How one thing leads to another . . . . by Bill Crider

I was borned on a mountain top in Tennessee and kilt me a b’ar when I was only three! No, wait, that was Davy Crockett. Sometimes I get the two of us confused. I’ve been in a bar or two, though, and in the winter I sometimes cover up with a kilt. Or a quilt. I’m getting confused again. At any rate, I’m pretty sure I’m the author of more than fifty published novels and numerous short stories and that I won the Anthony Award for best first mystery novel in 1987 for Too Late to Die. I was even nominated for the Shamus Award for best first private-eye novel for Dead on the Island, and I won the coveted Golden Duck award for “best juvenile science fiction novel” for Mike Gonzo and the UFO Terror. My wife, Judy, and I won the best short story Anthony in 2002 for “Chocolate Moose.” My story “Cranked” from Damn Near Dead (Busted Flush Press) was nominated for the Edgar award for best short story. Check out my homepage at http://billcrider.com/ or take a look at my peculiar blog at http://billcrider.blogspot.com/

How one thing leads to another . . .

by Bill Crider


When I was getting ready to write Murder in the Air, I started off with a title and a murder victim’s name. That was about all I had. (The title was entirely different from the one that the book has now, but that’s another story.) While I was looking for something to hang a plot on, I remembered something my brother had told me about. He still lives near our old hometown, and for years he’s been on a crusade to do something about the stench that (he claimed) is engulfing the entire county because of the proliferation of factory chicken farms. He’d written letters to the newspaper, to his state representative, to the air quality control board, and to everyone else he could think of. Nothing had been done, however. “You should write a book about it,” he told me. So I did. I made the murder victim the owner of a factory farm, and the book grew out of that.

Now anybody who’s read the Sheriff Dan Rhodes books (and if you haven’t, what’s the matter with you?) knows that they’re meant to amuse and entertain. But there’s more, I think. If you collected the reviews of them written over the years, you’d find the words “laid back” and “low key” repeated often. Because of that, people never seem to think the books have serious themes. In fact, I might be the only one who thinks they do. I’ve always thought that humorous books can be just as serious as any others, and underneath the fun in my books, I usually have something more to say. So Murder in the Air isn’t so different in that respect. And of course it’s not heavy-handed. I don’t do heavy. If you want heavy, do some reading about factory poultry farms. But not if you ever want to eat fried chicken again.

As for me, I keep things light, which, of course, explains the cast of continuing characters in the Sheriff Rhodes books, including this one.. One of those characters, Seepy Benton, is a guy I was so fond of that I moved him to Blacklin County from another series after it was canceled. I had so much fun writing about him that I couldn’t let him languish on the Island of Forgotten Characters, so the rest of the people in those books will have to survive there without him. Since Sheriff Rhodes is such a down-to-earth guy, he needs people like Seepy and Hack and Lawton around.

And speaking of the sheriff being down-to-earth, in this book he has an experience that’s a little bit out of the ordinary, at least for him. It’s more like the kind of thing that would happen to Seepy. Mystical? Not quite, but something close to that. You’ll have to read the book to see what I mean.

And that reminds me. The whole purpose of this little exercise is to tempt you to buy the book. I need the sales, folks. In fact, if the book doesn’t do well, Sheriff Rhodes might have to travel off to that little island I mentioned up above. I’d sure hate that. I’ve gotten used to having him around. So help me and the sheriff out. Buy the book.

Thanks to Kaye for inviting me here! As usual, the sheriff and I thank you for your support.

and, ta DA!, here's where Bill writes all these terrific books - - -

Eating my words - - - again

There's a lot of discussion going on about e-Books. Its been an on-going dialogue for awhile now, and we've all heard every single theory regarding will it, or will it not, destroy traditional publishing as we know it.

I have no idea.  But I'm more on the side of, no, I don't think it will.

We've also heard the discussions about how e-Books may be responsible for the demise of so many of our independent bookstores. Is that true?

Again, I have no idea.  But, again, I'm leaning towards no - not e-Books alone, at any rate.

I've tried to stay away from this discussion for a couple of reasons - mainly because all the arguments, pro and con, have been pretty well all laid out already.  And although I may not have too many original thoughts all on my own, I do have some opinions on all this based on what I read and what I hear others say.  As I'm fond of reminding people, just because our thoughts and feelings and ideologies may differ, it doesn't make some of us right, and some of us wrong. It does make us different. Viva La Difference - Right?!

So, here's a little about what I think and how I feel about some of these things that are being discussed at length right now.

I love and applaud independent bookstores. One of my favorite things to do is just hang out and browse around bookstores. I seek them out when Donald and I are on vacation. It makes me sad to hear of one I might have visited and been quite fond of closing. My own limited experience leads me to think the economy may have a lot to do with the closings. But - and I gotta say this - some of the closings may be self-inflicted.

There are bookstores who just seem to do everything right. They're a joy to visit, and a joy to feel as though you're contributing to their well-being by talking them up and by spending your hard-earned money there. Then there are those that truly seem more concerned about following you around the store to sell you another pasty or another cup of coffee. Don't get me wrong - I love the idea of pastries and coffee in bookstores. But what I'd like even more is this - How 'bout while I'm enjoying these goodies, and ask the waitperson sales associate about a particular book or author not be met with a totally blank stare and a reluctance to look it up on their computer.  I adore the smart, book loving people I meet in most bookstores, but some bookstores are not hiring smart, book loving people. I'm sorry, they're just not.

I especially love attending bookstore events featuring my favorite authors doing signings. What is more fun for a reader? (Unless it's being able to attend one of the conventions and being able to see, and possibly meet, a whole bunch of your favorite authors in one huge wonderful place!)

I was one of those people who initially "poo-poo'd" e-Readers and e-Books. They just weren't of interest to me and weren't "my thing." Although, I do recall saying that I agreed with a certain person who wrote in their blog about a factor I had not thought of.  And that's for those of us who love and want (possibly even need) to be surrounded by books, but who live in a smaller apartment or house or facility where there simply isn't enough room to have a lot of our books around us.  What, then, makes more sense than an e-Reader?  It's a consideration for those of us who face that possibility of what do we do when we move into that old folks' home.  Which also brings up another point - I'm especially impressed with the feature that allows you to not only enlarge the font, but change it to one you find more appealing and easier to read.

One of the first books I downloaded is the book I will always hold in my heart as my very favorite all time book ever. Ann Fairbairn's FIVE SMOOTH STONES. As soon as I found it was available as an eBook, I downloaded it. It was first published in 1966, went out of print. Was published again by a different publisher and went out of print again. It was published yet again fairly recently by a third publisher. I never ever want to not have this book in my life, so I keep buying copies of it and now have an electronic copy too.  Obsessive about FIVE SMOOTH STONES?  Big sigh, 'fraid so.

So, to me, the e-Readers have their own spot in a reader's life. Yes, I was one of those who said an e-Reader was of no interest. And yes, once again, I've eaten my words.

I'm a tickled pink owner of an iPad, on which I've downloaded the Kindle app and the Barnes & Noble app, in addition to the iPad iBooks app. 

One of the things I love - a spot an e-Reader fills for me, is being able catch up on some writers' back lists.

I'm constantly discovering "new to me" writers.  Many of whom have been around for quite awhile. Some of those writers have back lists which include out of print books, which are, or probably  will eventually, show up as e-Books. I'm not as willing (nor am I as able) to spend $30 on a hardback book for an author I'm not familiar with (even though I might be quite intrigued and interested in their books) as I am for an author that I'm quite loyal to.

The other reason I have one is 'cause it's fun. I love it. I'm a fan of today's technology - almost as much as I love my books, I love technology. So there. I'm guilty of enjoying my little gadgets (almost as much as my friend Molly Weston who was here recently). My iPad is my newest little buddy - don't even think about trying to separate us. It was a gift and one that keeps on giving.

Do I want to do my part for books, writers and independent bookstores? You bet I do. I do what I can. And I do it as often as I can. However, financially is not always one of the ways I'm going to be able to do as much as I would like. And frankly, I don't like being made to feel like I might be one of the bad guys because I don't have unlimited funds to spend to do my part in keeping any portion of the book industry, which I love, afloat - be they writer, publisher, or bookstore.

When a book tickles my fancy - I squeal about it and hope that word of mouth helps. Along with the money I spent on it.

When a bookstore tickles my fancy - I squeal about it and hope that word of mouth helps. Along with the money I've spent there.

Like most readers who are lovers of books - - - I do what I can.  

How 'bout you guys? Are any of you recent converts to e-Readers and e-Books? Or, do you reside in the other camp  and not care for e-Readers and e-Books? I'm interested in hearing thoughts and opinons about all this, please.

My Fictional Hero Has Taught Me Everything I Know by Michael Wiley

Michael Wiley writes the Joe Kozmarski mysteries. The Last Striptease (2007) won the Private Eye Writers of America and St. Martin’s Press competition for best first private eye novel and was a Shamus finalist. Booklist called The Bad Kitty Lounge (2010) “howlingly funny,” but the Washington Times objected that it’s too gritty, though Michael hopes that it’s too gritty in a “howlingly funny” kind of way. St. Martin’s Minotaur will publish A Bad Night’s Sleep in Spring, 2011. Michael lives with his family in North Florida.
 

 

My Fictional Hero Has Taught Me Everything I Know

by Michael Wiley

I’ve never subscribed to the idea that you should “Write What You Know.” The problem is that I live a subdued life. I’m happily married, the father of three, with a car in the driveway, a lawn to cut, and currently no out-of-control habits. I spend little time in dark alleys and no time at all catching homicidal criminals, though I like to think that if one knocked on the door I would have the presence of mind to call 911.

I admire the experience of guys like Barry Eisler, who spent three years in CIA Operations, and – I might as well go for broke here – John Le Carré, who spent five Cold War years in British intelligence. But my own sensitive government experience ended when I was about eight years old and stopping spying on my parents’ cocktail parties from behind the banister, and even my experience with local law enforcement (in which I was consistently the one running away instead of running after) ended ten years later when I cleaned up my act and went to college.

So, what is a writer of noir crime fiction to do when he lives mostly on the right side of the law and keeps daytime working hours? What is he to write about?

The answer, I think, is simple. Anything he wants to write about and is willing to learn. Past experience isn’t a requirement for a writer. But lack of experience is no excuse for getting the details wrong. So, if the writer of noir crime fiction is me, he finds out what he needs to know as he goes, and he lets his Private Investigator hero teach him the rest.

What has my PI – his name is Joe Kozmarski – taught me? Well, when I started writing my first mystery, I wanted to give Joe a hard-shooting, reliable, manly, but not macho pistol. So, I went to the Gun Gallery, which is my favorite local gun range, and asked the clerk, “If I want a hard-shooting, reliable, manly, but not macho pistol, what do you recommend?” “How about a Glock 23?” the clerk asked. Fifteen minutes later, I was standing in the range shooting a Glock 23, and that night, when I returned to my computer, Joe had a weapon.

Since then, I’ve talked my way onto construction cranes, ridden shotgun with homicide detectives, toured port-authority anti-terror checkpoints, and visited many of the places frequented by those who inhabit the pulpier and more noir spaces of life. Joe teaches me how to interact in each of these spaces.

He also teaches me how to deal with simpler challenges. For instance, a couple of years ago, I was in a Sharper Image store, looking among various display items for a birthday gift for my father. The White Noise Sleep Machine? I clicked it on. No, it sounded like an electric mixer. The Deluxe Nose & Ear Trimmer with Vacuum? Nah, I’d known since I was a child that nostrils should stay away from vacuums. An Instant Vacuum Meat Marinator? They had to be kidding – and what was it with Sharper Image and vacuums? A pair of Memory Foam Slippers for Men? No, just no. A Quad Action Percussion Massager? Well, not for Dad, but the sign said that it provided “a deep tissue massage wherever and whenever” the customer needed it. That sounded interesting, so I looked around the store and when no one was watching I hit the On button. It sounded like a White Noise Sleep Machine having sex with a Deluxe Nose & Ear Trimmer, so I quickly hit the Off button. But it stayed on. I hit the Off button again. The massager got louder. I smacked it against my leg. That seemed to turn on the hidden Nostril Vacuum. Customers were staring now. One of the sales clerks was crossing the store in my direction. What was I to do? Stick the massager in my pants and pretend all was well? Scream, “It’s alive!” and run out of the store? Though the moment seemed worthy of a dramatic response, I laid the massager – still vibrating – back on the display, glanced around the store as if I were considering other purchases, and then slipped outside.

I made it home. No police cars pulled me over. My mother didn’t call from across the country to tell me she’d seen my picture on TV. So, I sat at my computer and thought about how Joe Kozmarski would have handled the situation. I could see him wanting to stuff the massager in his pants and pretend all was well or to scream, “It’s alive.” But he wouldn’t do either of these things, and he wouldn’t put the massager back on its display and mosey out of the store. I started writing. I set the scene in the bedroom of Joe’s ex-wife. She’s in the shower. She has asked him to get a nightgown from her dresser, and he has reached into a drawer and pulled out a . . . toy, a dolphin-shaped toy, with an On-Off switch. He switches it on. He can’t turn it off. His ex-wife gets out of the shower and he still can’t turn it off. What is a hard-shooting, reliable, manly, but not macho PI to do? He carries the toy into the kitchen and drops it in the garbage disposal. That’s just the beginning of his problems.

Lesson learned.

Pat Conroy - - - again

There's not a one of you who has ever dropped by here who's not aware of how plumb goofy I am about Pat Conroy.  I've mentioned him here a time or two . . . (okay, a lot - I admit it).

Well, he's been in the news this week for a couple different reasons.

One - He discusses e-books.  He "says he knows so little about e-books that he didn't realize his work could be downloaded until a fan showed him during a recent promotional tour."

Two - he "will announce the National Book Award finalists at an Oct. 13 event in Savannah, Ga. The announcement will be made at Flannery O'Connor's childhood home."

And Three - BIG news for me - Yay!!  (a little self-indulgence can't be all bad if it's just every once in awhile, can it??)

I'm the over-the-moon happy, lucky recipient of an Advance Reading Copy of Mr. Conroy's newest book which is scheduled to hit the shelves in November.  MY READING LIFE is Mr. Conroy's most recent memoir.  

This from Random House: 

"Bestselling author Pat Conroy acknowledges the books that have shaped him and celebrates the profound effect reading has had on his life.

Pat Conroy, the beloved American storyteller, is also a vora­cious reader. He has for years kept a notebook in which he notes words or phrases, just from a love of language. But read­ing for him is not simply a pleasure to be enjoyed in off-hours or a source of inspiration for his own writing. It would hardly be an exaggeration to claim that reading has saved his life, and if not his life then surely his sanity.

In My Reading Life, Conroy revisits a life of passionate reading. He includes wonderful anecdotes from his school days, mov­ing accounts of how reading pulled him through dark times, and even lists of books that particularly influenced him at vari­ous stages of his life, including grammar school, high school, and college. Readers will be enchanted with his ruminations on reading and books . . . "

And here's a little excerpt for those of you who love Pat Conroy's work as much as I do -

"Great words, arranged with cunning and artistry, could change the perceived world for some readers.  From the beginning I've searched out those writers unafraid to stir up the emotions, who entrust me with their darkest passions, their most indestructible yearnings, and their most soul-killing doubts.  I trust the great novelists to teach me how to live, how to feel, how to love and hate.  I trust them to show me the dangers I will encounter on the road as I stagger on my own troubled passage through a complicated life of books that try to teach me how to die."

This book reads with all the emotion we've come to expect from Mr. Conroy.  It's filled with intensely personal stories that will fuel your love of the written word, make you laugh out loud, touch your heart and move you to tears.

FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me the book.

Vacations! by Toni L. P. Kelner

When not writing mystery novels and short stories, Toni L.P. Kelner edits urban fantasy anthologies with the scintillating Charlaine Harris.  Their first two volumes gathered stories about vampire birthdays—Many Bloody Returns—and werewolves at Christmas—Wolfsbane and Mistletoe.  For their third, the supernatural creatures of the world got free vacations to wherever their creators wanted to send them.  Death’s Excellent Vacation was released earlier this month as an Ace hardcover and a Brilliance audio book.

VACATIONS!  

by Toni L. P. Kelner

 I love vacations.  Whether it’s relaxing at the beach, running around Disney World, visiting museums, or just exploring a new city, I love going places.  The packing I could do without, but travel is wonderful.  And the best part of all is that for a writer, all vacations are working vacations.

Now a lot of people have said that writers are always working, and there’s some truth in that.  It may look as if I’m just playing Bejeweled Blitz or watching at the chipmunk in the yard, but mysterious authorial processes are going on in my brain.  (Really!)  But nothing adds grist to my writer-ly mill like a vacation.

A vacations gets me out of my rut, shakes out the mental cobwebs, and shows me more of the world.  And every thing I see in real life makes my fictional world that much richer.

Which brings me to Death’s Excellent Vacation, the anthology Charlaine Harris and I recently edited.  It’s chock-full of vacation stories.  We’ve got Charlaine’s vampire going to casinos, Sharan Newman’s leprechaun returning to Ireland, Lilith Saintcrow’s gargoyle heading for Paris, A. Lee Martinez’s unusual creatures at a New England bed-and-breakfast, and Katie MacAlister’s demon taking the vacation from hell—literally.  Now I know that not all our contributors are writing about places they’ve been—I’m pretty sure Katie hasn’t been to hell—but I’d be willing to bet that some of them are writing about places they’ve gone for fun.  I know for a fact that Chris Grabenstein has spent time on the Jersey shore and Sarah Smith has been in Japan. 

I know I was inspired by some of my own vacations in my contribution.  The park in “Pirate Dave’s Haunted Amusement Park” is drawn from two different places:  Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA and Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH.  Admittedly, I didn’t encounter pirates, vampires, werewolves, or ninja in either park—those elements came to me while watching the chipmunk in the yard—but I tried to capture some of the sights, sounds, and smells of my fun days out.  And I was not visiting either place with the intention of writing a story about it.  I didn’t even write off the trips on my taxes!

For a writer, even writing can be a vacation—if you’re writing something different.  Look at Jeff Abbott and Daniel Stashower—they said they’d never done anything supernatural, making work on their contributions almost as good as time off.  L.A. Banks and Jeaniene Frost usually write novels—writing something short was their vacation.  As for Christopher Golden….  Heck, forget Chris.  He apparently never goes on vacation.  Have you seen how much he publishes every year?

But leaving Chris out of it, we other writers need our vacations.  And just to prove my commitment to this belief, as you read this, I’m on vacation in the UK.  It may look to the uninitiated like all I’m doing is snapping photos at the Sherlock Holmes museum, being awestruck by the Rosetta Stone, and geeking my way through the Doctor Who bus tour to Cardiff.  Bu you all know that I’m actually working, and chances are some of what I see is going to sneak into my books.

The News

I used to be a news junkie.

I started my day, (every single day) reading all the major news on my computer.

Now?

Pfft.

I rarely open one of the big dot com newspaper sites.  And no, I don't watch the news on TV - the visuals are upsetting and stay with me much too long.  Besides which - there's all the dumb tabloid "stuff" that is supposed to be news.  But it's not news - it's just junk celebrity gossip and there's a place for it, I'm sure, but not on what's billed as "the news." 

I now get my news fix from NPR.com and BBC.com because they're able to give me the news without the tabloid crap and without putting an "in your face" slant on everything.  Today's big news corporations tell me what "they" want me to hear, and some of them don't give a flip about the truth and validity of what they're telling (or selling).  The days of unbiased news in this country are, in my opinion, pretty much gone.

Oddly enough, I also catch some news at Facebook.  I love Facebook.  I love it for any number of reasons, but today I'll just pick one.

The news.  (We can talk about the other things we love (or hate) about Facebook another day).

Because a large percentage of my Facebook friends share the same political and ideological views I do, it makes sense that news articles I especially enjoy pop up with regularity.  However, I also see articles posted by friends who do not share my views - but they're posted without the nasty rhetoric you might have to put up with in some corners; and that's lovely.  It's enough to keep me informed and able to form my own opinions; which are not as clear cut and straight down a party line as they once were.

Anyhoooo . . .

Facebook brought the following stories to my attention which I've enjoyed - see what you think - - - (i know, i know - some of these may "not" be news, but they're stories I enjoyed.  Is the girl who quit her job even the truth?  I have no idea - but I loved it anyway).

A "Fed-Up Flight Attendant Makes Sliding Exit."

A "Girl quits her job on dry erase board, emails entire office (33 photos)."

 and in the book world - two of my favorite authors - - -

Pat Conroy and the e-book future

and

Laura Lippman talks about The Nature of Memory

and

finally - one more thing I found at Facebook is just for fun - Enjoy!!

Falling in Love with Your Heroes by Neil Plakcy

Neil Plakcy is the author of the Aidan and Liam bodyguard adventure series, Three Wrong Turns in the Desert and Dancing with the Tide.

His other books are Mahu, Mahu Surfer, Mahu Fire, Mahu Vice, and Mahu Men, about openly gay Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa’aka, GayLife.com, and In Dog We Trust, a golden retriever mystery.

He edited Paws & Reflect: A Special Bond Between Man and Dog and the gay erotic anthologies Hard Hats, Surfer Boys and Skater Boys (2010).

Plakcy is a journalist and book reviewer as well as an assistant professor of English at Broward College’s south campus in Pembroke Pines. He is vice president of the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and a frequent contributor to gay anthologies.

Falling in Love with Your Heroes 

by Neil Plakcy

Remember that feeling of falling in love? You want to spend time with that special someone, get to know everything about him or her, see how that initial attraction develops. That’s the way I feel about the heroes of my books. I fall in love with every one of them.

Kimo Kanapa’aka, the Honolulu homicide detective hero of my Mahu mystery series, is the character who has evolved the most of all my heroes, perhaps because I’ve been writing about him the longest. In 1992 I went to Hawai’i on vacation, and began work on a book about a private eye who was also a surfer, and who spent a lot of time on the beach at Waikiki. He was a handsome, sexy, mixed-race guy, and I was intrigued as I got to know him.

But I didn’t know him that well, as it turns out. I was challenged to explain why he’d left the police force to become a private eye, and I didn’t know the answer. I ended up abandoning that book and writing Mahu, where I worked through many drafts, and Kimo be became a gay cop struggling with his sexuality. By the time I finished that first book, I had fallen in love with him.

From book to book, he has grown and changed, just like any lover. He’s become more comfortable with his sexuality, met and lost a boyfriend then found him again. Like Kimo, I fell for that guy, handsome fire investigator Mike Riccardi, and like Kimo, I had to get to know him in order to love him. Working through Mike’s issues deepened my affection for him. I even wrote a short story from his point of view, which helped me understand him on his own, not just through the lens of Kimo’s affection for him.

It was a different story with the heroes of my Have Body, Will Guard series. The first book, Three Wrong Turns in the Desert, began with the image of a handsome, well-built guy taking a shower outdoors. ESL teacher Aidan Greene, on his own in Tunis, spies former SEAL Liam McCullough at that shower, and falls for him hard—hard enough that he lets himself get dragged on a crazy adventure through the Sahara.

My love affair with Aidan began as I investigated his back story, how he’d been dumped by a long-term lover and fled Philadelphia for a job several time zones away from his ex. I empathized with him and wanted to provide him the happy ending I thought he deserved.

I fell for Liam, too. His back story wasn’t as clear to me; he had left the SEALs after violating “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and set himself up as a bodyguard in Tunis. When he mistakes Aidan for a client, and the client is killed, the job of completing his client’s mission gets very personal for him. Since I was writing from Aidan’s point of view, for the most part, it was harder to get a grip on Liam. Was he just using Aidan? Or was he falling in love, too?

My editor helped me figure that out, and see that Liam needed Aidan in his life just as much as Aidan needed Liam. Understanding his vulnerability made him come alive to me.

The second book in that series, Dancing with the Tide, debuted in June, and I’ve written a draft of the third book in the series, Teach Me Tonight. The more I get to know Aidan and Liam, the more I love them.

Not that I don’t love the guys in my other books, but when you work on a series, it’s like you’ve taken your relationship to the next level. Now you start to see the dirty clothes dropped on the floor, the open tube of toothpaste in the bathroom. To keep on writing about them, you have to love them, and you hope that readers will love them, too.

I do, and I hope my readers do, too.

http://www.mahubooks.com

http://www.loose-id.com/Our-Authors/Neil-Plakcy/

Creative Nonfiction

Creative Nonfiction.

What IS that?  What does it mean?

Broken down, to me, it sounds a bit like someone stretching the truth a little?  In other words, maybe even telling a lie?  Well, doesn't it?

Heaven forbid!  It does say NON-fiction, after all.  But "Creative . . . ?"

Creative Nonfiction.

It's hard to explain, but there are other terms meaning the same thing, but which make it seem a little less like prevarication and more definitive, perhaps.  Literary non-fiction.  Or narrative non-fiction.  Those makes a little more sense to me, but neither sounds as provocative, or even as much fun. 

Lifted directly from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_nonfiction - it's described as follows:

"Creative nonfiction (also known as literary or narrative nonfiction) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is not primarily written in service to its craft. As a genre, creative nonfiction is still relatively young, and is only beginning to be scrutinized with the same critical analysis given to fiction and poetry.

For a text to be considered creative nonfiction, it must be factually accurate, and written with attention to literary style and technique. “Ultimately, the primary goal of the creative nonfiction writer is to communicate information, just like a reporter, but to shape it in a way that reads like fiction.”^[1] Forms within this genre include personal essays, memoir, travel writing, food writing, biography, literary journalism, and other hybridized essays. Critic Chris Anderson claims that the genre can be understood best by splitting it into two subcategories—the personal essay and the journalistic essay—but the genre is currently defined by its lack of established conventions.^[2]"

There's loads more said about it at Wikipedia at the link I've given above, and it's all quite interesting - I urge you to go see for yourselves.  Especially if you're a blogger.  I guess we bloggers are writing "Creative Nonfiction."  Aren't we?  I like it.  And it sounds loads nicer that "blogger."   Well, doesn't it??

Is it just another term for storyteller?

Or essayist?

Essays seem to come into literary fashion at times, then become less fashionable at other times.  Right now seems to be a "in" time for them.  Just like womens' clothing  -  everything old is new again.  For instance - scarves and shawls are "in" again, which tickles me pink,  and I'm glad I still have several from back when they were "in" several years ago.   I am a lover of long scarves.  Toss one around your neck and you've dressed up your white shirt and jeans just a tad.  Toss a shawl around your shoulders, and you're instantly feeling a little more dressed up, and maybe a little mysterious.

Actually, there are a lot of us who tend to ignore "fashion" and wear (or read) what suits us best.  

Essays have long been a favorite of mine, as have shawls.  

Some people have a special knack for "creative nonfiction," and are able to turn it into an art form that can bring great joy.  

Just as some peoples' novels bring some of us more joy than others, so too the short story and the essay.  The same with any form of artistic expression - a painting, a piece of handwoven or hand-knitted textile art, handthrown pottery . . .  whatever.  The artist imprints each piece with their own, individual style.  That style can become quite recognizable once the artist has found their technique, or "voice."  And some we find more pleasing than others, of course - art, in any form, is a very personal thing.

I have a few books of essays that stay pretty close at hand.  They're the perfect late night reading for me when I feel like a short read before turning in.  I cannot go to sleep without reading.  Can't do it, and really - don't even want to.  But.  I have this terrible habit of picking up a book late at night, then reading until the wee hours which makes it pretty tough to get up when that alarm starts its rude shrieking.  So, I've discovered short stories and essays work a little better for me.  

I've learned though, not to go on-line and start reading some of my favorite creative nonfiction blogs late at night.  It is way too easy to get caught up in that - especially if I feel moved to comment.  Talk about hours getting away from me.  Oy.

So, here's a couple of the books of creative nonfiction I've been re-reading lately -

 

While Nancy Peacock was trying to make it as a novelist, one of the things she did while trying to support herself was work as a housekeeper.  Finally, after two critically acclaimed novels she thought she had "arrived," but still couldn't afford to quit cleaning houses.  Not only that - the act of cleaning other people's houses gave her, in her words, what she needed to write - "solitude and gossip."  I just love this book.   I highly recommend A BROOM OF ONE'S OWN - WORDS ON WRITING, HOUSECLEANING & LIFE.

If you ever read Gourmet Magazine, you're familiar with Laurie Colwin's columns.  This is a collection of some of the columns she wrote before dying quite young and unexpectedly.  I loved every word I ever read that she wrote.  She wrote funny, touching pieces.

 And, of course, the one you've all heard me rave about numerous times already - 

Because I'm as big a fan of food as I am writing, I'm sure this book would have eventually found its way onto my nightstand.  Given the fact, however, that it was written by my favorite all-time writer ever, I had it pre-ordered the day I heard about it.  It did not disappoint.  I simply love and adore this book - it's full of great recipes, of course - but it is SO much more than that.  It's full of wonderful stories, and words of wisdom and wit as only Pat Conroy can give them, and I'm betting his next book of essays will join it on my nightstand, where they'll both live in harmony - oh boy . . .

Pat Conroy writing about books he's loved . . . I can't wait.

Writing Contests are Wonderful except for the Judges by J. Michael Orenduff

Mike Orenduff grew up in El Paso, Texas and received his B.A. from the University of Texas.  He received his M.A. from the University of New Mexico and his Ph.D. from Tulane.  He was a university professor and administrator in seven states and three countries before taking early retirement (or, as his friends describe it, a midlife crisis) to begin a writing career. His “Pot Thief” murder mysteries feature Hubie Schuze, a mild-mannered but politically incorrect treasure hunter who digs up and sells ancient Southwestern pottery.  He was doing it before Congress redefined treasure hunting as theft, and as Hubie likes to say, “Who knows more about thievery than Congress?” Mike currently lives in Valdosta, Georgia where his wife, the noted art historian Dr. Lai Orenduff, is a faculty member at Valdosta State University. 

Writing Contests are Wonderful except for the Judges

by J. Michael Orenduff

            The best thing about writing contests is someone wins, which cannot be said of the three other things you can do with your stories (two if you reject the burning them alternative).  You can send them to a publisher, but most publishers won’t accept your stories except through an agent.  You can send them to an agent, but most agents will throw them in the recycle bin without even opening the envelop. They want a query first.  If art galleries worked this way, they’d ask to see your brushes and paints before consenting to look at your canvasses.  If a hundred writers send a query to the same agent, it’s likely none will be invited to submit actual work.  But if a hundred writers submit work to a contest, at least there will be a winner.  Contests provide a ray of hope in an otherwise dismal business.

            The worst thing about contests are the judges.  This is not sour grapes  on my part.  My first mystery, The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras, won the Dark Oak Mystery Contest and the Kindle version won the “Eppie” for eBook Mystery of the Year.  My second book, The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras, was selected as the Best Fiction Book of the Year last month by the Public Safety Writers Association.  My play, The Christmas Visitor, has won four awards, including first place in the Jewel Box Playwriting Contests, and the top list in the annual contest sponsored by Writers Digest.  Even that had a depressing side. The letter informing me of my success also informed me they received over 31,000 entries!  The two primary requirements to be a writer are irrational optimism and either a large bank account or the franking privileges of a Congressman.  

            After reading scores of judging sheets (I’ve entered more contests than the ones I was successful in), I’ve finally figured out what’s wrong with judges.  They don’t read real books.  They are too busy reading books about how to write books and attending seminars about how to write books.  And some of them, one assumes, are also busy writing their own books using the techniques they have learned in those books and seminars dealing with books. 

            The evidence for this conclusion are the notes judges scribble on the manuscript, things like “We don’t know who Jane is” after an opening sentence of chapter three that says something like, “Jane threw two fresh ice cubes into the tumbler of Old Stumpblower,” or “This musing breaks the rhythm of the story” in the margin next so a sentence in which the protagonist says something like, “The mangled corpse brought back images from Viet Nam that I had worked for years to suppress,” or “No conflict” penned under an innocent paragraph where the protagonist and her brother are remembering the day they were chased by a dog.  From which it must be concluded that three rules of writing are 1) always explain who a character is before you let her do or say anything, 2) excise all sentences that do not advance the action, and 3) do not allow any narrative or dialog not essential to the story.

            W. Somerset Maugham said, “There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”  I find it telling that judges who like my work, in addition to displaying impeccable literary taste, seldom fall back on generalized do’s and don’ts, offering instead comments directed to the specific work.  Thus, “We don’t know who Jane is” is replaced by “The hardworking, hard-drinking Jane was well-drawn, and I found myself caring about what would happen to her.”  Even their negative comments are specific and therefore useful – “I found Jane to be just another hackneyed stereotype of the alcoholic reporter.”

            There is good writing and bad writing and I’ve demonstrated the ability to do both.  The trick is to increase the preponderance of the former.  Rules are not very helpful.  Lawrence Sanders’ Archie McNally series of murder mysteries is so light it’s been described as “frothy,” and fully half of each book is given over to musings, observations, and asides that do not advance the plot, do not contain conflict, and do not keep the action moving.  In a word, they are unnecessary.  However, the books sold so well that what was necessary was to continue them even after Sanders’ death.  The publisher hired Vince Lardo to continue, although Sanders’ name remains displayed more prominently on the covers.  There are no doubt other Lawrence Sanders out there, but they can’t get published because they don’t follow the rules.  Indeed, I suspect there are thousands of aspiring writers people would enjoy reading.  The fact that these writers are unpublished explains why used bookstores are so popular.  The agents and big publishing houses have choked off the supply of real books and turned instead to celebrity books, mindless drivel by celebrity politicians like Bill Clinton and Sarah Palin.

            For any rule a contest judge can cite, I can show you a fiction best-seller that breaks it.  The best way to become a good contest judge is also the best way to become a good writer.  Read enough real books that you develop an ear for what works.

I Blame Nancy Drew by Dean James

Dean James, a seventh-generation Mississippi long transplanted to Texas, is the author of fifteen mystery novels under his own name and three pseudonyms, Jimmie Ruth Evans, Honor Hartman, and Miranda James.

He has also co-authored or co-edited six works of mystery non-fiction, co-edited a mystery story anthology, and published short stories in anthologies like _Delta Blues_ and the forthcoming _Lone Star Noir_. Currently he is a librarian in the Texas Medical Center.

Writing as Miranda James, he debuts the new "Cat in the Stacks" series which features a widowed librarian, Charlie Harris, and his Maine coon cat Diesel.

First in the series is _Murder Past Due_ (Berkley Prime Crime; $7.99), published August 3, 2010.

 

I Blame Nancy Drew

by Dean James

Nancy Drew is responsible for my life of crime. I must have been ten or eleven when I picked up a cousin’s copy of The Secret of Shadow Ranch and started reading. Up till then my staple fare from my public library’s collection was either mythology or biography (written especially for young readers – anyone besides me remember Augusta Stevenson?). But once I joined Nancy, Bess, and George on the hunt for that mysterious ghost horse, I never looked back. Nancy is still perhaps my all-time favorite mystery character -- followed closely by Albert Campion, Miss Jane Marple, and Amelia Peabody.

Though I’m eclectic when it comes to reading mysteries, when writing them I prefer the amateur detective. I have no desire to be a cop, and I’m not sure I really want to learn enough about police procedure to write a police procedural. I’d rather face the situation from the amateur point of view.

Critics of this kind of mystery point out that it is highly unrealistic for an amateur detective to solve a murder, let alone solve a long string of them (like Jessica Fletcher, aka the Harbinger of Violent Death and the Woman Most Likely to Get the Door Slammed in Her Face Because Someone’s About to Die). My response to that is, if I want realistic crime-solving, I’ll watch one of those reality cop shows on TV. It’s fiction, right? Where writers make stuff up to entertain readers?

Any writer of amateur detective mysteries relies on what Samuel Taylor Coleridge coined as the “willing suspension of disbelief” way back in 1817. If you can’t suspend disbelief long enough to think that a nosy librarian or a mystery bookseller or a cookie bakery owner might become involved in a murder investigation, then I would politely suggest you find something else to read.

Writers are by nature nosy; we have an avid interest in people and what makes them tick, even if we spend a lot of time alone in a room with a computer or a typewriter or a pad and pen. I therefore don’t have any problem with making my amateur detective nosy enough to become involved in serial murder investigations, all jokes about Jessica Fletcher Syndrome aside.

I read mysteries to escape. Occasionally I want to be thrilled and feel my stomach knot up because of the suspense. But most of the time I want a safer, less stressful escape, into a world where I know order will somehow be restored by the end of the book. It won’t be a perfect order, but it will be close enough - especially compared to what I see on the evening news.

Charlie Harris, the main character in my new “Cat in the Stacks” series is a widower, around fifty, who has moved back to his hometown of Athena, Mississippi after the death of his wife and his aunt. The latter left him her house, and with his two children grown and out of the nest, Charlie decides small town life is more appealing than staying in the big city, Houston. Shortly after the move, he finds a stray kitten in the parking lot of the public library. The kitten is a Maine coon with a rumbling purr, and Charlie names him Diesel. Charlie takes the cat with him almost everywhere, and Diesel soon becomes a familiar site in Athena.

I also made Charlie a librarian (specifically, a cataloger like me) because libraries are such wonderful places and librarians, who are naturally inquisitive, make excellent amateur detectives. Charlie and Diesel make their debut on August 3rd in Murder Past Due (Berkley Prime Crime, $7.99). If you like amateur detectives as much as I do, I hope you’ll give my new series a try.