#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Marilyn Levinson (Allison Brook)

I’d like to welcome Marilyn Levinson/Allison Brook to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday. I am having so much fun reading her Haunted Library series.

A few of your favorite things: my books—read and unread, chocolate bark, mystery series in any format, dining out, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, visiting other countries

Things you need to throw out: Clothing I haven't worn in three years, linens I no longer use, kitchen utensils I no longer use

Things you need for your writing sessions: My computer, of course; my movable bumpy footrest, good lighting, silence

Things that hamper your writing: The zing of an incoming email, noise.

Things you love about writing: Typing away when it flows; finishing the book; getting emails and messages that someone's just read one of my books and loved it, communicating with my fellow writers and with readers.

Things you hate about writing: When the words don't flow

Hardest thing about being a writer: Your work is never done—there's always another book, more promotion to work on

Easiest thing about being a writer: Your workplace is in your home. Your world involving your Work In Progress; communicating with readers and other writers; your agent and publisher; and information and research are all at your fingertips.

Things you never want to run out of: ideas, books, British mystery shows, book contracts

Things you wish you’d never bought: a George Foreman rotisserie, a very large and complicated Cuisinart Food Processor

Favorite foods: pasta, Indian food, ice cream, honeyed nuts, cheese

Things that make you want to gag: drinking milk

Favorite beverage: white wine

Something that gives you a sour face: lemonade without sugar

Something you’re really good at: knitting, Sudoku, teaching

Something you’re really bad at: using crutches, adding things to my website

Things you always put in your books: relationships, secrets

Things you never put in your books: erotica, death of a child

Favorite places you’ve been: South of France, Machu Picchu, Paris, England

Places you never want to go to again: some small islands in the Caribbean

Favorite books (or genre): mysteries, good literature

Books you wouldn’t buy: erotica,

Things that make you happy: Seeing my grandchildren, getting good reviews, watching a good movie

Things that drive you crazy: parents who let their children run wild in public; unnecessary horn blowing

About Marilyn:

"I was a bookworm from the moment I learned how to read. I devoured Nancy Drews, Judy Boltons, and Trixie Beldons – sometimes two books in one day. Was it any wonder I ended up writing mysteries?

Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, I dreamed of becoming a ballerina or a writer. I practiced my pirouettes and penned short stories. My family moved to Long Island, where I continued to write stories until I was discouraged by a high school English teacher. Turned off to writing, I continued to read voraciously in college and concentrated on my major, Spanish. I studied in Mexico and Spain, intent on becoming fluent in the language. I taught high school Spanish, married my dentist husband, and we started a family. When our two sons were small, I found myself drawn back to writing fiction.

A writer is a writer forever. We may have more than our share of disappointments, but the rewards are many – knowing you bring joy to readers; sharing the camaraderie and support of your fellow scribes. Writing is a way of life, one I wouldn’t relinquish for anything."

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Help Marilyn celebrate her new book at her Facebook Party on September 10 from 7-10 PM EDT.

Counteracting Disappointments - Tips for Writers

Disappointment often dots the landscape of your writing journey. Rejections, unfavorable reviews, and long periods of waiting are just a few bumps that writers encounter. Here are some ideas to help you navigate and turn disappointments into something more productive.

A Harsh Critique - It takes a lot of courage to share your work with others. If you have a good critique group or partner, they will give you honest feedback. Take a day or two to get past the angry or hurt emotions, and then look at the comments. What can you improve? The goal is to make your book the best it can be. When you query it with agents or publishers or release it to the world for sale, you’ll be competing for attention with all the other books.

Rejection - The writing life is full of rejection. Look at all the stories from famous authors who have received hundreds of rejections. Prepare before you start querying. You often only have one shot. Make sure your manuscript is as polished as it can be. Work on your query. Make sure that you target agents or publishers who are open to submissions and who represent your genre. Do your homework. Also make sure that you follow all the submission instructions.

Unfavorable Reviews - I’ve heard stories from authors about receiving one-star reviews because Amazon shipped a damaged package. It’s going to happen. Not everyone is going to like your work, or the review may have nothing to do with you. We received a one-star review one time for a MYSTERY anthology because the reader didn’t think there was enough horror in it. Holler, eat chocolate, or whatever you do to cope. Then take a deep breath and see if there is anything to learn from the reviews. Are there patterns or trends that you need to think about? If not, move on.

The Never-ending Wait - Authors spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting on responses to queries, submissions, and contests. Like your elementary school teacher said, “Use your time wisely.” Make sure you’re working on your next project.

Find Your Group - My writing friends are my support. They know the trials and joys. They celebrate my victories with me and provide a shoulder to cry on when it feels hopeless. Writing is a solitary effort. Make sure you have a peer group. They can share ideas and provide advice.

Writing is a business, and it’s work. Agents, editors, and publishers are looking for books that they can sell. Yours needs to be the best it can be. Learn from the hard times and keep at it. Edits and revisions take time and energy, but they’re worth it in the end.

#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Jodi Rath

I’d like to welcome mystery author, Jodi Rath, back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.

A few of your favorite things: My husband, cats, books, my murder board, all my screens (phone, tablet, monitor, and surface pro), kickboxing bag, yoga mat, cast iron skillets, my business.

Things you need to throw out: hmmm….some would say books BUT NO WAY! LOL Probably shoes and clothes—I have too much!

Things you need for your writing sessions: murder board (which is really a whiteboard), yarn to map out the plot on murder board, pictures—visuals of places in my fictional village Leavensport, OH, my style sheet or chart of characters, plot points, and settings to keep everything in order, computer, paper, pen, pencil, books for research, my cats, cup of hot or cold tea and dumdum suckers while I work.

Things that hamper your writing: social media—HA!

Things you love about writing: Everything!

Things you hate about writing: Nothing!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Probably the second and third drafts before finalizing for publishing Easiest thing about being a writer: Planning, plotting, first draft.

Words that describe you: feisty, sassy, determined, motivated, grit

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: a bit obsessive-compulsive, perfectionist, control-freak

Favorite foods: most anything in cast iron skillet

Things that make you want to gag: oysters

Favorite music or song: 60’s and 80’s music mainly—but I love most music

Music that drives you crazy: country

Favorite smell: pumpkin/cinnamon spice

Something that makes you hold your nose: skunk smell Things you’d walk a mile for: chocolate or really good New York style pizza

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Snakes or alligators

Things you always put in your books: cats and characters that are similar to my family and friends and my frenemies over the ages

Things you never put in your books: abuse of animals

Things to say to an author: “I’m a fan.”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “Write faster or Can I get it for free?”

Favorite places you’ve been: Home

Places you never want to go to again: Most anywhere other than home!

Favorite books (or genre): Mystery

Books you wouldn’t buy: I’m not into fantasy.

Things that make you happy: My husband, my cats, my business which is a lot of research, writing, and art.

Things that drive you crazy: Hypocrite, liars, manipulators

Best thing you’ve ever done: marrying my husband and our cat family

Biggest mistake: don’t believe in them. I’ve done a lot wrong, but I learn from it—so therefore, how much of a mistake can it be. That’s the educator in me talking.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: race car driving in CA at Laguna Seca

Something you chickened out from doing: I got my brown belt in kickboxing—one away from black and never got the black belt.

About Jodi:

Moving into her second decade working in education, Jodi Rath has decided to begin a life of crime in her The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series. Her passion for both mysteries and education led her to combine the two to create her business MYS ED, where she splits her time between working as an adjunct for Ohio teachers and creating mischief in her fictional writing. She currently resides in a small, cozy village in Ohio with her husband and her nine cats.

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#WriterWednesday Interview with William Ade

I’d like to welcome author, William Ade, to the blog this week for #WriterWednesday.

A few of your favorite things: At my age, I'm trying to declutter to the essential favorite things. My mom's dance trophy from 1936 reminds me of her energy and over-the-top personality. My dad's WWII dog tags reflect his steadfastness and old fashion values. My box of race medals might tell me of my slowly ebbing vitality, but their real value is the memories of running with my sisters, nephew, and brother-in-law.

Things you need to throw out: Old letters and personal memorabilia that would make zero sense to my kids. Why should I pass on boxes of my junk when I have boxes of their stuff they'll need to clear out of the house? I should consult with Marie Kondo, I guess.

Things you need for your writing sessions: An early start. If I can be at the keyboard within thirty minutes of waking up, my writing flows and edits come effortlessly. It seems after being awake a few hours, life gets in my head and slows me down.

Things that hamper your writing: A rejection email knocks me back a few hours, but less so than in the early days. Sometimes, I’ll reread something I’d written a few weeks ago and thought was brilliant, only to realize it stinks. I’m too discouraged to write after that and will go off to do something requiring minimal skills to be successful, like pulling weeds.

Hardest thing about being a writer: The rejection and self-doubt make it hard at times. Even when friends tell me they love my story, I wonder, “Are they only being nice?” I don’t know what came first, the paranoia or the writing?

Easiest thing about being a writer: Coming up with new ideas. Everything and everyone has a story I could tell. I won’t live long enough to build out all the stories I have in my head.

Something you like to do: I want to drop my inhibitions, cut loose and belt out a song.

Something you wish you’d never done: Loudly singing when someone walked into the room.

Last best thing you ate: A perfectly ripe mango.

Last thing you regret eating: That third, perfectly ripe mango.

The last thing you ordered online: Three books on the craft of writing that I then distilled down to six, two-sided pages of notes.

The last thing you regret buying: I bought three types of hummingbird feeders that attracted no birds but caught the attention of an army of ants.

Things you always put in your books: References that only close friends or family would recognize.

Things you never put in your books: I avoid writing about politics or religion. I don't want my readers to be distracted. I avoid discussing those topics with people in general, so why risk setting off a reader.

Things to say to an author: “I found the characters believable.”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “I found a typo.”

Favorite places you’ve been: New Zealand, most of Italy, and Iceland.

Places you never want to go to again: Jamaica – I couldn’t ignore the poverty.

Most embarrassing moment: Oh sure, like I’m going to share my most humiliating behavior in a public forum. Ha! Nice try, Heather. How about this one? Years ago, my family was on vacation in Scotland, and I needed clean socks. I sink-washed some big white tube socks, but by morning, they were still wet. My wife was irritated. I said, "Not to worry. I'll lay them out in the rear window of the hatchback. The sun will dry them." My wife feared public embarrassment. I replied, "We're in a foreign country. No one knows us." Of course, you know what's coming. Two days later, we're lunching a hundred miles away and started a conversation with two Americans. We shared experiences when the woman said, "We saw a car in Sterling, with socks drying in the rear window." I think they were more embarrassed when we admitted that the car belonged to us.

Proudest moment: My son was a five-year-old performing in a children's theatre production. As the show continued, I noticed him bouncing from foot-to-foot. Oh, no, he had to use a toilet. The play went on and on and finally, the dam burst and the front of his pants darkened. When the performance ended, I whisked him to the bathroom to clean up. I told him how proud I was of him, that he stayed on stage and didn’t let down his fellow actors. He never mentioned wetting his pants.

About William:

Bill Ade took up writing in earnest upon his retirement from the telecommunications industry in 2015. He grew up in small-town Indiana in the fifties and sixties, and those influences show up in many of his stories and characters. He lives with his wife of forty-one years (and counting) outside of Washington, DC, in Burke, Virginia. His son is a filmmaker in LA, and his daughter works in the non-profit field in Baltimore. Both children continue to be an inspiration for his stories. Of course, he has the mandatory writer’s cat inconveniently walking across his keyboard most days.

His monthly blog is at Eclectic Stories for the Humans

 Ade’s current novel, Art of Absolution, is a story where sins of the past refuse to stay buried, and a child's curiosity risks destroying two families. It's been called a great book club read, as good people are put in difficult moral and ethical positions to protect their loved ones.

Do You Know Where Your Posts Have Been? Basic Analytics for Authors

It’s Friday. Do you know where your posts have been or where they’ve been seen? Do you know who your target audience is? Your website and social media analytics can help you hone in the demographics of people who visit your sites.

Website - Your website should have an analytics tab or page. (Mine just came out with a mobile app that I can track the information on my phone.) You should be able to see things like what posts (blog) or pages are getting the most attention, what countries are visitors coming from, what days/time are most popular for viewing, and how are they getting to your site (e.g. browser search, from another social media site). This is all helpful information. . It shows you how they’re getting to you. This lets you know if promotion or advertising on a social media site is working (or not).

Facebook Business/Author Page - After your likes increase on your business page, Facebook gives you access to Insights. There is an overwhelming amount of information on this page. I monitor likes and performance of posts. It shows how many people liked, commented, or shared. This gives me an idea of what my readers are interested in or respond to.

If you drill down on the Posts link, you can see what time of day people visit your Facebook page. Pre-pandemic, I had a lot of after midnight visits from other parts of the world. Now during the stay-at-home orders, I have a lot of US visits during day hours.

Click on the People link to see demographic information on your visitors (e.g. gender, age, language, and country/city of origin). This gives you detailed information on who is visiting your page.

This information is helpful if you plan to boost your FB posts or purchase ads. It can help you target countries, days, and active times.

Twitter - Their analytics are buried under the More link. They show a dashboard of each month’s performance, and the information is updated daily. The current month’s numbers may look off if it is reporting on a partial month (meaning it’s only tracking days or weeks for the current month to date). Keep scrolling to see previous, completed months.

You can view your most popular tweet and most popular mention. There are totals for followers, tweets, and mentions. You can also see totals for impressions.. An impression is how many times a browser has showed your content (in this case, your tweet). This doesn’t track clicks or shares; just the number of times it was shown.

Other Tools - There are lots of apps you can use for free or buy for your computer or mobile device to track analytics on your social media pages. There are also plugins and Google Analytics that you can add to your website for additional visitor information.

It’s a good idea to track your posts and followings at least at a high level to ensure that all the hard work that you’re doing on your website, blog, and social media sites is reaching your intended audience. I wouldn’t get too hung up on likes and unfollows. They do tend to fluctuate daily and weekly.

#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Debra Goldstein

I’d like to welcome back mystery author, Debra H. Goldstein, to #ThisorThatThursday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: Reading, watching TV, spending time with friends

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Cooking – any meal.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: My computer and easy access to the kitchen for snacks.

Things that distract you from writing: My husband, Joel – he always wants to be entertained.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Making myself sit down and write. I’m not a person who schedules times and word counts.

Easiest thing about being a writer: The pure joy when words are flowing

Favorite snacks: Almond Toastees, sushi

Things that make you want to gag: lobster

Favorite smell: The powdered sweet smell of a newly bathed baby

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: Doctor

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Exercise (but I try not to glisten)

Something you wish you could do: Be with family and friends without social distancing

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Cook even minimally

Things you always put in your books: Fun – humor

Things you never put in your books: Lies that manipulate the reader

Things to say to an author: “I love your book.” “I love your writing style.” “I gave all my friends and family a copy of your book for Christmas.”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “You look older than I thought you were.”

Favorite things to do: Go to a Broadway musical. Ever since I was taken to my first show at the age of four, when the lights go down and the first notes of music begin, I feel a tingle of excited electricity go through me.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Camping. The outdoors and I are not best buds…. Those bugs would probably eat me if given half a chance.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Walking away from my lifetime judicial appointment to follow my passion to write.

Biggest mistake: When a friend and I invited a guy I thought was cute for dinner in an hour. My friend and I then went up to our apartment to defrost the chicken we planned to serve. Needless to say, I never saw him again after we served him a wing we’d hacked off the still frozen bird, despite our best efforts to cook it, and he remarked, “My, this is a bit rare.”

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “Thank you. You helped me forget what was really going on in my life for a little while.”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “That couldn’t possibly happen.” --- It was at a university book club and before I could answer, another woman whipped out two pieces of paper and said, “I knew someone would say that so I googled how many times it has happened in the last five years.” (the irony was it had happened on the original woman’s own campus six months earlier).

About Debra and Her New Book:

When a romantic rival opens a competing restaurant in small-town Wheaton, Alabama, Sarah Blair discovers murder is the specialty of the house . . . 
 
For someone whose greatest culinary skill is ordering takeout, Sarah never expected to be co-owner of a restaurant. Even her Siamese cat, RahRah, seems to be looking at her differently. But while Sarah and her twin sister, Chef Emily, are tangled up in red tape waiting for the building inspector to get around to them, an attention-stealing new establishment—run by none other than Sarah's late ex-husband's mistress, Jane—is having its grand opening across the street. 
 
Jane's new sous chef, Riley Miller, is the talk of Wheaton with her delicious vegan specialties. When Riley is found dead outside the restaurant with Sarah's friend, Jacob, kneeling over her, the former line cook—whose infatuation with Riley was no secret—becomes the prime suspect. Now Sarah must turn up the heat on the real culprit, who has no reservations about committing cold-blooded murder . . .
 
 Includes quick and easy recipes!

Judge Debra H. Goldstein writes Kensington’s Sarah Blair mystery series (Three Treats Too Many, Two Bites Too Many, One Taste Too Many). She also authored Should Have Played Poker and IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue. Her short stories, which have been named Agatha, Anthony, Derringer finalists, have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies including Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and Mystery Weekly. Debra serves on the national boards of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and is president of SEMWA and past president of SinC’s Guppy Chapter. Find out more about Debra at www.DebraHGoldstein.com

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Buy Links:

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Three-Treats-Sarah-Blair-Mystery/dp/1496719492

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/three-treats-too-many-debra-h-goldstein/1135275342?ean=9781496719492

#WriterWednesday Interview with J. R. Sanders

I’d like to welcome author, J. R. Sanders, to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

Things that hamper your writing: Interruptions. My two dogs are the worst offenders; they think whichever side of the back door they’re on is the wrong one.

Things you love about writing: Being in the zone. Research. Getting a project to the finish line.

Things you hate about writing: Outlining. Writing synopses. Any of the mundane grunt work that takes away from the actual writing of a project.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Writing requires more self-discipline than I have naturally. It’s never been my strong suit, particularly avoiding the tendency to procrastinate. (I answered this question last.)

Easiest thing about being a writer: The solitude. I’m sort of a lone wolf by nature, so spending so much time working solo is a breeze for me. Not that I’m unsociable - just not overly social. I’m the kind of guy who’ll go to a party and spend the whole evening in the corner, playing with the dog.

Words that describe you: Tall. Freakishly long arms. Irreverent.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn't: Pessimistic. I’m usually a glass-is-half-empty sort, unless things are going exceptionally well. Then I’m suspicious.

Favorite foods: Hard to narrow down to a manageable list. Tacos, pizza, avocados, fresh-baked bread. Never met a tiramisu I didn’t like.

Things that make you want to gag: Mushrooms, and most seafood.

Favorite beverage: Perrier with lime is my go-to. An ice-cold beer when I’m in the mood.

Something that gives you a sour face: Buttermilk – gack! Fine pancake ingredient, nauseating beverage. Might date back to childhood trauma when I poured some on my Cap’n Crunch by mistake.

Something you're really good at: Word games, particularly Boggle. Always been a word nerd.

Something you're really bad at: Finding things I’m good at.

Something you wish you could do: Play guitar. I have no measurable musical talent.

Something you wish you'd never learned to do: Algebra. Tortured myself for three years trying to master it, have never once used it since.

Last best thing you ate: Grilled tri-tip. About half an hour ago.

Last thing you regret eating: Gave tofu a try. Never again.

Things you always put in your books: I like to work in a favorite weird word here and there. Things like “gongoozler” and “hooptedoodle.” Just to see if I can get them past the editor.

Things you never put in your books: Deep symbolism. Because readers who aren’t into symbolism likely won’t spot it, and those who are into symbolism will find it whether it’s there or not.

Things to say to an author: “I pre-ordered your new book.” (but only if it’s true). Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “I’d write, too, if I only had the time.” Runner-up: “Oh, I never read.” (generally spoken with an inexplicable air of pride).

Favorite places you've been: Vienna, top of the list. Budapest. Canada (Alberta and British Columbia). The San Juan Islands. Colonial Williamsburg, watching my wife seeing her first fireflies.

Places you never want to go to again: High school. Wouldn’t be 18 again for all the gold in Fort Knox (although it would be nice to be young enough to still know everything).

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “I liked your book (article, etc.) a lot.” May not sound like much, but to a writer it’s sweet music. Never gets old.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “I only read Louis L’Amour.”

About J. R.:

J.R. Sanders is a native of Newton, Kansas – one of the original “wild and woolly” cowtowns - whose deep interest in Old West history dates back to childhood visits with his family to the Dalton Gang hideout, Abilene, and Dodge City.

 J.R. regularly writes nonfiction articles for a variety of periodicals, among them Law & Order and Wild West magazines. He has authored books on topics as diverse as Southern California apple farms and Old West lawmen killed in the line of duty. His most recent book, published in March 2020 by Level Best/Historia Books, is Stardust Trail, a detective novel set among the B-movie cowboy productions of 1930s Hollywood.

 J.R. is an active member of the Western Writers of America and the International Thriller Writers.

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My Great Big Spreadsheet of Ideas - Tips for Writers

I get ideas everywhere. A funny story, a cool name, an interesting place to hide a body, a movie to watch, or a book to read…I had little pieces of paper and Post-it notes everywhere, and it was difficult to keep all the information in one place. I finally consolidated them into a spreadsheet. One column defines what it is (e.g. story idea, cool name, fun location, etc.) Then I have a short description or a link to remind me of what it was or who told me about it. If I see an interesting news article, I save it. Who knows, it may be good material later. By tagging each entry, I can sort it in multiple ways to see what I’m looking for.

When I get ready to start a story or novel, I cruise through my spreadsheet. I also mark the entry if I’ve used it before. What started out as twenty notes is now a spreadsheet with hundreds of lines. I have interesting poisons, funny quotes, descriptions of interesting people, or whatever catches my attention that I want to remember. My desk is much neater now, too. There aren’t twenty Post-its stuck to it and my monitor.

I have a big, giant promotional spreadsheet, too. It has a tab for every kind of promotion or marketing effort that I’ve done in the past. I collect contacts and recommendations and add them to the tab. Then, when I’m ready to start planning a book launch, I have a starting point. I have tabs for everything from blogs and podcasts to Facebook parties and reviewers.

I had to get organized. My writing time is limited, and I couldn’t spend it searching for things I wrote somewhere.

How do you organize your ideas or bits of information?