The Missing Medallion

The Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime plans to publish a basketball anthology next year, with the publication date possibly being during March Madness. When we pitched the idea to the publisher more than a year ago, he jumped on it immediately.

The deadline for the story submission was yesterday, July 15. The deadline was set months and months ago so there shouldn't have been a problem with making it with plenty of time left over.

One would think . . .

I got my story in under the deadline by a little over two hours.

My story is called, "The Missing Medallion", and is the fictional story of an legendary old high school basketball coach who for 40 years held on to a winner's medallion for a player who disappeared minutes after scoring the basket that clinches the state basketball championship. It was a lot of work but I think the end result is good.

Thanks to the five people who braved the first draft and who offered wonderful suggestions for improvements. The suggestions, many of them taken, greatly improved the project.

Now I wait to hear what the editor and publisher have to say. I am ready for any notes they have to offer.

The title of the anthology is Hoosier Hijinx. It will be the chapter's third anthology, following Racing Can Be Murder (2007) and Bedlam at the Brickyard (2010). My story in Bedlam was my first published fiction.

The editors for Racing are serving as editors again.

I contributed factoids for Bedlam two years ago, and this time will help write and edit profiles of prominent basketball personalities with connections to Indiana.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Busy day tomorrow

I have a busy day tomorrow surrounded by other writers.

In the morning, I have the monthly meeting of the Indianapolis Association of Black Journalists, and in the afternoon I am attending a book fair at a nearby Barnes and Noble bookstore. And several of the authors in BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD will be signing copies at the book fair.

It looks to be a fine end to a busy and hectic week. I have been writing a lot and when I haven't been writing, I have been researching material for National Novel Writing Month. All in all, it has been a productive week.

The book signing should be fun, and there promises to be lots of people milling about looking for a good book. I hope we sell a lot of copies. Plus, I think our book trailer may be finished and we will be able to show it on a laptop. That should be fun.

Fortunately, it promises to be a quiet Sunday. I will need the rest because next week I will start and, hopefully, complete the outline for my NaNoWriMo book, and I need to finish up the freelance project I am currently working on.

So, have a good weekend. And thanks for reading.

Oh that name!

The second most popular blog post I have is from Jan. 4, 2008, and is called, What's in a Name, Part II. In that post I discuss the possible name of the book I was about to start. It was about the murder of a black newspaper publisher and the novel, still unsold and unrepresented, is called DEATH AT THE JUNGLE-BUNNY JOURNAL.

I worried that no publisher would risk taking on such a non-PC title. Or that they may be brave enough to take the chance since I am an African-American writer. Nothing so far.

But given that that blog posting is the second most popular posting I have, the title must strike a cord somewhere.

I haven't decided on what the title will be for the novel I plan to write in November. It probably won't be something as interesting as Jungle-bunny Journal. But maybe . . .

Haven't had a lot of time this week to query or blog. But I have been working hard mentally on an outline for the NaNoWriMo novel. Perhaps more on that in the coming weeks.

But for now, have a good weekend. I have a booksigning for BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD tomorrow in Bloomington and another one in Speedway next Saturday.

Thanks for reading.

Query News, Part II

It's been quite a week in the Query Wars. Two weeks, really.

Since the Friday before Labor Day, I have sent out 29 query letters for AN UNTIDY AFFAIR, some with partial pages attached and some without. Twenty-six were e-mail submissions, two were submissions through the agency's in-house process via their website and one went by snail mail.

No requests for additional pages, a partial or the entire manuscript. There have been 12 rejections, including one in the return envelope through the U.S. Postal Service.

This week was the big week, of course. I got four rejections on Monday, more than on any single day since I started sending at queries for my first book, FIGHTING CHAOS, three years ago. Tuesday saw two additional rejections, none Wednesday, one on Thursday and none (so far) today.

Totally, my response rate is just over 40 percent. But it may increase in the next week or so and in about two weeks I will send out reminders to selected agents. In the past, that has also generated a couple of responses.

I was reminded this week, more than once, actually, that all it will take is for ONE agent to love my book. I can't do much except send out queries until I find that ONE.

Enjoy the weekend. I will be attending a book fair tomorrow at the Hancock County Public Library and, hopefully, signing some copies of my story in BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD.

Thanks for reading. Now go out and write something good.

Fan mail

Having a reader write or call to say they enjoyed your work is, I have found, one of the truly wonderful things about writing. I write with the reader in mind but first reader I work to please is always me. After that, I hope I connect with someone else. As I work, I am never sure.

I have gotten some very positive comments on my short story "The Missing CD" which is in BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD, which was published in June. And yes, most of the comments have come from people I know. But I have gotten a couple of e-mails from out of the blue.

I got an e-mail just today from someone who asked me about a detail in the story. It involved the storage room where Speedway Museum officials keep the vehicles that are not displayed on the museum floor.

I told her I wrote what little I knew about that aspect of the museum, which I had researched, and I made up the rest. That is why it is called fiction.

I don't know what I will do when I have a novel published and I start getting some mail that is not so positive. Probably what I have always done as a reporter: Thank the reader and not let their comments get to me.

We will see. But for now, I am enjoying what little fan mail I get.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Always bring a pen

As a reporter, when I am going into an interview, I always follow a Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared! And when I talk to students about the craft of reporting and writing, I make a point of that.

As a journalist going out on an interview, I generally carry at least two, sharpened No. 4 pencils -- I prefer taking notes in pencil and I like my pencils to stay sharp, thus the choice of the harder lead No. 4 over the softer lead No. 2. It's hard to find them in retail outlets so I have to order them online -- one or two pens, and a reporter's notebook.

I have never liked relying on recording interviews but I have used recording devices from time to time, though no longer. But I always made sure the recorder was working before heading out and before I started to use it. I also carried extra batteries and I always still took notes in longhand.

Until recently, I always carried a reporter's notebook and a pen in the glove compartment of my car. Since I don't do daily journalism anymore, I stopped that but I still have paper and pen in the car in case I need to take notes.

So you'd think I'd be better prepared as an author. Not always.

Before I headed out last week to a book store for a booksigning for BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD, I make sure I had extra copies of the book in the trunk of my car, I had a handful of bookmarks, a 24-inch X 36-inch poster of the book cover and a bottle of water.

I thought of it five minutes before I left but in the end, I forgot to take a pen.

Now I ask you -- what sense does to make to go to a booksigning and not take a pen to sign some freakin' books? Yes, the store had some. One of the other authors let me borrow one of theirs. But going without a pen is just plain dumb.

It's a small detail but it is all about being prepared. I have learned a valuable lesson so heres some advice for you.

Always bring a pen!

Well, that's it this week for this aspiring author. Have a good weekend.

Thanks for reading, don't give up and always remember to take a pen.

Booksigning

This is going to be a big week for BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD. We have three booksignings in the next week, and next weekend is the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. All 15 short stories in the anthology are related in one way or another to NASCAR or to the Brickyard 400 stock car race.

Today's signing is at Mudsock Books in Fishers, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. We have another signing arranged by a book seller at a retirement center on the northside on Thursday and next Saturday we have a signing in Muncie, where three of the contributing authors live. The Muncie event will be the first outside of the Indianapolis area. We have others planned this fall for Mooresville, Bloomington and Speedway.

I love signings because of all the attention, but also because it is an opportunity to talk to people about books. It's always a bit of a rush for me. As I strive to become a successful author, I hope that feeling, that rush, never fads.

Anyway, I have to go. I need to be there in 30 minutes.

Thanks for reading. Go out and buy a book, and most importantly of all, keep writing.

A Mister Sister

I am a Mister Sister, and I'm proud of it!

In the last Sisters in Crime newsletter I got several weeks ago, there was a wonderful article called, Brothers in Crime, which focused on SinC members like me -- men in Sisters in Crime.

The goal of SinC has been the same since the beginning in 1987; working to achieve equality for women writers in the publishing industry, particularly in the crime genre. But, as the article written by SinC chapter liaison Sandra Parshall states, that doesn't mean the organization wants to take away anything from male writers. In fact, men have been part of SinC since the beginning. SinC is supportive of all writers, regardless of gender.

I joined Sisters in Crime specifically because of two male members in the Speed City chapter, Tony Perona and Jim Huang. As Jim says, SinC programs are supportive and inclusive of everyone. SinC is positive and upbeat. And I see that in every chapter meeting. I don't feel out of place though often there are only one or two men in attendance.

The Speed City chapter of SinC has three dozen members and six are men. That's not a bad percentage. In fact, I think it is slightly higher than the national, where male membership is around 12 percent to 14 percent. I am the only male officer of our chapter, where I have served for two years as secretary, but I truly believe I have benefited from membership far more than I have contributed.

I joined SinC in 2008 after writing my first novel, FIGHTING CHAOS. (Note, the title of my blog stems from the title of the book.) No one in the group has read Chaos. But members have read and commented on subsequent work and I can say without fear of contradiction that my writing has improved tremendously as a result.

All the stories in BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD are written by local members of Sisters in Crime, and three of the 15 stories are by men. That also isn't a bad percentage. David Reddick wrote two, including one under the pseudonym Joan Bruce, and I wrote one. So this Saturday Dave and I will proudly display our Mister Sister status.


Dave and I, all the other BEDLAM authors and all the local members of SinC want to invite you to come to the BEDLAM launch and book signing on Saturday, June 12, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Carmel. (There will be refreshments.) Pick up a book and read some of the wonderful stories by wonderful local writers. I look forward to seeing you there.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

A published author. Now what . . .

I was in the publisher's warehouse last week on the day when the first copies of BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD arrived from the printer and I took a couple of copies for promotional purposes. When I opened the first copy I had, it was on a page of my story, "The Missing CD."

I have been a journalist for many, many years and have seen my name in print countless times. I even have copies of my by lined stories from The New York Times. But this was different. The Missing CD is my first piece of published fiction. And I was thrilled.

I could complain about some of the copy editing but I won't because it doesn't matter. And because, overall, the book and my story look great. It is exciting to see this project reach its next stage. It's produced and is being distributed to bookstores and now we are in a big publicity push.

In addition to the launch party on June 12, we have another signing at a bookstore in Fishers in July. The editors have been on one local television program, and I anticipate newspaper articles in Muncie, Mooresville, and in two small papers in Indianapolis. An editor at The Star has a hand-delivered copy for review and I am hoping that a friend from my days at the paper will cover the launch party. (She is a social columnist now.)

I have my free copy and autographed it and sent it to my mother, who is in California on vacation and won't be back before the launch party. Three days ago I helped write out the invitations for the party, which are now in the mail. So, things are moving along.

What remains and what I plan to work on this week is getting more signings, expanding some coverage to other Sisters in Crime chapters and helping, if necessary, with the book trailer video. A local band is writing a song to specifically perform for the video.

So, what's next on the author front? I am still seeking an agent for AN UNTIDY AFFAIR. I plan to keep up the pressure with that. Plus I will read through it once more this week and decide if there is anymore I can do with it and it not, move on to my next project, which currently is untitled.

I plan to keep moving forward with efforts at getting a novel published. But I am also savoring the feeling of being a published author. It feels good.

Have a good Memorial Day. Enjoy your summer and thanks for reading.

Excerpt of "The Missing CD"

When I started blogging in December 2007, I intended to chronicle the struggles, trials and successes of an aspiring novelist. For the most part, I think I have done that -- though a few more successes would be welcome. However, I'm still in the process.

This is my 200th posting since I started blogging and so I decided to present to my readers an excerpt from my short story, "The Missing CD." This is from the last e-mail I got before the story went to the copy editor. I don't remember there being any major changes.

This story is in the upcoming racing anthology, BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD. All the stories in the anthology relate in some manner to the Brickyard 400 stock car race in Indianapolis each summer, or to NASCAR. The book should be in local bookstores in two weeks, and is available now on Amazon, as well as on the Borders, and Barnes and Noble websites.

The launch party for the anthology is Saturday, June 12, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Carmel on US 31 North. I hope to see some of you there. And I hope you enjoy the story.

Michael

___

The Missing CD
by
M. B. Dabney

Award-winning journalist M. B. Dabney is an avid race fan whose writing has appeared in the Indianapolis Star, NUVO, The Indianapolis Business Journal, EBONY magazine, and BlackEnterprise.com. He is an officer in the Speed City Indiana chapter of Sisters in Crime and recently completed, A Murderous Dispatch, a mystery novel set in a black newspaper. He lives in Indiana with his wife, two daughters, and their dog, Pluto.


Barbara Jean was the best waitress at Rosie’s Roadside Diner on Highway 77 north of Talladega, Alabama, near the interstate. She knew all the regulars and was cheerful and welcoming to a fault. And she was particularly happy about having her one-time high school sweetheart, Bobby Lee Stevenson, having breakfast at the diner.

Barbara Jean offered Bobby Lee a big smile as she approached a booth near the back. She carried a plate full of flapjacks in her right hand, and on her forearm, balanced a plate of fried eggs sunny-side up, four strips of bacon, and an order of grits. She set the glass of orange juice in her left hand on the table before placing the plates of food in front of Bobby Lee.

“Here you go, darlin.’” Barbara Jean called everyone ‘darlin’ these days. “You need anything else?”

“No, Barbara Jean. Thanks.”

One of the old men up front in the restaurant yelled to Bobby Lee.

“Why you down here, boy?”

Bobby Lee, who looked a lot like Cary Grant early in his film career, hadn’t lived in Alabama since his father moved their struggling NASCAR team, Johnny Eldon Stevenson Racing, to North Carolina, 10 years earlier.

“Just visiting some family. One of my cousins is sick,” he said, charging headlong into the food. “You know him. My cousin, Eldon, named after grandpa. And we got a weekend off this week before heading up to Indianapolis for the Brickyard.”

Another old guy said, “You guys looked pretty good last weekend. If it weren’t for that damned fool Tony Stewart crashin’ Kevin out you might have won that Chicago race.”

“We’ll get ‘em next weekend,” Bobby Lee said. “Our guy’s a pretty good driver. We’ll get there.”

The good folks of Talladega considered the Stevenson's a hometown team and no one wanted to mention the team’s fall from grace. For lack of sponsorship, the team was forced to hire a third-rate driver named Kevin Holmes who came with his own sponsorship money from a Southern grocery store chain. That deal, which Bobby Lee arranged, financially saved the team.

Rosie’s was surprisingly busy for mid-day on a Tuesday. A regular crowd of senior citizens was up front having donuts and coffee and talking NASCAR with two truckers, who were having full meals. But there was a lone man, a stranger, sitting at the counter toward the back eating the steak and eggs special, enjoying black coffee and reading the local sports page. He was tall and thin, and wore blue jeans. His cowboy hat was on the counter next to him.

“You finished, darlin’?” Barbara Jean asked Bobby Lee when she saw that he was done. Then she added with a slight flirt, “You need anythin’ else?”

“No, I’m fine, Barbara Jean,” he said, ignoring the come-on. “Just leave the check on the table for me while I go hit the john real quick.”

She nodded, wrote the check, and left it on the table as he headed to the restroom.

Bobby Lee spent a few moments in the restroom. No one was looking his way as he came out. And no one noticed he was carrying a white business-sized envelope in his right hand. As he passed the stranger at the counter, he dropped the envelope on the red vinyl stool next to him. The man didn’t look down and Bobby Lee kept walking. Once at his table, Bobby Lee grabbed his check and headed to the front to pay.

The cash register was on the end of a counter near the entrance and Bobby Lee had the crowd's attention as he walked up. He gave Barbara Jean a knowing smile as he paid the bill and tipped her more than 25 percent.

As everyone else in the joint was fawning over Bobby Lee, the stranger reached for the envelope, opened the flap and looked inside. He saw the left half of 10, nonsequential 500 dollar bills, and a picture of a newspaper sports columnist from Indianapolis named Henry Rennert.

The man with the cowboy hat tucked the envelope in his inside jacket pocket and motioned to Barbara Jean to refill his coffee. It was bitter tasting because it had been sitting on the warmer too long, but he drank it anyway. He was facing a 10-hour drive and needed to stay awake and alert. And once he arrived at his destination, there was work to do before he completed his job.

Three days later, on Friday morning, Henry Rennert was found dead in his Speedway home. Police said Rennert apparently was shot after walking in on someone burglarizing his home.

BEDLAM

I was finally able to upload this image of the front and back covers of BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD, thanks to my friend Seth (who always tells me I should get a MAC). The anthology will be in local bookstores during the week before Father's Day. (What a great gift idea!) The launch party is June 12.

I compiled and edited the factoids between the 15 short stories in the book, which was edited by Brenda Stewart and Wanda Lou Willis. They will appear on a local television (Channel 8) program tomorrow from 8 a.m to 9 a.m. to discuss the book and the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Thanks for reading.

Foto befuddled

I am foto befuddled today.

I had planned to include in this post photos of the front and back covers of BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD, the racing anthology the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime is publishing next month. It's a nice cover -- much better than the drawing you'd see if you pre-ordered the book on Amazon. (I don't know if anyone has.)

I finally saw the covers last night in an e-mail. I downloaded them to my laptop and tried repeatedly to upload them either into my blog or onto my Facebook page. But the covers are not jpeg files and can't be uploaded. Or, at least I haven't figured out how to do it yet. But I plan to. (I can e-mail them as an attachment, however. But there are too many people out there for me to e-mail. FB and my blog are easier.)

I am quite excited, however. As the book cover states, there are 15 stories of "bedlam, bafflement and bewilderment" in the anthology, all related either to the Brickyard 400 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway each summer or to NASCAR. All the stories are by members of Speed City SinC and edited by award-winning author Brenda Robertson Stewart and Wanda Lou Willis.

In between the stories are factoids -- historical narratives and statistical charts that I compiled and edited. Plus my story, "The Missing CD," is short story No. 12 in the book. I like the story and soon will post an excerpt of the story in my blog. And, of course, once the book is out I will be a published author.

HOORAY for me!

The launch party for the anthology is now scheduled for Saturday, June 12, at the Barnes and Noble bookstore on US 31 in Carmel. Many of the contributing authors will be there to autograph copies and, most importantly, there will be eats. So, if you are out that way on June 12, please stop by. And if not, buy a copy online. All the proceeds will go to support the education program of the chapter.

Brenda and Wanda will be on a local television this week and I am working on getting more coverage, and in arranging some book-signings. Part of my publicity effort will focus on promoting the book via the Internet, which means I need to GET A FREAKIN' COPY OF THE COVER ON MY BLOG! I am also working on doing some author interviews online, perhaps some audio excerpts and maybe a simple book trailer.

More on that later. For now, thanks for reading.