Mysteries with a Southern Accent
Crazy for Words is mystery author, Heather Weidner's blog on writing, reading, and anything that catches her interest.
The second book in the Mutt Mysteries series launches today. Check it out at your favorite book retailer.
This is a collection of dog-themed, cozy mysteries by Jayne Ormerod, Rosemary Shomaker, Teresa Inge, and me.
My story is “The Fast and the Furriest.” It’s about a love triangle gone bad at a local race track in Amelia County, VA. Cassidy Green and the her Director of Security, Rottweiler Oliver need to solve the case before it sends her business in a tail spin.
I’d like to welcome Mutt Mystery author, Teresa Inge, to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.
A few of your favorite things: Sweet tea, my dogs, husband, children, and writing!
Things you need to throw out: Clothes in my closet! I have too many.
Things you need for your writing sessions: Laptop.
Things that hamper your writing: Not much. I write in my car during lunch. I write in our RV when we travel. I write in our classic cars as my husband drives. I write on our back-deck. By the pool and with my dogs Luke and Lena by my side.
Things you love about writing: Creating memorable characters and settings. I love writing about the Outer banks (OBX) in my stories.
Things you hate about writing: Editing. Editing, Editing. But practice makes perfect so it’s a necessity.
Hardest thing about being a writer: Finding time to write.
Easiest thing about being a writer: Nothing. It’s challenging but well worth it.
Words that describe you: Hard worker. Loyal. Trusting.
The coolest person you’ve ever met: My husband, AJ.
The nicest thing a reader said to you: I love your books and can’t wait to read the next one.
Favorite books (or genre): Cozy mysteries. Since becoming an author, I now read my fellow author’s books.
About Teresa:
Teresa Inge grew up reading Nancy Drew mysteries. Combining her love of reading mysteries and
writing professional articles led to writing short fiction and novellas.
Today, she doesn't carry a rod like her idol but she hot rods. She juggles assisting two busy executives and is the president of the Sisters in Crime, Mystery by the Sea chapter. Teresa is the author of the Virginia is for Mysteries Series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Mutt Mysteries Series.
Visit Teresa at her website: www.teresainge.com
There is no other feeling like typing, “The End.” You have worked and worked on your manuscript, and now you’re done. Take a break and celebrate.
Now the work for the next phase begins. You need to polish and revise this to make it the best that it can be. If you’re going to query it to agents and publishers, you only get one shot.
Go through your manuscript and remove all unnecessary or overused words. Use the find/replace feature. (Mine are “that,” “just,” and “a few minutes.”)
Reread your manuscript and make sure the plot flows and the events move your story forward.
Make sure that your main character is likeable and human. They shouldn’t be perfect. If they are, then, there’s not that much conflict. (Make sure that your reader knows who the story is about. You don’t want confusion.)
Create a document that summarizes what happens in each chapter. This will help you see plot holes. (You’ll also need it later as an outline for a synopsis.)
Make sure that you didn’t leave any minor story lines hanging. Readers will want to know what happened to something earlier in the story.
Find a critique group, beta readers, or a writing partner to read your whole manuscript and provide you with feedback. (Parents, friends, and spouses are great for feedback, but you need someone who is going to tell you about the good, the bad, and the ugly.)
Look over your feedback and make revisions. Sometimes, this means rewrites.
Print a copy and check for typos, misspellings, and any other inconsistency. (I probably do this three or four times before the book is ready to send to an editor or agent.)
I hire an editor to go through what I think is my final version. Then I go back and make the changes and proofread the book again.
Then take a few minutes to celebrate all the effort that it took to get your book ready. Now, it’s time to think about marketing and promotion.
Literary agent, Paige Wheeler of Creative Media Agency, spoke to my Sisters in Crime - Central Virginia chapter recently about mysteries. Here’s what I learned from her presentation:
Publishing is a business
Publishing is all about the sales numbers
Print is still alive and well
Write your passion
Know your readers
Your book needs to be excellent
Your writing needs to be fresh and unique
Your work needs to stand out
You need a unique marketing hook for your book
Discoverability is important
Authors need to be nimble and adjust to the tastes of the time
Your query letter needs to spark interest
Don’t be too wordy in your query letter
Your sample pages are important
Show how your character is transformed
Focus on the whole story in your query
Your query letter content is not back cover text
Writing is primarily a solitary business, and a bad day, the grumpies, a negative review, or someone’s snarky comment can easily send you to a demotivated state. If you want to be a published author, you need to persevere. Writing and publishing are work. You need to keep at it. Here are some ideas that can help you get going .
Look at the feedback/criticism. Learn from it, but don’t dwell on it.
Keep control of that voice in your head. Be aware of your self-talk. You don’t need to make things worse by fixating on them.
Take a break and do something else for a while. Physical activity will clear your mind and get your endorphins going.
Do something else that’s creative (e.g. paint, draw, knit, sew…). It will boost your energy.
Be grateful. Count your blessings. You’ll be surprised at the list of positive things in your life.
Volunteer or help someone else. You’ll often find that your troubles aren’t as challenging as what others are facing. And you are often able to make a difference in someone’s life.
Writing is work, and it’s a long process. There is a lot of waiting (e.g. on queries, responses, contracts, edits…). You need to stay busy during the down times. Write your next book.
When something happens that you don’t like, take a minute to cry, scream, yell, or eat chocolate. Get it out of your system and move on. You’ve got things to do. Don’t waste precious time wallowing in self-pity.
I’d like to welcome LeAnna Shields, author and mystery podcaster, to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.
Favorite things to do: Writing, podcasting, and watching old movies
Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Being on
Survivor.
Things to say to an author: I loved your book. How did you figure out that great character.
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Oh if only I didn’t have a real job than I’d sit around and write like you.
Things you always put in your books: hopefully a good mystery
Things you never put in your books: swear words
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: wasps or anything that stings or
has more than four legs.
Things you’d walk a mile for: I’d walk a mile for some great chocolate or a great coffee
drink.
Favorite beverage: Iced coffee or Chai lattes
Something that gives you a sour face: Macha (sp) Tea it tastes like grass (not that I’ve eaten grass)
Music that drives you crazy: I can’t stand hard rock music.
Favorite music or song: I’m a huge fan of pop violin music right now my favorite song is
Dreamer by Black Violins
Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Fearful, shy, and plus-size
Words that describe you: Creative, fun, loyal, and introverted
Things you wish you’d never bought: Oh so many, but if I had to peg it down I’d say a
paint set I don’t think I’ll find the time to use.
Things you ever want to run out of: Chocolate Milk and iced coffee
Easiest thing about being a writer: Easiest thing about being a writer is (for
me at least) creating the character. They just seem to find the back door of my
imagination and come on in. Lol.
Hardest thing about being a writer: The hardest thing about being a writer is finding the
right words.
Things that hamper your writing: a comfy place, a good movie, and figuring out my podcast
Things you need for your writing sessions: Music, coffee, and a comfy place
Things you need to throw out: Bathroom scale, jeans, and clocks
Most embarrassing moment: My aunt was teaching me to drive using her golf cart and I drove it into her neighbor’s front yard, right over their Christmas decorations. Thank goodness it wasn’t a
nativity scene, or I’d still be hearing about it.
Proudest moment: My proudest moment was when I published my first book.
You can visit LeAnna at her website and find her books, Sparx of Suspicion and The Art of
Facts on Amazon.
Her podcast, The Cozy Sleuth, is available on Anchor.com or wherever your readers find their podcasts.
I attended a cyber security discussion this week, and these are good reminders for anyone who is on the internet. Cybercrime is a real threat to everyone. (Thanks, Peter for the great presentation!)
Just like physical security, if you see something odd, say something.
Hackers look for easy routes to attack or access your system. Don’t be an easy target.
When you buy devices that connect to your home internet, make sure you change the password from the manufacturer’s settings. (This means cameras, routers, and other smart devices. These can also be hacked.)
Phones are easy targets for hackers. Make sure yours is secure. Be careful of public wifi.
Change your password frequently. Don’t use the same password for all of your sites.
People post a lot of personal information on social media sites. Don’t use your street name or pets’ names for passwords. Those passwords are easier to guess from the information you post on social media..
Passphrases are harder to guess. These are longer phrases or sentences that have meaning to you.
Everyone has a lot of passwords to remember. Don’t write them down. Use a password locker like KeePass or Password Safe to store them securely.
Don’t click on links you don’t recognize.
Never give out personal information unless you’re on a secure site (https).
Make sure you install updates and patches on your devices regularly. Many of these fix security issues.
Pay attention to details. Check your bank and credit card statements. Follow up if there are unknown charges (especially small ones).
Here are some terms that everyone needs to be aware of:
phishing - This is when someone sends an email, designed to look like one from a specific person or company to trick users into providing personal or financial information.
spear phishing - This is when a phishing campaign is targeted at specific people.
vishing - This is when someone calls or leaves voicemail messages that appears to come from a reputable company. The idea is to trick the person into revealing personal or financial information.
SMishing - This is the practice of sending text messages with the intent of tricking the receiver into providing personal or financial information. (It gets its name from SMS Short Message Service [texting]).
juice jackng - This is when a public charging station is contaminated with malware or viruses that infect the unsuspecting user.
It’s a big, crazy world out there. Be careful and be aware.
Tributes this week to the late Kirk Douglas reminded me of a bunch of movies that I haven’t seen in a while. Then that reminded me about movies about writers and reporters and writing. And of course, I started making a list. How many of these have you seen?
A Man for All Seasons
A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man
Absence of Malice
Adaptation
All The President’s Men
Almost Famous
American Splendor
As Good as it Gets
Barton Fink
Becoming Jane
Bright Star
Broadcast News
Capote
Citizen Kane
Dead Poets’ Society
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Finding Forrester
Finding Neverland
Funny Farm
The Ghostwriter
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Henry and June
Her
His Girl Friday
Iris
Julia
Julie and Julia
Kafka
Kill Your Darlings
Manhattan
Midnight in Paris
Miss Potter
The Motorcycle Diaries
Moulin Rouge
My Left Foot
Naked Lunch
The Royal Tenenbaums
Saving Mr. Banks
Shadowlands
Shakespeare in Love
The Shining
Sleuth
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Stand by me
Sunset Boulevard
Sylvia
Throw Mamma from the Train
Wilde
Wonder Boys
The World According to Garp
What else would you add to the list?
Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather Weidner has been a mystery fan since Scooby Doo and Nancy Drew. She currently lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.
Heather writes the Delanie Fitzgerald mystery series for readers who like humorous mysteries with a strong, female sleuth.
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