It's National Pancake Day!

Break out the syrup and enjoy!

March 2 - Dr. Seuss Day

"One Fish. Two Fish. Red Fish. Blue Fish." It's Dr. Seuss Day. Happy Reading!

What Snow Days are Good for...

We got socked with another snow storm. I'm a beach girl. I consider it cold if it drops below sixty-five degrees. These storms that dump six to ten inches of snow are too much. Schools and work are closed, so it's a great day to read, write, and edit.

I'm working on the second round of edits for Virginia is for Mysteries. I also sent out some submissions. Now, the JRTs and I are going to enjoy the white stuff from inside next to the fireplace. I'm reading Ellery Adams' Murder in the Mystery Suite. What are you reading?

What I'm Reading...

The snow is on its way. We're supposed to get 6-12 inches by tomorrow. (Anything below 60 degrees is cold to me.) So, it's a perfect afternoon for my Uggs, books, and hot chocolate.

I finished John Grisham's Gray Mountain. I love John Grisham and his books about Virginia.

This one is about a lawyer who loses her fancy NY job during the Great Recession. When dismissed, she's offered a chance to do pro bono work for a charity with the hope of returning to her job in a year or so. Samantha finds that landing a volunteer job isn't that easy either, and she eventually ends up with a legal aide clinic in Appalachia. The work is hard, and she meets the quirky people of Brady, Virginia.

She works as an unpaid intern at the all-female firm. She's introduced to coal life and all its hazards. She also meets her boss' sexy and dangerous nephews.

The story and setting are great. The crimes are atrocious, and the people are suffering.

My only fault is with some of the characters. They're a little flat, and there were a couple of the main ones that I really didn't care about. Usually, I'm cheering for his main characters, and I want them to win.

Despite a couple of the characters,  Gray Mountain is a good story, and it's worth adding to your winter reading list.

What I Learned from Mary Burton's Writing Process

The Virginia Romance Writers recently invited our SinC-CV group to attend their February meeting to hear Mary Burton's presentation on writing. Here's what I learned...

1. Write your first draft and finish it. You can edit at another stage.

2. Set daily page or word count goals. You will stay on track if you have deadlines.

3. When you start to edit, check the last word of each sentence to make sure that it's strong.

4. Create a list of overused or weak words. When you're editing, go through and search for each one. Get rid of the dead weight.

5. If you're bored with your manuscript, your reader will be too.

6. Pay attention to your work's setting. Know your location. GoogleMaps can help.

7. Know where your work fits in with the market and be able to explain it. But don't write to the market.

8. Make sure that you have escalating conflict.

9. Don't make your heroes and villains flat. They need to be well rounded and interesting.

What Makes Our Critique Group Work

I love my critique group. I learn as much from the discussion of others' works as I do from when they review mine. Our background, genders, age groups, and life experiences are varied, and that's an asset because of the breadth of knowledge. The group shares resources, reads, and provides reviews for published works.

Here's Why Our Group Works...

1. No one knew each other before we started the group, and there were no predetermined alliances.

2. We set the rules/procedures up front, and we review them to see if they need to change.

3. We have one standing facilitator and a backup if she can't attend.

4. Participants don't have to provide materials for each review at each meeting. It's up to the submitter to determine when he/she has items to review. I don't submit every month, but it keeps me motivated and provides deadlines for writing.

5. The comments/feedback aren't personal. We all have a common goal to get our work published, and we want to make our manuscripts as strong as possible.

6. We mark typos, punctuation, and grammar issues, but we don't spend the group's discussion time dwelling on these types of issues.

7. In the discussion, if more than one person agrees or disagrees with a comment, we pipe up when it's mentioned instead of repeating the same things over and over.

8. We commit to reading and providing feedback each month as part of the group. It takes time, but it is worth it.

I have learned a lot from this group. If you are serious about writing, you need a good, strong writing partner or critique group.

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend...

The City of Virginia Beach is going to tear down the Kempsville Recreation Center in order to build a new one. I'm all for progress, but it's a little bittersweet. It's like losing an old friend.

In the fourth grade, my mom signed my sister and me up for swim lessons in the almost Olympic-sized pool. A tornado or straight winds came through and ripped the roof off of the pool. We had to have swim lessons in a neighborhood pool while they were repairing the REC. Everyone was excited about the new center, but the pool was out of commission for a while.

I also landed my first part-time job there in November of 1983. I was a tenth grader and the new part-time receptionist on Saturdays, Sundays, and Monday evenings. My first Saturday was during one of the Santa's Stocking craft shows. It was chaos, but I wouldn't have traded it for the world.

It was the best job ever. Don't tell Parks and Recreation. I would have done the job for free. Every teenaged boy came there to play soccer, basketball, and racquetball, and we had a skateboard ramp in the summers. I kept that part-time job through high school and college. I also added extra hours by working in the Teen Lounge and the ID Office.

I learned a lot of life and work lessons there. The staff was great. I honed my customer service skills because on weekends we were one of the only city offices open, and we got a lot of strange phone calls.

I also met a lot of characters and had adventures there. And that's always great fodder for a mystery writer!

This is me in my staff golf shirt at the 10th Anniversary Party.

Upcoming Events...

Sisters in Crime - Central Virginia are guests of the Virginia Romance Writers for their February 14 program. Come and hear Mary Burton's presentation, "Writing Your Novel One Draft at a Time." The event is at Gayton Library in Henrico, and starts at 10 AM. There is a "Dutch Treat" lunch and an afternoon workshop.

I will also be doing a reading and book signing with the Sisters in Crime - CV at Chop Suey Books in Richmond, Virginia on Friday, February 20 from 6:30 - 7:30. Come by and see Maggie King, Fiona Quinn, Mary Burton, and me.

Mary Burton

Fionna Quinn

Heather Weidner and Maggie King