery. Oops—I forgot to take out something to cook for dinner tonight. And heaven help me if I have a phone call, even if it’s from a robot.
What are the latest polls saying? And what is going on in the Middle East, or with the British royalty? The dishes need washing, the dogs need walking, the plants need watering, and on and on.
Back to the chapter—I crawl back into Quinn’s point of view and detail what happens to her. I share her fears and angst, and I feel good about moving her story forward, but no matter how involved I am, I can’t stay there as long as I want or need to.
I have too many distractions.
The same thing happens to me with reading. Or watching a movie. Or even watching the news, as riveting as it can be these days.
I’m hoping this is a passing phase. Maybe after the election and after hurricane season, things will settle down into a more peaceful routine. In the meantime, I’ll plod along, hoping that, despite distractions, I’m writing a captivating and touching mystery.
Are you similarly distracted? How do you manage?
Saralyn Richard is the author of the Detective Parrott mystery series, Naughty Nana, A Murder of Principal, and Bad Blood Sisters. Her work in progress is the sequel to Bad Blood Sisters.
Quinn’s family always joked about death, but this summer death stopped being funny.
The Research Text
/in Donnell Ann Bell, Author Life, humor/by Donnell Ann BellYears ago, when I worked at the Colorado Springs Business Journal as assistant editor, spotlight writer, proofreader, dishwasher, you get the idea, I shared the print room with my delightful editor and a few crazy people. Delightful and crazy are just two adjectives that come to mind. The word I reserve first and foremost for them all is talented.
Kris Oppermann Stern was the CSBJ’s editor. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to keep in contact with her, whether we toured the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver so I could research Betrayed, stood in the crowded Tattered Cover bookstore waiting to hear New York Times Bestselling Author Daniel Silva, or just hung out at her house binge-watching Twilight. To this day, she remains one of my favorite humans.
Sadly, since I moved away, we don’t do many outings but thank goodness for technology. Our last text was so ridiculous and so much fun, and since it was getting close to my blog date, I asked if I could share. (Please forgive the blurry images I pulled from the text).
Some background. I’m in full research mode for my third book in my series, working title, Irredeemable. Naturally, I was frustrated. Here’s where our texts begin.
Donnell: Are you familiar with Morrison Colorado?
Kris: Red Rocks is about the limit of my knowledge. Why?
DENVER COLORADO: July 21 2012: Red Rocks Amphitheater.Famous Historic Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver Colorado on July 21, 2012.
Denver, Colorado, USA downtown skyline viewed from Red Rocks at dawn.
Donnell: I have an escaped mental patient that needs to get there.
Kris: Excellent … can’t wait to read.
Donnell: I was hoping you might want to take a nice walk 😊
Kris: Love to—sans the escapee.
Donnell: I would take that as a no.
Kris: ??
Me: My sister lives close by. We drove the area I planned to write about. I can’t believe how built up it’s become. There’s nothing but residences around there. Hence, I want him to travel to Morrison because I need him to be in harsher terrain. P.S. I hate writing.
Kris: You do not.
Me: All right. I hate having to get a character from point A to point B when I’m ten hours away!!
Kris: That’s a different story 😊 Will he take a concert goer hostage?
Me: LOL
Kris: Where is the hospital?
Me: It’s fictitious so I’m placing it near 423 on this map. I’ll talk to Audra Bell [my daughter]. She may be able to help me.
Kris: Ah. I suspect (get it) she can.
Me: You’re just a scream today. Okay. Gotta run. Must focus.
End of Text
As I mentioned above, I asked to share. Here are two pictures along with Kris’s impressive bio, along with one silly addition, which is another reason she remains one of my favorite humans. Happy writing!
Bio of Kris Oppermann Stern:
Can I be a Co-Writer?
/in Author Life, How to Write, humor, Ideas, Inspiration, New Release, Novels, Romance/by Bethany MainesA Co-Writer Spills the Beans
Luckless Love started out during COVID when Juel who is my business partner in real life and I took a script writing seminar on how to write a Hallmark movie. We both felt that we could write one, and with too much time on our hands and since we were in each other’s COVID pods, we gathered around a computer and took notes on how to write a Hallmark movie.
What Are Your Co-Writer Goals?
Juel is not particularly interested in being an author. She doesn’t want to do the work of putting words on a page, but she is endlessly interested in stories and structure. As a life-long reader, and marketing expert, she knows that stories are what move the human psyche. So our deal was that she would do the bulk lifting on inventing the plot. I would walk her through how to outline and then I would do the actual writing. But that meant that we had endless discussions on our characters, their motivations and how to get them to fulfill their plot obligations.
I don’t know how other co-authors work together, but with over ten years of experience in working with each other, we managed to make it through the outline with very little disagreement. Having both taken the seminar we both could recognize when we were deviating from the Hallmark pattern. And then we could also agree when we were fine with leaving that path. Hallmark has a lot of constraints about how serious or realistic things can be (don’t mention divorce or cancer!), which is understandable for their brand, but for writing a novel it can feel like the characters are lacking in depth.
Did We Make it the End?
So did we make it through the writing process with our friendship and partnership intact? Absolutely. It was a fantastically distracting project during a time when we very much needed one. It was also fun to take on a challenge that neither of us had done before. The script version achieved a PNWA Literary Contest Finalist ranking and we are quite proud of our little romance novel. We’re looking forward to it’s upcoming release on November 18. Check out the links below if you’re also interested in a sweet romance, all about wine, second chances and finding some place to call home.
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Remember to check out all of the Stiletto Gang’s catalog on our book page! www.thestilettogang.com/books/
Killing it Together
/in Author Life, Book Clubs/by Gay YellenToday, I bring a double treat to the Gang, with S. Lee (Sandy) Manning and J.B. (Jim) Manning, award-winning writers who bill themselves as “A Killing Couple” for a couple of good reasons.
One, they’re married. And two, the award-winning books they write include a few murder victims along the way.
Jim’s books are chock-full of entertaining craziness, while Sandy’s tales are chilling and thrilling.
I am delighted that they agreed to tell us more, in their own words:
We are a couple, but we only kill in our books – hopefully in both senses of the word.
We write thrillers. Not together, at least not so far, because we have very different sensibilities.
Jim writes hilarious action adventures, wild romps with wacky over-the-top characters.
His latest, The Kingdom of Hatch, features a disillusioned attorney who flees the craziness of Manhattan for the peace of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont only to find trouble in paradise. Hilarity ensues.
Sandy writes serious thrillers with troubled characters. Her Kolya Petrov spy series explores themes of betrayal and difficult moral choices, and her latest, Deadly Choice, involves a mother seeking revenge for her daughter’s death.
Though we write separately and in different parts of the house, we share many components of the writing world.
We attend conferences together. We do appearances and book talks together. Neither would think of sending a novel out without the other reading it. We bounce ideas off each other; we read and comment on each other’s work.
Writing has brought us closer together, even as we maintain our distinct styles and spaces.
The emotional component is even more important. Writing can be a lonely and sometimes frustrating pursuit. Since we both experience the ups and the downs, we can understand what the other is going through. We encourage each other when writing or the writing world gets difficult.
Is there jealousy or competition?
Maybe a little. But we’ll live with it. We’ve cheered for each other’s awards—Jim’s debut novel, Richter the Mighty, won the 2023 Silver Falchion for Best Comic Action Novel, and Sandy’s Bloody Soil won the 2023 best genre novel from Independent Publishers of New England—even when both of us were up for an award but didn’t win.
We’ve recently embarked on a new joint venture together.
It’s a YouTube channel called “A Killing Couple on the Prowl,” where we explore interesting, intriguing, or weird people, places, and things, using our backgrounds in journalism. So far, we’ve interviewed sixteen authors at Killer Nashville and at Bouchercon, to get the inside scoop on their different views of the writing experiences. We visited a town in Quebec, Canada and a library that straddles two countries. At a taco restaurant, we enjoyed great food and threw axes. (Actually, Jim threw an axe; Sandy kind of just dropped hers.)
We haven’t gone viral. Yet. Hopefully, we’ll continue to expand our audiences, for our books AND for our videos. In the meantime, we’re having fun together. In the scheme of things, maybe that’s what matters.
So, readers, there you have it: two accomplished writers offering laughs and thrills. Thanks guys, for sitting in on The Stiletto Gang today!
J.B. Manning’s debut novel, Richter The Mighty, won the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Comic Action Novel of 2023. His second novel, The Kingdom of Hatch, launched on September 25, 2024 from Encircle Publications. In prior lives, he was an attorney in New Jersey and New York, a college professor teaching English literature, and a newspaper reporter in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and New Orleans.
S. Lee Manning is the author of the Kolya Petrov international thriller series: Trojan Horse, Nerve Attack, and Bloody Soil. All three were finalists for Silver Falchions. Bloody Soil won best genre novel of 2023 from Independent Publishers of New England. Her stand alone, Deadly Choice, launched in September from Encircle Publications. Formerly, she was an attorney, a high school English teacher, and a magazine editor.
S. Lee and J.B. live in Vermont with their very talky cats, Dmitri and Xiao.
Special Guest – Barbara Barrett
/in Guest Blogger, Uncategorized/by Mary Lee Ashfordby Sparkle Abbey
Today we welcome long-time friend and fellow mystery author, Barbara Barrett to the blog. She is chatting about her latest release, Murder on the Court, which is the second book in her Unscripted Detective series. But first she shares a bit about the television series Parenthood and why she found it to be a great study in character development. Take it away, Barbara…
I watch a lot of television. Even while I’m writing. Bad habit I developed as a teen doing homework. I don’t apologize. I learn a lot from the medium. Recently, I binged Parenthood, which originally aired from 2010-2015. I’m hooked on the Braverman family: the Baby Boomer parents, their four kids and significant others and their offspring. They spoke their minds, sometimes on top of each other; they meddled in each other’s lives; and their love for each other got them through the worst life had to offer.
Fortunately, I was by myself when I watched the finale in the sixth season. It tore me up.
Each character was well-defined and different from the others. Some were likeable. A couple (the father and one of the daughters) I wanted to shake some sense into when they inserted their opinions into the others’ lives. One experienced breast cancer, and her story took me back twenty-two years to my own experience, especially the part about losing her hair.
I’ve been justifying the time spent with this family by telling myself it was an incredible study in character development, which a writer can always use
What have I learned that I can share with you?
This is probably the most powerful lesson learned because it challenges the reader to revise the opinion they’ve already formed about a character. It can be jolting, because we all like our heroes. We don’t like to see them do or say anything negative, but these are the actions and qualities that make them human. And that is the bottom line in character development.
Some characters didn’t even realize they were stepping out of bounds when they assumed they knew best what another character should do. Assumptions were further ramped up when the character doesn’t even realize they were interfering. For the writer, though, situations like this are ripe for exploiting human problems dealing with each other.
Sometimes a character not only assumed they knew best, they acted on that opinion without asking permission or checking with those affected. In these instances, as the reader we know trouble is on the horizon. These situations raise the suspense as we wait for the next shoe to fall.
Just as I was ready to write off a character that didn’t appeal to me, they did something nice, something I didn’t expect. That surprise forced me to reevaluate how I felt about that character. Readers like to pigeonhole characters because that helps understand those characters, and positive actions we weren’t expecting for us to reconsider those pigeonholes.
The husband came home from work early because he wanted to surprise his wife recovering from breast cancer with a gift. But all he succeeded in doing was to throw her off her routine, catching her in her most vulnerable moment when she thought she was alone. So she took offense at the gift and he didn’t understand. He came home early. She wasn’t ready to see him. And out of the best of intentions came conflict. And conflict builds interesting, memorable characters.
Great character insights! And here’s a little bit about Barbara’s background and an overview of Murder on the Court, Barbara’s latest book.
Barbara Barrett writes the Unscripted Detective Mystery series. Murder on the Court, which is out now, is the second book in the series. She has previously written the Nailed It Home Reno Mysteries series (seven books) and the Mah Jongg Mystery series (nine books). She has also published eleven contemporary romance novels and two novellas. Degrees include a BA from the University of Iowa and an MA from Drake University. She previously worked for the State of Iowa HR system. She resides in Iowa and Minnesota. Married, she has two adult children, eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
No good deed goes unpunished, as television star Marla Dane learns the hard way. The recently fired TV detective, trying to figure out her next move at her sister’s Minnesota condo, reluctantly agrees to sub as Water Girl at a weekend pickleball match. Which makes her the first suspect of many when the team captain turns up dead.
Eloise Wallace, owner of a local PR company, will never receive the title Boss of the Year. She’s dragged her staff, her old college roommate, and even her ex-husband and ex-employees onto her pickleball team. No wonder their success on the court is so sad. They all have reasons for wanting her dead, and Marla and former cop Rex Alcorn are enlisted to figure out who poisoned her.
As Marla’s sister Kitty distracts them with a new obsession, pie baking, Marla and Rex find their suspects crusty and evasive. The victim excelled at making everyone around her miserable, so what did the killer have to gain by staying in her life — or ensuring her death? The answer may be more toxic than either of them bargained for.
Murder on the Court is available at
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Thanks for joining us today, Barbara. We loved Murder on the Court and we look forward to reading the next installment and finding out what Marla is up to next!
Clicking Our Heels – Challenges Being a Female Writer
/in Author Life, Clicking Our Heels, Mystery, Racism, Writing and the Arts/by Stiletto GangClicking Our Heels – Challenges Being a Female Writer
Sisters in Crime was founded when Sara Paretsky and other female mystery writers saw a lack of parity between male and female authors. A later advertising slogan claims: “You’ve Come a Long Way Baby.” But let’s look at reality. What has been one of your challenges in being a female mystery writer, and how have you dealt with it?
Donalee Moulton – Ironically, perhaps, the challenge I find we face as female mystery writers is convincing agents and publishers we are not all the same. As writers, we bring our own voice to the conversation and that voice is singular regardless of our gender, our age, our place of residence.
Mary Lee Ashford – One of the challenges with being a female mystery writer (and especially an older female) is that you are constantly dealing with assumptions. I have to say that I think it’s gotten better and organizations like Sisters in Crime have helped. But it’s often still a challenge to be taken seriously.
Anita Carter – Balancing the day job, family, marriage and writing. There are many times I feel pulled in all directions. I’m sure that’s not only indicative of female mystery writers, but probably just writers in general.
Debra Sennefelder – Honestly, I’ve dealt with challenges so many other authors have dealt with like getting an agent, getting an editor to fall in love with my book idea. I kept working hard. I don’t recall a situation where being a female was an added challenge to my pursuit of writing. Thanks to all those who have come before me for that.
Donnell Ann Bell – Because I’m a woman I have a tendency to put other people’s needs before my own. If I am to grow this career, I need to develop a bit of selfishness. Not rudeness or lack of consideration, you understand, but an ability to know my own limits and to realize I can’t help everybody as much as I want to.
Gay Yellen – When my first book was published, a few acquaintances confessed they wouldn’t be reading it because they were only interested in reading non-fiction or “literary” fiction. Their genre prejudice was a shock I soon got over. As for being female, I’m aware of the historic bias of mainstream publishers which made it difficult for women writers to achieve contract parity. Change is slow, but it’s happening, I hope. The antidote is to write the best book I can and, hopefully, earn validation that my work is worthy.
Debra H. Goldstein – Breaking out of being stereotyped in my work.
Lois Winston – Trust me, it was worse being a female romance author, especially when my husband’s male coworkers would ask how I research my sex scenes. (This occurred every year at the company holiday party after they’d downed one too many egg nogs!) Now I worry the FBI will come knocking because I’m researching different ways to kill people. I employed sarcasm to deal with the former, and I keep my fingers crossed to deal with the latter.
T.K. Thorne – Women writers in the genre struggle to get equal recognition, reviews, etc. as documented by groups like Sisters in Crime. When I started writing (several decades ago) I was keenly aware of this, and I think it fed into my decision to write under my initials (T.K).
Dru Ann Love – So far I have not experienced any challenges.
Bethany Maines – I think there are loads of female mystery writers and in general no one even blinks. I think it’s when the genre starts to skew more toward thriller or crime and away from cozy that readers might start to think “those are masculine!” But I think that the rise of indie publishing has sort of stomped down a lot of the genre/gender barriers. It’s one of the great benefits of indie publishing that I don’t think enough people are looking at.
Barbara J. Eikmeier – I’m still working full time so always my biggest challenge is carving out time. Not just for the writing but also the agent search, finding first readers and follow up on so many little things.
Saralyn Richard – Ironically, I detest violence of any sort and faint at the sight of blood, yet I love mysteries. Sometimes my characters put me in uncomfortable situations, and I have to write my way through.