Cutting the cake: A celebration of SinC with Rhys Bowen

The Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime yesterday was proud to host a day with bestselling author Rhys Bowen as we celebrated the 30th anniversary of SinC.

And Rhys, as you can see, was happy to take a stab at cutting the first piece of the anniversary cake. She was a very good sport.

Plus, since I drove her around all day, we had a lot of time to talk. She offered me wonderful suggestions on improving my craft and on getting an editor and publisher for my work.

Thanks, Rhys, for everything.

And thanks for reading.

Bestselling British author Rhys Bowen

I am truly looking forward to the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime hosting renowned British author Rhys Bowen this coming Saturday, Feb. 25.

Rhys will speak at our monthly meeting at about noon at Barnes and Noble in Indianapolis, before heading over to a tea we are sponsoring in her honor from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the College Park community clubhouse in Indy and then back to B&N for a book fair and book signing at 5 p.m.

A portion of the proceeds from sales at B&N that day will benefit the programs of the Speed City SinC.

Rhys is a wonderful award-winning writer -- and a prolific one. Below is a list of her titles, not including In Farleigh Field, which comes out next week.

 Royal Spyness Series In Order:

Her Royal Spyness (2007)

A Royal Pain (2008)

Royal Flush (2009)

Royal Blood (2010)

Naughty in Nice (2011)

The Twelve Clues of Christmas (2012)

Heirs and Graces (2013)

Queen of Hearts (2014)

Malice at the Palace (2015)

Crowned and Dangerous (2016)

On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service (August 2017)

Molly Murphy Series In Order:

Murphy's Law (2001)

Death of Riley (2002)

For the Love of Mike (2003)

In Like Flynn (2005)

Oh Danny Boy (2006)

In Dublin's Fair City (2007)

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden (2008)

In a Gilded Cage (2009)

The Last Illusion (2010)

Bless the Bride (2011)

Hush Now, Don't You Cry (2012)

The Family Way (2013)

City of Darkness and Light (2014)

The Edge of Dreams (2015)

Away in a Manger (2015)

Time of Fog and Fire (2016)

The Ghost of Christmas Past (November 2017)

Constable Evan Evans Series In Order:

Evans Above (1997)

Evan Help Us (1998)

Evanly Choirs (1999)

Evan and Elle (2000)

Evan Can Wait (2001)

Evans to Betsy (2002)

Evan Only Knows (2003)

Evan's Gate (2004)

Evan Blessed (2005)

Evanly Bodies (2006)

Hope to see you some time on Saturday.

Thanks for reading.

I'll be Mother: A tea with bestselling author Rhys Bowen

I was fortunate last year to be elected president of the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime for 2017. And while to some, Sisters in Crime may sound like a group of recovering female prison convicts, it is, in fact, an international organization of writers of crime and mystery. I am very proud to the chapter's first male president. 

So I am a mister/sister, and this year the organization, the voice for excellence and diversity in crime writing for decades, is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

The Speed City chapter of SinC is hosting internationally renowned author Rhys Bowen at a British tea and at a book signing on Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Barnes and Noble book store on the north side of Indianapolis.

I am currently reading In Farleigh Field, a mystery Bowen set in England in 1941. Full of British upper class intrigue and spies, the novel officially launches on an Amazon imprint next week.

I read her Twelve Clues of Christmas back in December and was both surprised and delighted by the high-spirited young heroine, Georgiana Ranook. As the main character in Bowen's Her Royal Spyness series, Georgie, who was 35th in line to the British throne, was fun to read and discover. What also surprised me was that I was so into the book, which was set in the early 1930s in western England, that I didn't figure out the clues to the mystery until Rhys hit me over the head with them, despite the title of the book.

In addition to the book signing and book fair at B&N at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Speed City is also hosting Bowen with a British tea from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., also on Saturday. Co-sponsored with the College Park Book Club, the tea is in the College Park Community Clubhouse on Fordham Road in Indianapolis, in the shadow of the College Park pyramids.

It's at the tea when we will officially celebrate 30 years of Sisters in Crime.

I hope you can come out to one or more of the events on Saturday. It will be fun and I'm looking forward to it -- and to meeting a world-class mystery writer. And when the time comes, I will try to make sure that, as I pour Rhys her first cup of tea, I say, "I'll be mother."

Thanks for reading.

 

Magna Cum Murder

Going to a crime fiction writers conference this weekend downtown at the Columbia Club (an old GOP stomping ground. No matter). Magna Cum Murder is an annual conference that until four years ago was held in Muncie, Indiana, at Ball State University. It's a relatively small conference -- a couple hundred people at most -- but always well-attended by crime fiction writers from around the world.

It goes from Friday to Sunday.

Sisters in Crime is represented there by our Speed City chapter. We are sponsoring a luncheon on either Saturday or Sunday.

As with most conferences, it's a great way to network with other writers at the receptions and dinners to talk and exchange ideas. And, of course, there are the panel discussions and booksignings.

The chapter has a table to promote our books which I will have to staff some time on Saturday morning. And, for the third year, we are sponsoring a flash fiction contest. We provide a prompt for a 250-word short story. Members of the chapter judge the entries on Saturday night and I will announce the winner at the closing luncheon on Sunday.

I never stay downtown at the conference. Hotel rooms are too expensive, particularly since the conference itself is a little pricey. So I come home every night. But it's still a great time and well worth the time, effort and expense.

Looking forward to a great weekend.

Thanks for reading.

Callipygian is here

The Fine Art of Murder has arrived, and just in time.

The book launch is in two days, on Sunday, Oct. 23, from noon to 6 p.m., at the Barnes and Noble store at 86th Street and Keystone Crossing Boulevard on the northside of Indianapolis.

FAM is the fifth short story anthology published by members of the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime. There are 18 mystery stories, all involving fine art.

My story, Callipygian, is on Page 130. It's about a vacationing FBI profiler who is drawn into the investigation of an art theft and murder. The main character, Kendall Hunter, is one of my favorite characters.

Anyway, I hope you can come to the launch and if not, order a copy online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Walmart.

Thanks for reading.

Excerpt from CALLIPYGIAN, a short story in The Fine Art of Murder

As promised, here is an excerpt from my newest short story, Callipygian, which will be published next week in the anthology, The Fine Art of Murder. There are 18 stories in the anthology, all written by members of the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime. Our launch event is scheduled for Oct. 23, at the Barnes and Noble bookstore at 86th Street and Keystone at the Crossing in Indianapolis.

Kendall Hunter is a Philadelphia-based FBI profiler on vacation visiting her family in Indianapolis when she is drawn into the investigation in the theft of three extremely valuable paintings -- including one called Callipygian -- from a black art gallery. And things get interesting when the primary suspect is found murdered.

It's fun to write this character and I have several more unpublished stories featuring the character. Perhaps next year I will figure out what to do with them all.

But until then, enjoy. And thanks for reading.

____

"Wrap your lovely lips around this."

Taken aback by the sudden and unwanted flirtation, Kendall Hunter turned. And despite her government training, her heart nearly stopped. She was face to face with the most gorgeous man she had ever seen in person. As she opened her mouth to voice her indignation, a fork full of cake passed between her lips. The frosting was a delight to her taste buds and the man a delight to her eyes. Both were a creamy chocolate. She imagined his face -- with its light-brown bedroom eyes, full lips and well-defined cheek bones -- was chiseled personally by the gods.

Kendall took all this in in the span of two seconds, and hoped he didn’t notice her brief bewilderment. "It’s delicious. Thanks," she managed after swallowing.

His smile was charming and his white teeth were a perfect counterpoint to his dark skin. "My name is—" he started.

"Hampton Simmonds," she finished for him, having recovered her composure. "It’s you we’re all here to celebrate."

"Ah, yes, well, I suppose you are right about that," he said, sounding modest and nearly embarrassed as he looked around the art gallery at the crowd of beautiful people in their best formal attire. Men generally look good in a tux. But Hampton Simmonds’s six-foot frame looked positively spectacular.

He handed the plate with the remains of the cake to a passing waitress. "You can just call me Hamp," he said to Kendall.

She wore a form-fitting blue evening dress with a modest neckline and spaghetti straps. Her white pearl necklace and pearl earrings were her only accessories. "I’m Kendall Hunter."

Hampton smiled again and his right hand engulfed hers in a strong, confident, but not crushing grip. "It’s nice to meet you." He didn’t release her hand, but guided her toward the wall to her right. "Let me personally escort you through the gallery."

When Hampton released her hand, he seemed to carry her along through the force of his personality. They moved into a room of contemporary paintings. One wall was dominated by a 10-foot-wide painting in off-white with five diagonal splashes of deep red. Kendall stopped, stared, and frowned, but felt Hampton observing her.

"You don’t like?" he said.

"I can’t wrap my mind around what it’s supposed to mean," Kendall said. She studied the information card on the wall next to the painting to avoid looking at the luscious man next to her.

They started walking again and took the stairs to the second floor. "I don’t get it, either," he said with a chuckle. He lowered his voice to a conspiratory whisper. "I’ve never liked that artist. She’s tremendously overrated."

Kendall began to relax as they continued, with Hampton pointing out bits of information as they passed more art. Occasionally, someone would catch his eye and nod but no one interrupted them. Kendall’s sister’s eyes bugged out when she spotted them together but Kiara quickly turned back to a sculpture of a pair of steepled hands.

"Are you a collector?" Hampton asked. "I think I’ve met all the major black collectors here in Indianapolis. But I don’t think I’ve seen you before."

"I’m originally from here, but I live in Philadelphia now," she said. They entered the main room on the second floor. On the opposite wall were three abstract paintings.

 "And what do you do in the City of Brotherly Love . . . and Sisterly Affection?" he said, flirting directly once again.

She didn’t skip a beat. "I’m a special agent with the FBI. I specialize in criminal profiles."

That stopped him in his tracks. "Really?"

Kendall smiled and started them moving again. In social situations such as this, she loved revealing her occupation, as if being a tall, attractive black woman and an FBI agent were mutually exclusive.

"I’m home for a short vacation. Visiting family. As a matter of fact, you know my sister, Kiara. She works for Mitch, the gallery owner. Does the PR. She had an invitation, of course." Kendall held up the embroidered invitation in her left hand. "I’m her plus one."

"Oh, yes, Kiara. I do know her," Hampton said, turning to look back over his shoulder to where Kiara had once stood, then back at Kendall. "And I’m certainly glad you’re her plus one. Otherwise, I might have been bored out of my mind this evening."

The waitress appeared again, this time carrying a tray of hors d’oeuvres. Her presence was announced a second earlier by the fragrance she wore. The waitress offered them sausage-stuffed mushrooms, which Kendall declined. Hampton popped one into his mouth as the woman moved on.

"Those are your paintings, aren’t they?" Kendall asked.

Hampton reached around her waist in a particularly intimate way and pulled her toward the wall where the paintings hung. "What do you think? This is my series celebrating the female form."

Kendall stared. "I’m not sure what to think."

"The one on the left is called A Woman’s Eyes," Hampton said.

It was an abstract with bright primary colors and broad, yet soft brush strokes for the facial lines. In the profile facing to the right, both eyes appeared on the same side of her face.

"The one on the right is simply called Bosoms of Love," he commented.

Like the others, it was in a simple dark frame. But it didn’t look like the breasts of any woman Kendall had ever seen.

"You can see the outline of the torso from the neck down to the narrow waist." Hampton continued. "But see how the painting draws your eyes to the center of the female form. It’s not sexual but it encompasses the wholeness of womanhood. Do you see that?"

Kendall wanted to say no, but just nodded instead. Finally, Hampton brought her attention to the painting in the middle.

"This is Callipygian. My masterpiece," he said, almost as if in a dream.

"Callipygian? What does that mean?" she asked.

Hampton smiled and scratched his shaved bald head. "You’ll just have to figure that one out."

While it was still abstract, Kendall was able to discern the curve of a woman’s back, from just below the neck down to the round, full hips, sweeping inward again to reveal muscular legs. The brush strokes were soft and feminine, the colors bright and vivid.

It was obvious Hampton was a man who loved the female body. He put his hands on the curve of her hips as he leaned in to whisper into Kendall’s ear, "You should come model for me sometime."  

SinC Retreat

Next weekend, the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime will hold its second writers retreat at Bradford Woods, a rustic conference center (I guess you'd call it that) about 30 miles south of Indianapolis.

I plan to get a lot of writing done during the retreat, which starts Friday afternoon and ends early Sunday afternoon. I have both an essay and a short story about Kendall Hunter I want to finish.

It does mean that weekend I will miss the first air show held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in more than a century. (I think they held a balloon race in 1909 or '10.) This year's race is part of the series sponsored by Red Bull for single-engine planes.

But anyway, I got a lot done at the first retreat in 2014. I finished writing Miss Hattie Mae's Secret during the weekend. And that short story is the last story in Decades of Dirt.

Well, I didn't have a lot to say today but I wanted to mention the retreat, which I hadn't done yet.

Thanks for reading.
 

FAM front cover

Here it is. The final, corrected front cover for The Fine Art of Murder, which will be published at the beginning of next month. Preorders are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and online at Walmart.

FAM is a collection of mystery stories by members of the Speed City Indiana chapter of Sisters in Crime. The collection includes my Kendall Hunter short story, Callipygian.

The official book launch is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Barnes and Noble bookstore at 86th Street and Keystone Avenue, on the north east side of Indianapolis. The chapter is celebrating a Day of Mystery at the store that day, starting at noon. While the launch is at 2 p.m., SinC members will be there all day signing books, and having games and prizes for mystery lovers.

Hope you can come out to celebrate this newest anthology. The proceeds will support the programs of our chapter.

Thanks for reading.   

Kendall Hunter: In person

One of the most-read blog posts I've had this month is on Kendall Hunter, the main character in my upcoming short story, Callipygian. In my post on Aug. 2, I spoke of my love for the character. She is tall, beautiful, single, smart and very, very clever. As an FBI criminal profiler, she is one of the best and is at the top of her game. And I love writing her because she is interesting and fun, is well-dressed and has killer instincts.

Callipygian is one of 18 short stories in The Fine Art of Murder, an anthology to be published in early October by the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime. Our official launch and book signing will be Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Barnes and Noble bookstore at 86th Street and Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis. But you can pre-order the book now on Amazon ($12.99) or on Walmart ($9.41).

When I think of Kendall Hunter, I think of her as she might appear above -- in the FBI field office in Philadelphia, working to solve some horrible murder. She works hard in a what many consider a man's world and, in the process, has become very good at something historically considered as male.

Anyway, here is Kendall. Get the anthology and enjoy all the stories and characters therein. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks for reading.

The Fine Art of Murder

I had planned to blog today about lines in novels, song lyrics, plays and movies that awed or inspired me. But I learned something big today.

The Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime's newest anthology, The Fine Art of Murder, is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Walmart. (If I didn't screw it up, the links are below.) And my short story, Callipygian, is in the collection. It's about an FBI profiler who, while on vacation in Indianapolis visiting family, is drawn  into the investigation of three pieces of stolen art, including a painting called -- you guessed it -- Callipygian. Things get interesting when the prime suspect in the theft is murdered.

Edited by Brenda Stewart and Diana Catt, the collection is wonderful. I, of course, have seen a draft copy and have read the stories, and they are great. (Mine, in particular, of course.) It's a good collection and you'll enjoy it. Plus, proceeds benefit the education programs of the chapter.

The anthology's publication date is in early October but you can order it now. The pre-order price on Amazon is $12.99, while Walmart's discount price is $9.41. That's a discount of about 28 percent. (I have no earthly idea how Walmart came up with that price.)

Anyway, get The Fine Art of Murder today.

And thanks for reading.

https://www.amazon.com/Fine-Art-Murder-Collection-Stories/dp/1681570238/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1471896943&sr=8-4&keywords=the+fine+art+of+murder


https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Fine-Art-of-Murder-A-Collection-of-Short-Stories/52607722

Rejections III -- Update

I wrote and posted a blog five days ago on rejections. Specifically, I mentioned an award I had submitted to and was waiting to hear the decision, fearing the inevitable rejection.

The e-mail rejection arrived today.

Amazingly -- and quite gratefully -- I don't feel bad about it. I must be getting old. (Stop laughing out there. I see you.)

Though I edited some of it down, back in late June I submitted the first 5,000 words of An Untidy Affair, a detective novel with private eye David Blaise, for the 2016 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award, which is sponsored by the national office of Sisters in Crime. This is the third year for the award, which grants $1,500 to its recipient.

The winner this year is Stephane Dunn, whom I don't know. But congrats to her. I'm sure she is more than deserving.

The award is named after Eleanor Taylor Bland, a pioneer in crime fiction who passed away six years ago. As it says on the SinC website, the goal of the award is "to support the recipient in activities related to crime fiction writing and career development." I can use some support in both those areas. And it is all the more important given that the latest survey of SinC shows fewer than 5 percent of its members are black.

I knew it was a longshot but I had nothing to lose. And I'm sure the organization, of which I have been a member for nearly a decade, would have preferred a woman, since the stated goal of SinC is the advancement of female mystery and crime writers. But one of my favorite things about Sisters in Crime is that the organization supports and promotes female writers but doesn't discriminate against us Mister Sisters. I am proud to be a member of Sisters in Crime and currently serve as vice president of the Speed City chapter of SinC. Speed City covers all of Indiana and our next short story anthology, The Fine Art of Murder, comes out in early October.

But rejection is common in writing, as it is in more creative areas. So I'm okay. I will just keep on keepin' on. There are more novels and short stories to write and more agents and publications to submit to.

So watch out world. I'm still coming for you.

Thanks for reading.

Kendall Hunter

I'm in love. Deeply. Passionately. Completely.

I often get a thrill just thinking about The Woman.

Her name is Kendall. Kendall Hunter. And she is currently the love of my life. Well, kinda.

Now, this would be more than a bit adulterous, except in this context. (It still might be, even in this context, but I don't think so.) That's because Kendall is fictional. Created from whole cloth from my brain. (Am I sounding messianic?) That's not to say I didn't have some inspiration for the character from a friend, a muse who has proven to be very helpful as I develop Kendall. But all that Kendall is comes from me. I just don't know yet what's going to happen to her.

Kendall Hunter is the main character in my upcoming short story, Callipygian, which will be published this October by the Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime in their anthology, "The Fine Art of Murder." Closer to the publication date, I'll drop an excerpt. But for now, I'll just say it's the story of an FBI criminal profiler (Kendall) who, while she is on vacation in Indianapolis visiting family, is drawn into the investigation into the theft of three valuable paintings, including one called Callipygian. The plot thickens, as they say, when the main suspect is found murdered.

(Callipygian. I also love that word. I was listening to an interview by Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air about two years ago and her guest used the word. Terry, who is smart, well-educated and well-prepared in interviews, didn't appear to know the word, which I didn't either. When I looked it up, I decided then and there to somehow use it. So I built this short story around it.)

While this will be my first published story with this character, it isn't the first time I have written this character. The first story is called Black on Black in Black. White folks may not get that but it should ring a bell with black folks. In that story, Kendall is called in to profile a serial killer.

Kendall is a tall, beautiful, single black woman, who is smart and clever. Very clever, in fact. Work is her focus, and she does it extremely well, but she needs to get a personal life. And she harbors a deep secret from her past that could turn her life around. It's what I'm trying to explore in each new story -- there are four in total, including my current short story WIP (work in progress). Discovering who she is is why I'm so in love with her. She's interesting and fun, occasionally funny, brainy, well-dressed and has a killer body. (I like big butts and I cannot lie. What else can I say?)

But like I said earlier, I don't know yet what's going to happen to her. I can't keep her forever, even as I start publishing her stories. It'll be sad when it's over.

But I know it will come to an end, even if she doesn't. I am a fickle lover and I know in time I will fall madly in love with another fictional characters. Those I have loved in the past have just let it go and moved on. I only hope Kendall Hunter will do the same and not become  a jealous lover, willing to do anything to hold on to me. Because that WOULD be scary.

I'm having fun with her now. And after the story is published, I hope you will enjoy her, too.

Thanks for reading and keep on writing.

I'm back -- again

For the life of me, I have no idea why I can't keep up with my blog postings. I try but then, I fall behind and let it go.

But I'm back -- yet again. And will try yet again to keep up with this.

Since I was last with you, my Sisters in Crime chapter published an anthology which I co-edited with Barb Miller, a Muncie, Indiana, school teacher. The anthology is called Decades of Dirt, includes 15 stories of death and mayhem, and was published last October. All the stories have an historical aspect to them, though not all involve murders. (Most do.) Reviews have been good and sales have been okay up until this point.

Though it was the chapter's fourth anthology, it was the first -- and currently, the only -- independently published work. The chapter wanted to give its members a taste of self-publishing, with all its pros and cons.

You can get a print copy of Decades of Dirt on Amazon for $9.99, while an e-copy is only $2.99. I have both, of course. I'm very proud of the effort. And it's the first book on which my name appears on the cover.

I have a story in the book. My story closes on the book, in fact. the story is called Miss Hattie Mae's Secret. I am particularly proud of the story and in the near future will post an excerpt.

The chapter decided to return to our previous publisher (Blue River Press) for our next anthology, which is called, The Fine Art of Murder. It's currently being edited. I can't remember how many stories there are but it's around 15, give or take. All the stories involve some aspect of fine art -- and, if the title is correct -- murder.

I also have a story in the anthology and it's called Callipygian. (I'll wait while you go look that up.) It's about an FBI criminal profiler named Kendall Hunter who, while on vacation in Indianapolis, is drawn into the investigation of an art theft, and the murder of the chief suspect. I enjoy the story and I particularly like the main character. She's an interesting character to write because I love discovering who she is.

While this is the fourth story I have written with her, it is the first to be published. When we get closer to the October publication date, or thereafter, I will post an excerpt. Perhaps even a video blog posting.

More health news but that will have to wait until next time.

That's it. Thanks for reading and keep writing.

e-Publishing

I'm working on an e-book anthology for my Sisters in Crime chapter and it's proving to be quite a challenge. If I had known it was going to be this difficult, I may not have volunteered to co-edit.

Not that e-publishing is that hard. It's just that acting as the publisher, there's so much to know and learn. And while the chapter itself is the publisher, learning about it so far has fallen to just to few of us, including my co-editor. But the stories are nearly all edited and I'm getting them into a single file folder to hand over to the chapter president.

It's a historical anthology and the stories -- 15 in all -- are set in the past, from the recent past to as far back as the 16th century. Not all are set in Indiana, although most are. (My story is set in Tennessee in 1930.) But all the stories are authored by an Indiana writer.

One of the big challenges now is to arrange the stories in the strongest way possible. We have already picked out the first story, which is very strong, and the last story, which is also strong and will end the anthology on a strong and positive note. But arranging all the stories in between is difficult because there isn't one over-arching theme. And while all the stories have merit, some truly are better than others. However, we want to showcase the book and the chapter in the best light. I'm keeping that in mind.

Well, that's about it for now. I will let you know when it's coming out. Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Self-publishing

Yesterday, March 27, was my birthday and I had a post all ready to write, but then life got in the way. Instead of writing a post in the afternoon as I planned -- and it was going to be a really good one -- I had to handle a couple of family issues, and then headed out of town to take my daughter and her college roommate to dinner. Only now, a few minutes after midnight, am I able to sit down and briefly write.

Fantasy author Lynne Cantwell spoke to our local chapter of Sisters in Crime at our monthly meeting last Saturday. Her topic was self-publishing.

Now over the years I have played with the idea of self-publishing but, quite frankly, it was always just an intellectual exercise in my head. I never gave it serious consideration -- that is until I heard Cantwell, all 55-years old, say she decided to take the plunge when she considered that "I'm not getting any younger."

Of course, she wasn't getting younger, No one is. But I got the point, particularly as I was staring down the barrel of the gun that was my impending birthday. And for the first time I started to seriously consider self-publishing, in this case putting An Untidy Affair out into the world.

 I wrote Affair in 2009 and it is now in what I consider is its 13th draft. And I have tried for some time to get an agent interested in me and, by extension, the work. So now it seems like it's time to do something different.

I haven't made a final decision yet. I want a professional editor to work on it first. But I have started putting a marketing plan together to publish it as an e-book and as POD some time in the fall. (Got to allow time to drum up some interest.)

That's where I'm at. There will be more about it later. But as part of my strategy, I will probably redesign my blog page and increase what it offers in the months to come.

In the meantime, thanks for reading and keep writing. Always.

It's been a busy couple of weeks

It's been a busy couple of weeks, and not necessarily in a good way.

We had a lot of work to do helping my daughter complete an online phy ed class in order for her to graduate from high school with the rest of her class on the Saturday before Memorial Day. After four years of high school, it was only done with 20 minutes to go.

Bit of a calm for a week -- during which time I sent out some query letters -- then preparation was in full swing for my daughter's graduation open house. (That's all the rage now, apparently.) Lots of yard work everyday -- the good thing is there are a lot fewer weeds in the back yard -- that we finished just prior to her party.

In the week leading up to the party, we learned that my dad's oldest sister, which was 87, had suffered a couple of strokes and wasn't expected to live. She died the day before my daughter's open house. My aunt was very close to my dad and was the first of his six siblings to die. It hit him very hard.

I was also working on some of the final details of the weeklong High School Multimedia Workshop that the Indianapolis Association of Black Journalists sponsors at Butler University.

The next week, which was last week, I worried about my dad and prepared for a two-day trip to my daughter's college for freshman orientation. That was last Wednesday and Thursday. I was back on Friday but, exhausted from the trip, I didn't work. (I also learned that day that the mother of one of my closest friends had just died -- yet another blow to my heart.)

I originally thought my aunt's funeral would be in Texas, where she had been living for the last six years. But her children, my cousins, decided it would be here in Indiana where she had spent the majority of her life. So there was lots of family obligations over last weekend. The funeral service, which was beautiful and classy -- like my aunt -- and blessedly short, was two days ago on Monday.

I spent much of yesterday trying to catch up on all the things that had slipped through the cracks over the last couple of weeks. I still haven't looked through all my e-mails. And I haven't finished a short story for the anthology my chapter of Sisters in Crime is publishing. The story deadline isn't for another month but I promised a first draft to my critique group by next Wednesday. So, I have a lot of work to do.

That pretty much covers things. The upshot is that I have had a lot on my plate. And hopefully in the next few days I can get back to some serious writing.

Thanks for reading. And don't give up.

Researching Hoosier Hysteria

The Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime held its February meeting last Saturday at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, which spotlights the highs and lows of high school basketball in the state. It was wonderful trip to New Castle, where the hall and museum are located, not the least of which being because it was such a beautiful sunny day for the 45-minute drive.

The decision for visit and tour the hall was mostly to help people generate ideas for Speed City's next anthology is about Indiana basketball. It was certainly beneficial to me. During the hourlong tour, I took two pages of notes on everything from famed coaches -- the late John Wooden, a Hoosier native, played at Purdue and coached high school ball in South Bend before heading out west -- to famous players, like Larry Bird.

But my story for the anthology centers around girls playing high school basketball. While there were no rules against girls trying out for high school basketball teams, which only had boys, there were no girl teams in inter-school play. Only beginning in the 1950s and picking up stream in the follwing decade did schools begin to develop teams for both boys and girls. There wasn't a girls high school basketball championship until the mid-1970s.

The story I have planned is coming along well, particularly because of the research I was able to do in New Castle. Plus I am developing further questions for the guide, who gave me is business card and encouraged me to call back if I had needed additional information.

While I try to do as little research as possible -- I always remember: "Write what you know." -- some research is always needed no matter what you write about. And I enjoy having as much information on hand as possible even if I don't even use it.

On another note, attended a big Oscar Night Party downtown last night. It is a fundraiser for the local United Way and is always a lot of fun. I attend most years. (The food is usually outstanding.)

And I was so pleased to see Woody Allen win for best original screenplay for "Midnight in Paris," which I saw for the first time last Friday night. (I knew he didn't stand a chance for the best director nod.) I loved the film and the writing was incredible, as you would expect from Allen. He remains my favorite film writer. He is witty and urbane but less neurotic than he was as a young man. When I want to see neurotic, I pop "Sleeper" in the player. It's my favorite of his "early funny films."

Anyway, that's all this aspiring novelist has to say at the moment, except thanks for reading and don't give up.

PSA and other thoughts

If you have read my blog for some time, you know I am a prostate cancer survivor. Or at least so far. But I still see the doctor every six months to have my PSA levels checked. I generally don't think much about the cancer except just before having to see the doctor again.

And that time is upon me again.

I had bllod drawn last week and my appointment to see the doctor for the results is on March 6. Can't wait. (Well, actually, I can.)

If all continues as it should (and as it has been), I probably won't touch on this subject again for about six months. If not, well, I'm not sure when I will bring it up again.

On other matters . . .

The Speed City chapter of Sisters in Crime is working on another anthology, this time with basketball as the theme. The deadline for submission is in July.

Over the weekend, I hashed out the outlines for an interesting story. I won't bore you with the details at the moment but it will involve a female high school basketball player. Our SinC chapter is meeting at the Indiana High School Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle this Saturday so I will be able to do some research while I am there.

(Oh, for the first time in three years I'm NOT the secretary of our chapter. Was tired of that, thank you very much. But I was roped into being the membership, so I am still on the board. That's not so bad. I just check the membership rolls once a month or so. It's do-able.)

I had something else on my mind but I can't remember what. So I am going to go for now.

Thanks for reading and catch you on the flip side.

SinC survey

The Sisters in Crime Mystery Book Consumer Study is done and is online. I will look for the link and give it to you later. Analyzing the results should help in planning marketing strategies. So I will be looking at the study closely in the days and weeks ahead. I haven't read the study yet -- and I look forward to seeing some of the racial demographics -- but here are some of the results. (I am quoting below directly from the e-mail I got today.)

The majority of mystery/crime fiction buyers tend to be women over the age of 45. Overall, 68 percent of mysteries are purchased by women; more than half of mystery buyers are more than 45 years of age. Buyers 18 to 44 years of age purchase 31 percent of the mysteries sold.

Most of the mystery buyers – 48 percent – live in suburban areas, 27 percent reside in rural areas and 25 percent live in urban areas.

The majority of mysteries – 35 percent – are purchased by individuals who live in the South, 26 percent are purchased by people in the West, 20 percent by those in the Midwest and 19 percent by individuals in the Northeast.

Mysteries are obtained mostly through purchases from brick-and-mortar stores, followed by library borrowing and online purchasing. A total of 39 percent are obtained through in-store purchases, 19 percent are borrowed from libraries and 17 percent are purchased online. Online purchases in the mystery genre top those for other types of fiction.


More later.

Thanks for reading and keep writing.

Gender bias

I joined Sisters in Crime several years ago for a variety of reasons and have totally embraced the concept of equality for female writers in the industry, in general, and in the mystery genre, in particular. To me, it isn't a question of limiting men or of limiting men's access in the industry. It is about elevating the access of women.

Put it like this. It isn't just about women getting a bigger piece of the literary pie. It's about caking a bigger pie. Then, everyone benefits. (Not the perfect analogy, I know. It has flaws. But I think you get the point and I want to move on.)

There is an issue I was unaware of before I joined SinC and something the organization has been crusading about for years. It's the issue of gender bias in book reviews. Who is reviewed and why?

SinC's Monitoring Project has for more than two decades tracked mystery book reviews in key publications. And the bottomline is that even in the 21st Century -- yes, the enlightened 21st Century -- male authors tend to get more reviews than women. The Project recently reported that in 22 publications through the third quarter of 2010, only four reviewed more female authors than men.

An article in SinC's December newsletter mentioned a monitoring project conducted by Slate, the online magazine, in which it counted the adult fiction reviews in The New York Times over a two-year period. Its results showed 67 percent of the reviews went to men. And of those getting a double shot, with a review in the daily paper and in the Sunday Book Review, the number shot to 71 percent in favor of men.

(The newsletter also pointed out that only men made Publishers Weekly's Best of 2009 list.)

All of this makes me wonder -- Are there that many more male authors than female authors? I don't know the demographics but I doubt that is the case. Then -- and I can barely believe I'm about to say this -- are men inherently better writers than women? I doubt that, too.

So the only reasonable conclusion is there is a gender bias. But why?

I have worked for a national business news magazine (BusinessWeek), an international wire service (United Press International) and a newspaper (the African-American daily, The Philadelphia Tribune), and have written book reviews for each. And I know that if a publication wanted to review more books by women it is a simple decision to do so. Publications get tons of manuscripts. And it is up to the editors which books are reviewed.

It's obvious, it seems to me, something is wrong here. The question is, will anything be done about it. Since SinC has been fighting this battle for decades, it doesn't seem promising.

But what is promising is that three years ago I was totally unaware this problem existed. I wasn't enlightened. (I don't remember every book I have reviewed but I must sadly admit that probably only a few were by women.) So maybe education is part of the answer. Bringing this issue to light should help in its solution. I can't imagine that in the 21st Century it wouldn't be. And that, as the newsletter pointed out, is "precisely why Sisters in Crime started the Monitoring Project."

Thanks for reading and keep writing.