Tag Archive for: Shari Randall

Our Special Guest Grace Topping on Identity Crisis

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Today we have a very special guest, Grace Topping. Grace is the debut author of Staging Is Murder  from Henery Press and she has some interesting things to say about identity. Welcome to Stiletto Gang, Grace! — Shari Randall


Identity Crisis
by Grace Topping
If someone were to ask me how I would identify myself, I wouldn’t know how to respond. I’ve had so many identities, and over my lifetime, they’ve changed so much and so fast just thinking about them makes my head spin. My response would have to be based on who was asking and the circumstances surrounding the question. Just who am I?
            Our identities start out so simply. I was a daughter, sister, grandchild, niece, etc. When I got older, I became identified by the grade I was in, the religion I practiced, the area of town I lived in. Then as life became more complex, things such as nationality, race, age group, career category, marital status, and political affiliation further identified me. The list kept getting longer. If I were to make a list of all the ways I could be identified, I would run out of paper. It also made me think of those identities I would like to add such as award-winner, bestseller, and millionaire. Why not have fun with it.
            Several things happened recently to make me think about my identities—the ones I could control and those I couldn’t. You may ask how you could have an identity you couldn’t control. Lose your parents and you become an orphan. Break the law and you become a convict. Lose your job, you become unemployed. Forced changes in identity. 
            An identity crisis I experienced recently started with my becoming a mystery writer. I became very self-conscious, worried that people would think I identified with my main character. In fact, several early reviewers asked me, “Is this you?” As a result I described my main character totally the opposite of me. She’s tall. I’m short. She’s trim and fit. I’m not so much. She’s young. I’ll leave it at that. Perhaps she became my alter ego.
            A second thing happened. Someone cloned me on Facebook—took my identity and created another Facebook page and then started sending out friend requests from this other me. This was far worse than reading about the theory of parallel universes or a mirror image of this universe, where there could be another being identical to me. At the least the other me in a different universe wouldn’t be close enough to affect my Facebook status or things like my bank account.
            The third thing related to identity happened when I gathered the paperwork needed to apply for a Real ID-compliant license. Sometime in the near future, travelers will be required to have a Real ID to be able to board a domestic flight (unless you want to carry your passport with you for travel within the U.S.). To apply for a Real ID in Virginia, I needed a passport or birth certificate, Social Security card, and two proofs of residence (utility bill, bank statement, etc.). Something official to prove I live where I say I live. I discovered that all of the utility bills only showed my husband’s name. Where was I in this picture? I suddenly felt sorry for the people who would have a hard time proving their identities.
            So how would you identify yourself? This week, I’m claiming mystery writer.
Grace Topping is the author of STAGING IS MURDER, published by Henery Press. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter or at www.gracetopping.com.
Bio
Grace Topping is a recovering technical writer and IT project manager, accustomed to writing lean, boring documents. Let loose to write fiction, she is now creating murder mysteries and killing off characters who remind her of some of the people she dealt with during her career. Fictional revenge is sweet. She’s using her experience helping friends stage their homes as inspiration for her Laura Bishop mystery series. The first book in the series, Staging is Murder, is about a woman starting a new career midlife as a home stager. Grace is the current vice president of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and a member of the SINC Guppies and Mystery Writers of America. She lives with her husband in Northern Virginia.
About Staging is Murder
Laura Bishop just nabbed her first decorating commission—staging for sale a 19thcentury mansion that hasn’t been updated for decades. But when a body falls from a laundry chute and lands at Laura’s feet, removing flowered wallpaper becomes the least of her duties. To clear her young assistant of the murder and save her fledgling business, Laura’s determined to find the killer. Turns out it’s not as easy as renovating a manor home, especially with two handsome men complicating her mission: the police detective assigned to the case and the real estate agent trying to save the manse from foreclosure. Worse still, the meddling of a horoscope-guided friend, a determined grandmother, and the local funeral director could get them all killed before Laura props the first pillow.

The American Library Association Conference AKA Book Heaven

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by Shari Randall

You may know me as the author of the Lobster Shack Mystery series, but this week I get to wear another hat, that of Library Liaison for Sisters in Crime.

Part of the Library Liaison gig is organizing the Sisters in Crime booth for the American Library Association’s convention in Washington, DC June 21-24. After years working in children’s services at a public library in Virginia, it will feel good to be back in the library world, even if it’s only for a weekend.

Never been to ALA? It’s book heaven. The ALA Conference is a souk of ideas, connections, and fun. Dozens of authors will appear on panels and sign books. There’s a Cooking Stage to celebrate cookbooks with live demonstrations. Speakers! This year the speakers include Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor, award winning children’s author Jason Reynolds, tv talk show star Hoda Kotb, comedian Mo Rocca, graphic novel legend Frank Miller, publishing sensation Tomi Adeyemi, and Star Trek icon George Takei. Talk about something for everyone!

The Exhibit Hall, with hundreds of booths and displays by publishers and other businesses related to libraries, is just as exciting as the speakers. Because librarians are taste makers and influencers, publishers entice them with heaps of swag and give away advance readers copies of books they hope will become best sellers  – stacks of them. Because wheeled carts have been banned from the hall, librarians struggle to get all the free books home – you’ll see them weighed down by bulging tote bags, but smiling through. All those books are a nice problem to have.

But the thing I’m most excited about is the chance to tell librarians, publishers, and readers about Sisters in Crime. Sisters in Crime is a world-wide organization devoted to promoting the advancement, recognition, and professional development of women crime writers.

And we love libraries! Tell your librarian friends to stop by the SINC Booth 1353. We’re doing a giveaway called It’s Raining Books. The library that wins the giveaway will receive a shower of books from over 100 authors – best sellers, award winners, mysteries, thrillers, romantic suspense. The best part? As any librarian who has hauled home all those ARCS can attest, the only downside of ALA is getting all the books home. Well, Sisters in Crime will ship the shower of books to the winning library. #freeshipping

We also offer the Doris Ann Norris We Love Libraries grant. SINC gives a $1,000 grant to one library per month. You can find out more here.
See you at the conference!

Clicking Our Heels – Reliving a Moment or Time from Our Pasts

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Clicking Our Heels – Reliving a Moment or Time from Our Pasts

Although we often talk about recent things in our lives and
writing, the Stiletto Gang members recently contemplated what one moment or
time in our lives we would want to relive.
Judy Penz Sheluk – I’d love to go back to high
school, knowing what I know now, and knowing that all kids probably felt as
lost and nerdy as I did. And I’d write stories down, instead of keeping them in
my head for 30 years.

Dru Ann Love – My first day at college – it was so unreal
and new to me. I was the first in my family to go to college so it was a big
deal. Meeting different people from all socio-economic status and this from a
shy person. The very first person I met at college is still my friend today, in
fact I just met up with her before a book signing I was attending.


Linda Rodriguez – The years when my
children were very small. That time of babies and toddlers and preschoolers
goes by so fast, even though at the time, it felt like it was taking forever.

 Shari Randall – Putting aside big, important emotional
moments like weddings and the births of my children, I think I’d like to go
back and relive a research trip I took to the Boston Ballet. I toured their facility
from top to bottom, seeing things only the dancers get to see – the dance
library, the costume shop, the shoe room. Then I was invited to sit in during
company class – an hour long workout with dancers people pay to see, except
they were doing a private performance just for me. Magic. It was the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

Kay Kendall – I would like to be 20-something
and spend time with each of my four grandparents and my father. I would
ask them all the questions about their lives that I have now that I am older
that I didn’t think to ask them back in the day.
Bethany
Maines – There are a few moments in time
that I feel like I botched and wish I could do over, but to just relive them as
they happened?  I’m not so sure I would want to do that.  I think I’d
rather concentrate on making the coming moments great.
Lynn
McPherson
– I spent a lot of time travelling
solo when I was younger. I’d probably go back to that time to do and see even
more. Thailand, Indonesia, and London were some of my favorites.


Cathy Perkins – Sure there are a few oops when I’d like a “do-over,” but if I could go back and relive a time, it would be spending a day with my mother. Even better, if I could teleport her into the future, I’d introduce her to the wonderful men my daughters married that she never got me meet. But I really think we’d sit by the river and simply enjoy the moment. 
J.A.
Phillippe –
Oh man — when I was 21, my family went on
vacation to Hawaii for a family friend’s wedding. It was sort of the last time
we would all be together like that as my brother would pass away later that
year unexpectedly. I’d love to go back and relive and enjoy it even more.
Julie Mulhern – There are a few moments of absolute
happiness that would be fun to revisit. The call from my agent telling me about
multiple offers for The Deep End comes to mind.
T.K. Thorne – Galloping my horse up a hillside, sharing
his power and simple joy of running.
Debra H. Goldstein – Selfishly, I’d love to relive every moment
of my life – good or bad because I feel like it is passing too quickly. That’s
why, I’d go back to a day when I was sent outside to play for an hour before I could
come in and read again. It was the longest hour of my life, but now I would
enjoy time taking that long to pass.

Five Things I Learned at Citizens Police Academy

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by Shari Randall

For the past three months, I’ve been taking a Citizens Police Academy course in a neighboring town. Once a week for ten weeks, officers have met with our class to explain a different aspect of their work. It’s been a fascinating peek behind the badge.
Of course, as a writer, I wanted to learn about police procedure so I can depict it accurately in my books. But as a citizen, I also wanted to see how police do what they do. We see so much on the news – with every newscast there is Monday morning quarterbacking about what police do and how they do it. Sometimes police deserve their bad press. But I know that news is “Man bites dog” and not “Dog bites man” — most of the time, police serve their communities admirably and newscasts show us the exceptions.
 The classes have been eye-opening and many of my preconceived notions went out the window.
1.    The first thing I learned? My major assumption about police training was wrong. I’d assumed that all police are trained according to a national standard but I learned that every state trains officers differently. In Connecticut, officers go through an intense training program at the Police Academy before they can start working, and then only under the direct supervision of a veteran police officer. They have ongoing training to keep their skills sharp.  One of the most sobering things I learned was that some states offer minimal training for their officers before they are handed a badge and a gun.
2.    Police, especially school resource officers, feel the same way about social media that parents do – it’s too much, at too impressionable an age. In our session about juvenile crime, I learned that lots of bullying takes place through social media apps. The calculator on your kid’s phone may be an app commonly called a “nudie locker,” where young people stash photos they don’t want you to see.
3.    One assumption that was correct? K9s are incredible. We watched a K9 go through his paces and I was amazed not only at his abilities, but also at the strong relationship he had with his officer. Police prize the hard working dogs for all they can do – searching for drugs, missing persons, explosives – plus their usefulness in apprehending criminals.
4.    Police chafe at the depiction of their work on television. Mention the “forensics” on shows like NCIS and they roll their eyes. Good police work takes time and most labs are backed up to an alarming rate. 
5.    Police officers have to be good communicators. One concern for the police is that new recruits are from a generation that would rather look at their phones than talk with other people – they have a steep learning curve in working with the public. 
A few weeks of classes and I’ve only skimmed the surface of what the officers in my community do. I have more questions, but now I feel that I have a better grasp of what officers face every day.
Have you ever taken a citizens police class?

A Pre-Malice Domestic QUIZ!

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by Paula Gail Benson

At the end of this week, many of us will gather in Bethesda, Maryland, to celebrate the best of the traditional mystery. It will be a homecoming, family reunion, and all round party blast–wonderful in the anticipating and attending, yet over far too soon.

Let’s get the party started early with this quiz. Can you match the following words (from their stories or novels) with the authors in the Best Short Story and Best First Novel categories? Answers at the end!

1. Harvard

2. Speed Dating

3. Mermaid

4. San Juan Hotel

5. Teen-aged Brother

6. Syllabus

7. Homeless Person

8. Mission

9. A Royal Blue Gown

10. Nancy Drew

A. Art Taylor
B. Shari Randall

C. Tara Laskowski
D. Keenan Powell
E. Barb Goffman
F. Aimee Hix
G. Susanna Calkins
H. Edwin Hill

I. Leslie Budewitz

J. Dianne Freeman

Answers: 1. H.– 2. E. — 3. B. — 4. G. — 5. F. — 6. A. — 7. D. — 8. I. — 9. J. — 10. C.

National Poetry Month

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By Shari Randall
Spring arrives slowly in New England, with frustrating fits and starts. There are usually a few unnaturally warm days in March when the optimistic splash through the melting snow in shorts and t-shirts. April’s saturated sunlight has me wondering if it’s time to put away the wool sweaters and bring out the cotton sweaters, pack away the grays and navy blues and bring out the pink and yellow. I’ve been fooled before.
Then Nature reminds us who’s in charge and it snows.
Still, the blue crocus push up through the dark earth and the forsythia isn’t far behind.
The forsythia always brings to mind these lines of poetry from
William Wordsworth’s “Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood”:
What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind.
Does the change in season bring to mind any favorite poetry? April is National Poetry Month. Feel free to share a bit of your favorite poem in the comments. Happy spring!

Book Review: A Different Kind of Fire by Suanne Schaefer

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by Shari Randall

My preferred genre to read is mystery but occasionally I branch out, usually into historical fiction. I especially enjoy novels about women breaking barriers and finding their voice. Gilded Age stories and stories of artists are also my go to’s, so debut novelist Suanne Schaefer’s A Different Kind of Fire was right up my alley.
Schaefer’s passionate tale of love, art, and first wave feminism centers on Ruby Schmidt, a talented artist who leaves her family and fiancé, Bismarck in Truly, Texas, to attend art school in Philadelphia in 1891. Despite her obvious talent, Ruby struggles against the restrictions placed on women, not just by society but also by her art school. She finds solace in the bohemian world of her fellow artists, and begins a lifelong love affair with Willow, daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia family. 
When Willow’s family discovers the affair, Ruby is left destitute on the streets of Philadelphia. She becomes pregnant by a volatile Italian artist and marries him, but when he leaves her, she is forced to return to West Texas, to face those she left behind.

Ruby is a gutsy heroine – headstrong, determined, driven to pursue her art but longing to reconcile her love for art, love for her family, passion for Bismarck, and her longing for Willow – the “different kinds of fire” of the title.
The love scenes are erotic and explicit. Schaefer’s thorough research into and knowledge the art world of Gilded Age Philadelphia provides fascinating context, and her love of her West Texas roots is evident. 
Ruby’s struggle to reconcile her passions – for art, for those she loves – made for an enthralling read. 
I’m already looking forward to Schaefer’s next book, Hunting the Devil, about a biracial American physician who gets caught up in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. 

You can learn more about Suanne at her website, The Art of Words.

Halloween in February? Reading Out of Season

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by Shari Randall

Back when I worked as a children’s librarian, there was a little boy named Jamie who loved to read Halloween books – no matter the season.  And when I say Halloween books, I don’t mean just scary books. He liked books set on the holiday itself. He loved Halloween.
So what did he check out when his family gathered books for a trip to the beach? Halloween books.
When his family picked up books to read over spring break? Halloween books.
Christmas break? Halloween books.
I myself tend to save holiday reading for the holidays. It feels funny to take a A Christmas Carol to the beach.
I set my latest mystery, DRAWN AND BUTTERED, at Halloween. I have to give it to Jamie – there’s something so enticing about Halloween, all the excitement, the thinning-veil-between-the-world-of-the-living-and-the-dead, the masquerades. The nights are longer and the dark itself is heavy with excitement and deception – perfect for a mystery.
But my publisher is releasing DRAWN AND BUTTERED on February 26. They know what they are doing and I put my trust in them but I can’t help thinking, Halloween in February?
So what do you think, Dear Readers? Do you read Halloween books all year round? Was Jamie onto something? Let me know in the comments.
Shari Randall is the author of the Lobster Shack Mystery series from St. Martin’s Press. She loves lobster, but may be a teensy bit allergic to it.

Bad Poetry for the Holidays!

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Writing in a Mystery Wonderland
by Shari Randall



In the spirit of the holidays I thought I’d share this poem I wrote last year for Writers Who Kill. Twas the week before Christmas and all through my house, I was tearing my hair out trying to finish a Christmas novella. (sorry!) I was knee deep in a new story and after a night tossing and turning and trying out different plot twists, my mind turned to one of my favorite Christmas songs….and this happened.

To the tune of “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”

with apologies to Felix Bertand and Richard B. Smith


Slay-bells ring! Are you listening?
In the lane, blood is glistening.
A criminal sight, we’re sleuthing tonight
Writing in a mystery wonderland.


Gone away is the body,
Here to stay is the bobby
As we start the chase
To solve a tough case
Writing in a mystery wonderland.


In the story we will solve a murder
And pretend that we are Sheriff Brown.
They’ll say “Are you guilty?” We’ll say “No, man!”
But you can arrest my evil twin when you’re in town.


Later on, we’ll conspire
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid
The plot that we made
Writing in a mystery wonderland!


  Wishing you all the joys of the season!
Shari Randall is the author of the Lobster Shack Mysteries from St. Martin’s Press.

Biltmore Estate Bucket List

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By Shari Randall
I love it when I can scratch an item off my bucket list.


Last week we rendezvoused with Older Daughter in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville is a great town with lots to see and terrific restaurants plus Battery Park, a used bookstore that also has a champagne bar! I could have stayed there for days but Biltmore beckoned.

Biltmore House, built by the Vanderbilt family, is our own American castle. The building, which has over four acres of floor space, includes 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, and a few gargoyles. It is as magnificent as I imagined.

A sweeping drive led to the entry, guarded by two stone lions, decked out with wreaths and big red bows for the holidays. Yes, it’s before Thanksgiving, but Biltmore was resplendent with bows, greenery, and lights, which made it even more enchanting.

What I didn’t expect was to be so captured by the landscape. It was designed by Frederic Law Olmstead, who planned Central Park. Even though the leaves were fading, every path seemed to lead to a view that framed the distant mountains or valleys.

Plus, our tour included entry to the greenhouses, which burst with orchids, poinsettias, and other exotic plants.

Never been to Biltmore? You may have seen part of the estate in a film – some of the movies that have used the estate for background are The Last of the Mohegans, Forrest Gump, Patch Adams, and perhaps most appropriately, Richie Rich.

A one-day visit was not enough. I hope to go back to see this magnificent house – and its magnificent gardens – when the landscape is in bloom. New bucket list item: Biltmore in the spring.

Have you scratched an item from your bucket list lately?

Shari Randall is the author of the Lobster Shack Mystery series from St. Martin’s Press. Book Three, Drawn and Buttered, is now available for preorder.