Listening to music

I can't remember if I have written about this before but I love listening to music when I write. It puts me in the mood. Generally I go for instrumental music so that the vocals don't intrude and distract me. But there are some vocals I love to hear even when I write. They set a good mood without being distracting.

One of those selections is "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn. I love the song. It is imaginative and creative. And it makes me want to write better, to be better.

There are some art forms that inspire me to do better. Good writing is one, of course. Paintings, particularly Impressionism, can have that affect. But the thing that gets me going the most is music. The genius is so apparent, particularly for someone as thick as me.

So right now I am listening to "Walking" because it is a beautiful song. And it reminds me of my only visit to Memphis four years ago. I attended an NABJ regional convention and monitored a debate between candidates for president of NABJ.

But what was so wonderful about the trip is that I drove down to Memphis with a very special young college student whose name is a perfect description of her -- Special.

Though Special was attending college in suburban Indianapolis and I met her when I went there to talk to a group of communication students, she is from Memphis. And during the time I was there, Special and her mom drove me around one afternoon and showed me the sights. Graceland. The Lorraine Motel. The old Stax studio. Beale Street. We even went into Mississippi.

So when I listen to "Walking in Memphis" I think of the time I was walking in Memphis. The song touches me in some ways that others do not.

I feel inspired and write faster than normal. And right now, as I am working on finishing a first draft of THE DEATH OF ART, writing fast and getting it all down is the primary goal. Making it good is the goal of later drafts.

That is what music does for me. What does it do for you?

Thanks for reading. Listen to music and keep writing.

Research

While I am still working on THE DEATH OF ART, I know the novel I'd like to write in November for National Novel Writing Month. (I think the title will be IN SEARCH FOR A DRINK OF MILK or THE STRUGGLE FOR A DRINK OF MILK. I like the former but the latter better describes the situation the hero will face.) And, like with DOA, it will take some research.

So I have started researching my next novel.

The story involves racing and while I love racing and have a workman's knowledge and understanding of the sport, there is a lot a don't know or understand. I don't intend to be too technical in the novel -- it's a general read not genre fiction -- but to have credibilty, I need to have a better understanding of the technical aspects of racing than I currently have.

(The story is about the challenges a drive faces in returning to the sport following a devastating and near-fatal accident. And, given the sad news from Hungary from over the weekend, I now intend to pay particular attention to Felipe Massa's recovery from head injuries.)

I can't go into specifics about spring settings or mechnical down force but I will have to know what they mean even if I don't bring them up. It's important -- crucial, really -- to have a solid grasp of knowledge on your subject before you write about it.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

The Joy of Writing

I have been really enjoying my writing lately. The plot in my story is going reasonably well and the writing is fun and almost easy.

I am talking about THE DEATH OF ART, of course. At this point in the story, the hero, Jason, is in the thick of things, and it's going to get worse. The guy who's been doing all the killing and who faked his own death to throw the authorities off his scent is going to start threatening our hero. And in addition to this professional challenge, Jason is having problems with the woman who would be his gal. I haven't decided how -- or whether -- I will resolve the personal conflict. It started in the first Jason Crown novel and has continued into this one. But I may want to keep it going for a while and leave the reader wondering -- in much the same way Janet Evanovich keeps us wondering who Stephanie will choose, Joe or Ranger.

The problem with Stephanie's character is that she hasn't grown, while all the characters around her have. I want to avoid that with Jason and Davida, so I might resolve that conflict sooner than later. (I will probably follow the lead in the Blackford Oakes series. Although Black's relationship with Sally wasn't that rocky, as I recall, it had strains. But he still married her.)

The interwining of the personal and the professional, I think, is what makes this story interesting -- that and the on-going real life controversy of the Barnes Foundation. The Barnes just make the perfect back drop for a murder mystery.

I am enjoying myself working at home at the desk in the guest room but I also must admit I look forward to the girls going back to school in the fall. Having them around so much in the middle of the day is quite distracting. Much more than with Pluto. But I still get work done, both the paying and non-paying kind.

Glad to have this laptop back and in reasonably good working order. (There is still a problem, however. In the middle of typing the cursor will jump for no reason at all to an earlier point. Just now it jumped back four lines with no warning. It suddenly appeared in the middle of the last sentence in that paragraph.)

Have a good week. Thanks for reading and keep writing.

More marketing

I am learning more and more about the ins and outs of book marketing and it is a difficult lesson.

While I am still working on my own novel, I am also chair of my local Sisters in Crime marketing committee and am charged with developing a marketing plan for the chapter and for our two anthologies, including the one being published next year.

I have several committee members and am getting help from my wife, a marketing guru herself. But developing plan and implementing it is proving to be a major task.

But we have a list of potential contacts and are preparing to send out our first press release before next weekend's Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis.

I will go into more details another time. But for now, it's time foe dinner.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Marketing

I am going to get my first taste of marketing first hand and very quickly. At our last Sisters in Crime meeting, we got several volunteers for a new marekting committee to handle the marketing and publicity of our upcoming anthology, BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD. And I was suckered into being the committee chair.

Now I have read tons and tons of stuff on book marketing, of course. Now I will have to try some of it out. I am taking this quite seriously. While in the last 21 months we have sold nearly two-thirds of the print run of our first anthology, RACING CAN BE MURDER, there wasn't a coordinated, aggressive effort to market the book.

I want to change that this time around.

First I want to develop a strategic plan to market the last anthology and in doing so raise some awareness of the next book, which will be published in May. I particularly want to have some initial plans in place and active by Oct. 1, which will be two weeks before thousands of mystery writers, readers and book industry people will be in town for Bouchercon 2009.

I plan to really promote our books and the chapter during the convention.

But that is just the start. We need to think outside the box and reach into areas we didn't think of before, or for some reason just didn't go into before. We might try some craft shows this fall and we are definitely using the Internet and the local women's media better this time around.

The point is to raise money for the chapter and raise some awareness of the authors in the book, me included. But the book won't sell itself. We have to do it. And once I have a better understanding of what works and what doesn't, I will know better how to promote my own book when I get published.

I'm nervous and, quite frankly, a little scared. But I am determined to do what I can to sell out all of our books -- both anthologies. I will try to remember to update you as things progress.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.