Dear Self-Published Authors -

This is for you. 

Please don't pay attention to all the mean things you might read that are written by people who are traditionally published who slam ALL self-published work as drek. (like ALL traditionally published work is of an extreme high quality?! Pffft.) 

Some of us have our self-published books displayed in places like WHSmith in Paris. 

Keep writing!!! 

Your work is valuable no matter how it's published. 

If it finds an audience who find it worthy, it will continue finding readers and the audience will grow. 

Believe it. 

It can happen. 

These pictures were taken last September at WHSmith Books/Paris where Lesa, Lisa and Vickie and I were lucky enough to attend one of Cara Black's  signings. The lovely, always gracious, Cara Black. 

And I got to see my "Whimsey" looking fine and proud in gay Paree.  

I would not take a million dollars for that evening.

It was magic. 

And those of us who believe in our work enough to put ourselves in the line of fire by self-publishing deserve that magic every bit as much as those who are traditionally published. 

Why wouldn't we? 

If this seems like a topic I write about often, you're right. I do. 

And I will continue doing so every time I run across yet another ill-informed opinion about self-published authors.

More from Lesa . . .

Stop by Lesa's today to read more about our Paris trip - https://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/2017/10/thursday-in-paris-sept-28.html

Lesa and author Cara Black

Paris Trip - Part Six

On Thursday I slept in while my Paris Pals visited Musee D'Orsay.  This was a place at the top of my "I want to see!" list, but I was just too pooped to pop out of my bed.  But, I'm not feeling guilty about not going because I know I'll be visiting Paris again.  I'll make Musee D'Orsay first thing on my list to do when I get back.

After sleeping late, I just lounged around our apartment for awhile until it was time for Lesa and I to go to our photo session with Geneviève, which was a bunch of fun.

I have never outgrown my love of playing "dress-up," and having a sister/friend along to play with made it even more fun.

Here's our entry into a fantasy Paris, 1920s style - - -

Afterwards, we met up with Vickie and Lisa at WHSmith Booksellers for Cara Black's signing.  Cara's best selling Aimee Leduc series takes place in Paris and the latest in the series (#17) is MURDER IN SAINT-GERMAIN. 

And then . . . 

a very cool thing.

Seeing my book, WHIMSEY: A NOVEL, on display.

My book.  On display.  In Paris.  Thank you, WHSmith!


squeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Thursday was a very good day.

Stay Tuned - More to Come!

Click Here for "Paris Trip - Part Five"

Click Here for "Paris Trip - Part Four"

Click Here for "Paris Trip - Part Three"

Click Here for "Paris Trip - Part Two"

Click Here for "Paris Trip - Part One"

and

Lesa has posted more about Paris, Day One at her blog.  It's terrific!  And, with some fantastic photos.  -   https://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/2017/10/arriving-in-paris-day-1.html

On Writing

I love to write.

But, I hate to write while telling myself I need to be doing it.


So, I guess, like Dorothy Parker, " . . .  I love having written."


Here's the thing.

I am proud of "Whimsey: A Novel."  

SO proud


I recently picked it up to re-read.  Something I thought I'd never do because I was tired of Whimsey by the time I finished writing (and rewriting, and rewriting, and rewriting) it.

And then, after the writing . . .

Well, then came all the ups and downs that come with putting out a book - especially a debut novel.

First of all, I had no idea what I was doing.

Secondly, I was "self-publishing," which brings its own set of words whispered behind a raised hand.

Although not as bad as it once was, and even much more "accepted" now than it was in 2013 when Whimsey was published, there was that stigma of "self-published." 

More ups and downs that came with all this were on a more personal level, and truth be told - I'm not sure I'm really tough enough to go through all that again.

Writers say you cannot be thin skinned if you want to be a writer.  Boy Howdy, that is the damned truth.


Anyway.


After re-reading my Whimsey, I'm going to say this.

I like it.

I like it well enough that I would recommend it to friends if I hadn't written it.

I like that it made me smile, and I liked that it made me cry.

It's the book I wanted, for a long time, to write.

I'm proud of the book, I'm proud I'm the author who wrote it.


Then, after reading it, I did something I haven't done in awhile.

I went to Amazon to look at reviews.

There are 71 reviews, which is, I think, a pretty darn fair amount of reviews for a debut novel, self-published.  One with the only promotion coming from me, along with a hearty group of bloggers who were willing to give Whimsey a read and some print.

The reviews I got from well-respected on-line reviewers were very good to pretty good - and I was happy with that.

The reviews on Amazon range from one-star to five stars.  Not unusual.  And, of course, those five star reviews are way more fun to read.

The over-all ranking is 4.1 out of 5 stars - not bad, not bad at all.

What's really fun is knowing that most of the people leaving reviews are people I don't know, never met, never heard of and yet they somehow found my book.  Isn't that amazing?  

I'm truly astonished by this until I remember that I'm a reader who has picked up books by authors I've never heard of and, like many, have loved some of them, while others - not so much.

It just never occurs to me to go to Amazon and leave a negative review, while I can't wait to go and leave a happy little comment for a book I enjoyed.  You won't find the comments I leave under my real name.  Not being a reviewer, I feel silly thinking anyone might give two figs what Kaye Barley might think about a book.  Mainly, I'm just hoping the author will appreciate that there's a reader out there who enjoyed his/her work.

'Course, to the woman who spent $2.00 for a box of 25 books at a yard sale and read 10 pages of Whimsey and hated it - really, really hated it.  Bless your heart.  I hope your $2.00 brought you some joy in the other 24 books.  


What prompted this blog today is the fact that Whimsey is going to be on the shelves of WHSmith Books in Paris.

I sent them a note that I was going to be there next month, would be in their bookstore the evening of their Cara Black event and asked if they would consider stocking a copy or two.

I sent them the "sell sheet" Luan Stauss, owner of Laurel Book Store in Oakland, CA helped me work up when Whimsey was published. Luan was there for me every step of the way - first reader, supporter, a wealth of information on how to do the millions of things that needed to be done - ISBN, distributors, etc.  She ordered and stocked copies.  Every author needs a Luan, especially a first time author.

SIBA was also indispensable.  Through them I was able to send that sell sheet to hundreds of booksellers.  Many of whom agreed to stock my book by either ordering through Ingram, or on consignment.  And practically all of them list it in their on-line ordering inventory.  

Anyway.

Back to WHSmith.

They wrote back within just a couple of hours that they had ordered copies of Whimsey, and were happy to do so.  More than just a couple of copies.

It was a big boost to my ego, and it's what prompted me to pick Whimsey up for a re-read.


A few people have become friends through Facebook because they read and enjoyed Whimsey.  

Samantha Baldwin and Vicki Smith Mitchell, in particular.

They ask, often, how Whimsey #2 is coming.

Well, it's in manuscript form about, I think, maybe at the half way point to being written in its first draft (did I mention I am not a fast writer??!).  

But. 

I don't like it. 

And I have re-worked and re-written the damned thing so many times I have to just put it away. 

Often.  

But it always finds its way back out.  I write a few words, get sick of it and put it away again.  And so it goes.

It's not working out like I thought, and often sounds like Whimsey #1 all over again.  Or, in some places sounds like words just tossed out in a stew of nothing much to brag about.  Ugh.  

So.

WILL there be a Whimsey #2?  No idea.

Except.

I do have an idea that means a totally different point of view which means combing through page by page (again), sentence by sentence (again) and reworking what I've already written (again).  But, I like this idea, and you know, it may be worth it.  Maybe.  I won't know until I try.

And there's a second manuscript in the works.  This one I like.  It takes place in the mountains rather than on the coast.  It's a little darker.  A little sexier.  I need to get back to work on it.


What's keeping me from working on the novels?


Well, truth be told - I like writing "creative non-fiction" better.

Thank you Jungle Red for inviting me to write about anything I want once a month!


I like little memoir type pieces.



I like writing "rants."  (It's good to have your own blog to rant at!).


I like writing about my feelings.  Especially right now when I'm feeling so much.


The feelings are not happy feelings at this stage - they're anger, hurt, fear, and astonishment at our government and where this new guy in our White House is taking us.


Truth of the matter is, if I didn't write out those feelings, I'm not sure I'd be able to get out of bed in the mornings.  


So, maybe I'm not meant to write fiction.  Or maybe I should stick to the short stories I've had some luck finding homes for.  Who knows?


But I do know I will continue writing.  


It's one of the things I do.

"Two Women Chat About Perfume and Books" Cara Black and Denise Hamilton

Photo by Laura Skayhan

Cara Black writes the award nominated and bestselling Aimée Leduc investigations set in the different arrondissements of Paris.

She's a San Francisco library laureate, a member of MWA, Sisters in Crime, and the Marais historic society in Paris. Cara lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and their teenage son.

As often as possible, Cara frequents a Paris little known outside the beaten tourist track. A Paris she discovers on research trips and interviews with French police, private detectives and café owners. Her series has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Hebrew. She's included in the GREAT WOMEN MYSTERY WRITERS by Elizabeth Lindsay 2nd editon published in the UK. Several of her books have been chosen as BookSense Picks and INDIE NEXT choice by the Amerian Association of Independent Bookstore. She loves black and white photography and took many of the photos on her website.

Her new book the 12th in the series Murder at the Lanterne Rouge came out yesterday. She looks forward to hitting the road on book tour with Denise Hamilton, Rhys Bowen, Jacqueline Winspear and Kelli Stanley this time.

thank you so much Kaye!

http://www.carablack.com

http://twitter.com/#!/carablack

http://www.facebook.com/cara.black1

Murder at the Lanterne Rouge "Outstanding." *PW Review

Denise Hamilton’s crime novels have been finalists for the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity and Willa Cather awards. She also edited Los Angeles Noir and Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics, which spent two months on bestseller lists, won the Edgar Award for “Best Short Story” and the Southern California Independent Booksellers’ award for “Best Mystery of the Year.”

Denise’s new novel, Damage Control, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, raves from USA Today, Los Angeles Magazine and BN.com and kudos from James Ellroy (A superb psychological thriller).

Denise has five books in the Eve Diamond series and her standalone book “The Last Embrace,” set in 1949 Hollywood, was compared to Raymond Chandler. Her debut “The Jasmine Trade” was a finalist for the prestigious Creasey Dagger Award given by the UK Crime Writers Assn. Her books have been BookSense 76 picks, USA Today Summer Picks and “Best Books of the Year” by the Los Angeles Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Toronto Globe & Mail.

Prior to writing novels, Hamilton was a Los Angeles Times staff writer. Her award-winning stories have also appeared in Wired, Cosmopolitan, Der Spiegel and New Times. She covered the collapse of Communism and was a Fulbright Scholar in Yugoslavia during the Bosnian War. Hamilton lives in the Los Angeles suburbs with her husband and two boys. She also writes a perfume column, Uncommon Scents, for the Los Angeles Times.

http://www.latimesmagazine.com/uncommon-scents/

http://www.denisehamilton.com/

CARA: Ok Denise, looks like we're going to be roomates again at Left Coast Crime in Sacramento later this month. After attending the ALA Library Conference in Dallas and rooming together, the pillow fight bar has definitely higher. will be raised. I know you’re the perfume columnist for the L.A. Times and obsessed with fragrance, and I know you’ll sneak away from LCC to comb the second-hand shops in Sacramento for perfume, so I’m wondering if you can sniff me out some samples - this time something citrus?

DENISE: First of all, I love rooming with you. It’s like a slumber party! We stay up way too late talking. How often to I get to do that!!! Yes, I’ll recommend some citrus scents for you. Maybe I’ll bring you some little vials when I come up from LA. I’m thinking Christian Dior Eau Savage, or maybe Serge Luten’s Fleurs d’Oranger or Fleurs de Citronnier. But that’s for you, not for Aimee. What perfume does Aimee wear?

CARA: Aimee is a signature scent gal. A classicist. She only wears Chanel No. 5.

DENISE: Then she’s right in line with chic Parisians because Chanel No. 5 remains the most popular perfume among French women. Speaking of Paris – which I’m so jealous that you get to visit each year for research - what is your greatest extravagance when there?

CARA: I go barebones on research trips, scrape up frequent flyer miles and camp on my friends couch in Montmartre. But taking my friends and contacts out to dinner it’s become part of the routine, especially the policewoman who invited me to the police firing range and the private detective who lets me hang out with her... inviting them out is the only way I can thank them. And with the French dining is an art form, a wonderful experience lasting hours, with the wine flowing, many courses and full of discussion. I splurged once attending the Comedie Francaise, the national theatre, red velvet seat, murals the works to see Phedre, the Greek tragedy. Despite the classical French which went right over my head, just sitting in those seats that Proust, Cocteau, you name it, had sat in was worth it. Ok, once in the Marais, I found an incredible second hand, like new, suede shearling coat, the very thick European kind for those winters,...It weighed a ton, cost next to nothing and I coveted it...of course, I bought it. Wouldn’t you know, it cost an extra baggage fee... more than the coat! But there’s always Chanel No 5, duty free at the airport that Aimée insists on.

DENISE: Aimee’s definitely a femme fatale. What’s she gotten herself into in your new one, Murder at the Lantern Rouge?

CARA: Aimee’s investigation plunges her into the history of the Knights Templar, secret medieval guilds, Chinatown sweatshops and botched affairs of the heart.

DENISE: I love books like yours that teach me about a foreign place. I’ve just read an amazing non-fiction book called Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein. He’s a real character, a Midwesterner who learned fluent Japanese and became the only American reporter at Japan’s biggest newspaper, the Yomiuri Shinbun. For years he covered Tokyo’s seamy underbelly and the Yakuza. He smokes clove cigarettes, has death threats against him and fashions himself a Japanese Phillip Marlowe, fighting crime. Highly recommended. What are you reading these days?

CARA: I'm loving the Coco Chanel biography you lent me when I stayed chez toi in LA. Coco Chanel comes alive and it's intriguing that she might have had a son whom she referred to as her nephew all her life. Strikes me we gravitate towards people and characters who keep secrets. You explore those hidden past secrets so well in Damage Control.

DENISE: I was an L.A. Times reporter for many years and learned that almost everyone has secrets. And people in the public eye are rarely what they seem. That’s always the starting point of a novel for me. Because the more wealthy and powerful and upstanding you are, the more motives you have to keep those dark secrets hidden. And therein lies the tale! It’s just a matter of figuring it out. And mostly that’s fun. It’s only scary when you don’t know what happens next.

CARA: Speaking of scary, do you remember how your car tire blew out on the L.A. freeway at midnight? We were coming back from the LA Times Festival of Books and we were yakking and yakking and then you had to pull onto the shoulder next to Forest Lawn cemetery and you kept saying 'freeway stalkers' and I kept thinking Sean of the Dead.

DENISE: Turns out we’re not much in the femme fatale department. We called my husband, who came quickly to the rescue and put on the spare. He was the hero! Thank goodness for cell phones, because I do a lot of evening events all over town.

CARA: You're doing a bunch or readings from Raymond Chandler’s The Lady in the Lake with other LA Noir writers like Judith Freeman, who wrote that incredible Raymond Chandler biography that you gave me which I inhaled on the plane back from LA...how does that feel? I mean you're in the City of Angels that Chandler describes and it's changed - how do you all evoke his spirit?

DENISE: Ha! I just drive around. Hollywood continues to cast a huge shadow and the physical beauty – the snow-white sands, the blue sky, the palm trees and bougainvilla, the snow-capped mountains, the people who come here to start a new love, to be discovered, to leave the past behind – can lull you into forgetting that there’s plenty of crime and desperation. But L.A.’s as noir today as it was in Chandler’s time, which is what I love to explore in my novels. There’s just five times as many people and they come from all over the world these days to chase their dream. What’s your dream, Cara?

CARA: Besides the farmhouse in Provence? The dream starts ‘Fasten your seatbelts please, we’re beginning our descent into Charles de Gaulle airport, Ground crew reports weather in Paris a sunny 75 degrees, ‘ By some force of magic a motorcycle awaits me outside Terminal 1 and I zoom along the peripherique into the outskirts of Paris, then into boulevard Saint-Ouen, nodding to the local cheeseseller who waves ‘ I’ll save you that good camembert that just came in’. I pull up at Cafe Rotonde, to find my smiling friends Anne-Francoise, her beautiful one year old daughter Gabrielle, and Cathy my policewoman friend with an open bottle of champagne - Veuve Cliquot, of course - sitting at an outdoor table. And then my son, magically arrived from his new job, appears with our dog Kipper who also magically behaves and has by osmosis imbibed the well behaved manners of Parisian dogs followed by my husband who smiles...’I’m going to run a bookstore in Paris now...you’ve convinced me.’ Of course, we’re joined by Catherine Deneuve who just happens to be walking by and shares her makeup secrets and Charlotte Gainsbourg who begs ‘I want to play Aimee in the new film, please.’ And the incredible director Bertrand Tavernier appears with a script in hand. ‘I’ve made a few changes, little ones.’ And then Georges Simenon, magically risen from the dead and writing again, sits down, pipe hanging from the side of his mouth and says ‘Maigret needs a helper.’

DENISE: Ah! I love it. I’m coming for a visit.

Denise Hamilton, Cara Black, Deborah Crombie & GM Malliet

Q & A with Cara Black

Cara Black lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller and son. She writes the bestselling and award nominated Aimée Leduc Investigations set in Paris. In the just released book Murder in Passy  Aimée Leduc  encounters Basque terrorists, police corruption, and a Spanish princess as she tries to clear her godfather of murder. 

‎"The ideal mix of the personal, the political, the puzzling and the Parisian make Aimes latest a perfect pleasure."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 

Murder in Passy - an Aimée Leduc Investigation in Paris
http://www.carablack.com
http://twitter.com/#!/carablack
http://www.facebook.com/cara.black1

Blog:  http://carablack.blogspot.com/

  

Q& A with Cara Black

What was your inspiration behind the Paris Mysteries of your Aimée Leduc Investigation?

A story my friend told me about her mother, a hidden Jewish girl, during the German Occupation of Paris in WWII. My friend showed me her mother's former apartment in the Marais, the old Jewish section, told me how her mother hid and survived - her family didn't - how her mother met her father after the war and this story haunted me. I looked at people on the Paris streets differently and wondered how they'd survived the war, what love affairs they'd had, the family they'd lost and what compromises they'd made to survive. This story could only have happened in Paris. For me, a detective novel was a great framework to use to tell this story of how the past impacted the present. That story become my first book Murder in the Marais which has just been re-released in a 10th anniversary issue. Boy, do I feel old :)

Are any of the characters modeled after people in your life?

I think I take a bit from a lot of people I've met or know. Aimée my computer security detective (half-American, half-French) is computer savvy, a fashionista, and attracted to bad boys. Many of my friends have one or more of those elements. Yet I'm not French and I can't even tie my scarf the right way. But I love France and have a deep appreciation for this country. Sometimes a character will appear to me in Paris, I'll watch someone on the late night Metro, or a couple in a bistro and wonder about them - their life, this relationship to the other person across from them at the table. Something about her scarf, his look out the window, how they hold hands or don't suggest a whiff of feeling and then three months later 'they' are on the page, in that bistro drinking wine and in the story.

Were any of your Aimée Leduc investigation books more challenging to write than others?

I'm an eavesdropper, bad habit, but invaluable in my line of work. I think writers do that all the time.

A line of dialogue or a mannerism for me can put a character onto the page. The challenge is to keep the character speaking more dialogue, being memorable and intrinsic to the plot and storyline. That's true for me in every book. Especially in crime fiction and mysteries, as you probably know, everything happens for a reason, every detail could be a clue, a red herring, a false lead or a key to a sub plot and a suspect.

The 11th installment,Murder in Passy, in the Aimee Leduc Paris mysteries has just come out. How do you continue to keep things exciting in a long running series?

That's a great point because when I wrote my first book, Murder in the Marais, I had no idea it would get published much less that I'd write a series. There was no master plan, the editor asked where Aimée's next investigation would take place in Paris - what district would she go to. Dumbfound I said 'what?" You are planning a series, aren't you? Of course, I lied and ran to the computer and my maps. It all just happened and I'm so grateful. I love to go window shopping 'with' Aimée, hang out at the flea markets and think what vintage couture she'd find, what case she'd be working on, what bad boy she might be attracted to. It's an evolving process to find out where she'll be in her life. To me she's a contemporary young Parisienne who has office rent to pay, a business to run, a dog to walk on the quai lining the Seine and trouble with men. Yet, writing a series is a challenge, one I'm lucky to have, and I strive to keep it fresh for myself and the reader. To show a different slice of Paris, one off the beaten track unexplored by tourists and fascinating

What is it about Paris that you find makes it a good setting for murder mystery?

Paris is layered with history. But it's not a museum, it's a living vibrant city with a traditional society still in place and a recent past of World War II, the Algerian conflict, colonialism in Indochina and all with a very French flavor. The intrigues since the time of the Kings and Royalty, the Revolution haven't changed that much to present day scandals which are more contemporary and relevant than we think. Love, money, revenge are eternal and what better place than in Paris? You know the first murder mystery credit goes to Edgar Allen Poe - an American - for his Murder on the Rue Morgue set in Paris. There's something elusive in Paris, a past that I feel can just about be grabbed if I scratch the surface enough and feel how it resonates today.

With a family and life in the States, are you still able to do ‘hands on’ research? (Visiting the locations etc… )

Research is the BEST part of my job. It means I must go to Paris as I tell my husband:) I'm lucky because I use frequent flyer miles, my friend lets me sleep on her Montmartre apartment couch in return for a little babysitting (she's Parisienne has two children and a demanding job and I've known her forever). This way I can research in the archives, in the cafe's, interview police and private detectives and scout out real locations. I even went drinking with the flics=cops from the Homicide Squad last November. From the sewers to the Morgue I go there. I keep notes, take photos, trace routes on maps where characters would really go, record conversations and noises in the cobbled streets and soak up as much atmosphere I can.

Your books are set in modern times – these days there are so many forensic details that need to be remembered – do you find that hard to deal with when planning your plot? And, how do you get the details just right?

Good question. My books are set in the mid 90's before Google came into being in 1998. Aimée still uses dial up, people pay in Francs but they had cell phones. I collected Paris phone books from that time ( a whole suitcase full) so I get the streets, the shops and the details right. Newspapers from that time give me what's on sale, world events and traffic jams in Paris. I've visited the morgue, spoken with the river police on the Seine about 'floaters' those bodies recovered in the Seine and procedures. My computer security detective Aimée and her partner René, who's a dwarf and computer hacker extraordinaire, are cutting edge in technology. To me a gripping story is about the characters, how crime impacts them, the victim's world and forensics and technology are tools. Every computer hacker I've had the chance to talk with has said that technology is only as good as the user - social engineering (chatting someone up, flirting, outwitting them) can get you a password, or beyond a computer's firewall much faster than anything else. No system or laboratory is immune from the human element.

What are some of your favorite things about France?

The light hitting the Paris rooftops at sunset, the butter smells emanating from the bakery, the gurgle of the Seine, the yellow leaves on the cobblestones, the love of a good meal with friends, appreciation for food and the time to savor it. The way a young man smiles at a woman of a certain age ie over 40 and no strings are attached. They have fun and enjoy a momentary appreciation that knows no age boundaries. I've seen a young Parisian hipster open the door for a grandmother in her 70's and flirt with her. I love the idea that I can walk out the door of my friend's apartment in Paris and within a block go to 'my' cafe where the owner smiles and asks 'the usual?' This only took seven years but now he knows me.

Things you wish the French got rid of?

French bureaucracy is something even French people complain about. Tons of paperwork, visits to different offices getting official seals and stamps can take up a day, a week or a month for something that's quite straightforward in the States. I opened a bank account last time in Paris well, I thought I did, with La Poste, the post office bank. For that I needed ten Euros, no problem, and a faxed phone bill from my house.

Two months later after receiving no acknowledgment or way into my online account, my friend in Paris called La Poste to find they needed three more forms. C'est la vie.

What's next for you? Can we expect more Paris adventures in the future?

Mais oui! Aimée's next investigation is in the editing phase. I'm signing a contract for #13. After all, Paris has twenty arrondissements - districts - and I've got a few more to go.

Thank you so much Kaye

Cara

And now for a little lagniappe.
Cara has also become known for her Paris photographs.  She has graciously allowed us to show a few of them here.  If you'd like to see more, be sure to visit her webpage photo album - Cara's Paris - http://www.carablack.com/paris_pict.html