The Christmas Season

 Advent is nearly over and the Twelve Days of Christmas are soon to begin.

Whether or not we believe in the Christ story, I believe the Christmas season speaks to everyone. We all want peace. We all want to be persons of goodwill. We all want others to be persons of goodwill. We all want the troubles of this world to go away. And Christmas expresses these desires that everyone has — whether a Christian, or not.

To my mind, Christmas is the perfect time for all of us to come together, commit to practicing the Golden Rule, and move forward together. A time to put aside our sectarian differences and to acknowledge that we are all people who want the same things out of life. We are, in fact, all one.

This Christmas season I am going to re-read Seabury Quinn’s Roads. It is a charming Christmas story that expresses our hope for a better world.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

Good Fiction Is People

 Fiction is all about people. At least good fiction is. That’s why good fiction stays with us. Why it’s memorable.

Theodore Sturgeon once said, “Good fiction is people. And people are people you know.” Which is probably the point of the old writing adage: write what you know.

It’s all fine and dandy for the writer to show off his or her knowledge about cars, or cooking, or stamp collecting, or orchids — but if those things don’t touch people, so what?

A few months ago, I was watching Colombo. It was a trip down memory lane, as I watched the show when it first appeared on TV.

The lieutenant is a wonderfully drawn character, and certainly went a long way to contribute to the show’s popularity. What I find of even more interest, is that Colombo knows people. He knows what makes them tick. What is likely and unlikely behavior. He’s a shrink masquerading as a police officer in a rumpled raincoat.

Columbo is all about people: their greed, their habits. And how it is that in the end, who they are is what ultimately trips up their attempts to get away with murder.

Good fiction is about people, because without people there is no story. How can a story exist without people? Sure, we can substitute animals for people, but that’s just a camouflage. The story is still about people, and still tells us something about the human condition. 

It is as Ray Bradbury noted: create your characters (the people), let them do their thing — and there is the story.

There are writers who get hung up on plot. They have to detail each little action in the story. Too often, what gets lost along the way are the people in the story. And the reader knows it. The characters are flat, lifeless paper dolls.

Now some readers don’t care. They devour the story and move on to the next one. Those readers are kind of like junkies just looking for a reading fix.

Other writers get hung up on world building. They have to know every little detail about the world their story is set in before they can even write a word. I think what these writers are forgetting is that it isn’t the world, it’s the people in the world that make the story memorable.

And while there are readers who are not very discriminating in what they demand from the writer, I believe most readers want a quality reading experience. They want to read about people like themselves, or about people they would like to become, doing wonderful and amazing things. They want to be moved, to live vicariously.

Tarzan is memorable because he personifies the best in us and is ultimately someone who we’d like to be.

I believe Jack Reacher is popular because he beats up bullies. And who of us hasn’t been bullied? We get our vicarious revenge through Reacher’s exploits.

Rex Stout gave us the sedentary eccentric genius, Nero Wolfe, and the wisecracking man of action, Archie Goodwin. I find myself drawn to both of them, but particularly to Wolfe. Why? Because I would like to be the master of that brownstone. Good food, good books, the big globe, beautiful orchids. I’d just sub tea for the beer.

I can’t recall a single story that I remember solely because of the plot. Why? Because the plot is usually meaningless unless it’s peopled with memorable people. The plot is just a string of events, which generally have no meaning apart from the people in the story.

I do, though, remember many stories because of the characters. Bilbo Baggins. Hercule Poirot. Sherlock Holmes. Carnacki. Jules de Grandin. Rona Dean (from RH Hale’s Church Mouse). Tony Price and Chris Allard (from Richard Schwindt’s two mystery series). Tatsuya (from Crispian Thurlborn’s 01134). Roland Sand, the Quiet Assassin (from Caleb Pirtle III’s Lonely Night to Die). And more. So many more.

Fiction is all about people. Fiction is us.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

To Right A Wrong — Is Live!

 

The latest Justinia Wright mystery, To Right A Wrong, is live!

Get it on Amazon!

And here’s a snippet to whet your appetite.

Gavin, maintaining his innocence, said the only conclusion was that someone had shot his uncle.

The jury agreed. They also agreed with the prosecutor that the someone was Gavin Gamble.

I set the papers on my desk. It all seemed to be there: motive, means, and opportunity. I picked up the copy of the anonymous letter Molly Gamble received. The penmanship was elegant, but the hand that had written the note was not a steady one. The message was simple:

Your husband is innocent. One of the witnesses is lying.

The message was signed, A Friend.

A friend. Ha! If the person was truly a friend, why didn’t he or she say something at the trial? Why wait until now? Indeed, why now? Why send Molly Gamble this note at this particular point in time?

It seemed to me we had more people, a lot more people we needed to talk to before Tina could decide if the note sender was a liar or not.

And how did the note sender know Gavin Gamble was innocent in the first place? Now that was a question I’d like an answer to.

Tina walked into the office and sat at her desk.

“So did Chopin confess? He did it, with the revolver, in the study.”

My sister poured herself a glass of Sercial madeira, the cheap fifty dollar a bottle stuff. “What are you talking about?”

“Apparently he didn’t confess, because you’re still a crabby puss.”

“I am not.” She took a sip of wine. “Did you read the transcripts?”

“I did.”

“Thoughts?”

“In spite of his claim to innocence, the evidence is pretty damning.”

“As I recall from the news coverage, the case was more or less open and shut.”

“So how are you going to spring our jail bird out of the slammer?”

“I don’t know. Who else had a motive for killing James Bowen?”

“Beats me. Gavin Gamble admitted he felt hurt and betrayed because his uncle decided to give him the boot. It could be he also felt angry and decided to get even. That was the prosecution’s line of reasoning, and the jury bought it.”

“Yes, they did. The question is whether or not they bought a snow job. The question we must answer is simple: who else had motive to kill James Bowen, because if Mr Gamble is innocent then someone else not only had motive but acted on it — and then framed Mr Gamble.”

To Right A Wrong

 

The newest Justinia Wright mystery, To Right A Wrong, number 8 in the series, is formatted and waiting on Amazon’s approval, and, barring any problems, will be available to the public on Cyber Monday.

This traditional whodunit murder mystery sees Tina (Justinia) and Harry trying to gather the necessary evidence to overturn a wrongful conviction, and put the right person behind bars.

To Right A Wrong is about justice. About justice having been sacrificed to get a conviction, and about justice restored so that crime does not pay.

Tina’s lawyer, Harold Feingold, wants to reopen a case even though the evidence is very slim that indicates there was a miscarriage of justice. He comes to Tina seeking her help, and Tina accepts the challenge.

A murdered uncle. Four nephews vying for the inheritance. One fingered by the others for the murder. But what about the servants? Could it be that, in this case, the butler really did do it?

This is a murder mystery that will have you scratching your head with Harry, or arranging puzzle pieces with Tina.

Along the way, there is wise-cracking humor, sibling rivalry, good food and wine, enough action to keep things interesting, and plenty of exercise for those little gray cells.

Stay tuned, so you can experience a little goodwill towards people this holiday season.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

Six Years

The Cover for Justinia Wright #8

Six years ago this month, November 2014, I self-published 4 books: The Morning Star, Festival of Death, The Moscow Affair, and Do One Thing for Me.

I set sail on the sea of the independent author-publisher, and I have not looked back.

Being an indie is tough — because I, the author, am also the publisher and have to do all the business and marketing end of things, as well as write the stories.

Nevertheless, I would rather sell my soul than become a slave to a publishing house — large or small. I love the freedom of being my own man. And IMO, freedom is what it’s all about.

During these past six years, I’ve seen indie authors come and go. I’ve seen indie authors start with nothing and become bestsellers. And those folks give me hope: if they can do it, so can I.

Over the past 6 years, I’ve published 3 series totaling  22 books; and 7 miscellaneous novels, novellas, and short stories. I’ve had 2 short stories and an article appear in anthologies, and a short story published in an zine.

In addition to the above, I publish a weekly blog and occasionally write exclusive stories for my mailing lists.

For me, writing and publishing is a full-time job, and it’s the best job I’ve had in my nearly 7 decades on this planet. I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life from this point forward.

And if all goes well, I’ll get to celebrate year 6 with the publication of To Right a Wrong; the eighth book in the Justinia Wright Private Investigator series. 

And I can’t think of a better way to celebrate, because Tina and Harry are my favorite children. I love writing the wise-cracking humor, the sibling rivalry, the thrilling chase scenes and shootouts, the commentary on life in the Minneapple, and the hunger-producing meal descriptions.

So raise a glass of your favorite libation with me in celebration of living life your way and living your dream.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!  

(You can find all of my books at Amazon!)

A New Justinia Wright

 

Coming out in time for Cyber Monday (Lord willing, and the creek don’t rise) will be a brand new Justinia Wright murder mystery. Number 8 in the series.

If you’re on my mailing list, you’ll get early access — and a cheaper price. You can sign up for my mailing list at this link.

So what’s the new Justinia Wright mystery all about? Murder, of course. But it’s also about righting a wrong.

Seeing justice done is a big driver for Tina. After all, it’s in her name. What’s fair is fair and she doesn’t like it when someone is not fair and somebody gets hurt or killed.

In a way, she wants to put an end to all the playground bullies she comes across.

So stay tuned. More on this new mystery is coming! And you can catch up with the series on my Amazon page.

Fiction Formula Roadmap

 

There are many ways to write a novel or a short story. And most of those methods don’t work for most writers. In other words, writers are unique and will find their way to write their stories.

In the end, the method doesn’t much matter as long as the writer produces a good story.

Nevertheless, some writers struggle with how to write fiction. So, for what it’s worth, here is my method.

Before I begin, I want to give credit where it’s due. My writing method has been heavily influenced by Lester Dent’s Fiction Formula and James Scott Bell’s “Look in the Mirror” Moment.

Let me explain each of these influences.

Lester Dent’s Fiction Formula

Lester Dent was a pulp-fiction writer and the creator of Doc Savage. He once wrote that he’d never failed to sell a story that followed his fiction formula, which is pretty simple. In fact, it’s so simple it’s been ripped off by the unscrupulous and sold to wannabe writers for big bucks. Which is quite sad, as the formula is all over the internet for free.

Karen Woodward has an in-depth series on it on her blog.

The formula begins with the writer making four decisions:

1. A different murder method for the villain to use
2. A different thing for the villain to be seeking
3. A different locale
4. A menace which is to hang like a cloud over the hero

Now you don’t need all 4 different things. One is sufficient — but the more, the merrier, as they say. The point being to come up with something that hasn’t been done to death.

Just remember: make it different, but not too bizarre. Fiction has to be believable. Real life doesn’t.

Now divide your story into four quarters. Dent applied his formula to 6000 word short stories. However, I’ve found it works for any length of fiction.

In Part 1,

• You introduce all the characters
• The hero accepts the case, the challenge, whatever
• Near the end of part one, the hero gets into physical conflict
• Throw a twist into the story at the end

In Part 2,

• Pile more grief onto the hero
• Have the hero struggle
• Put in another physical conflict
• And another twist to the story

The menace should be growing like a fast-moving storm front.

In Part 3,

• Pile more grief onto the hero
• But now the hero begins to make progress towards solving the problem
• Have another physical conflict
• Add a surprise twist that makes things look bad for the hero

In Part 4,

• More grief is piled onto the hero
• Things are beginning to look impossible for the hero
• However, the hero by his own brains, skill, and brawn is able to get out of the difficulties
• The hero wraps up all the problems
• Try to have one final twist to the story

As you can see, the writer is to pile all kinds of trouble onto the hero and in the end the hero solves all the problems by himself.

James Scott Bell’s “Look in the Mirror” Moment

Bell made a study of movies and novels. What he found was that in the middle of the story there was a moment that pulled together the entire tale. He calls that moment the “Look in the Mirror” moment.

It is the point in the story where the main character, our hero, looks at himself and asks what kind of a person he is (character-driven story) or can he turn the odds to his favor and overcome the seemingly overwhelming odds against him (plot-driven story)?

Of course, both aspects may be involved. The point, though, is that the character — at the midpoint — is so low he needs to have a come-to-Jesus meeting with himself in order to go on.

Putting Them Together

Dent and Bell have been influential in how I approach writing a story. They’ve taken the “mystery” out of putting a story together.

I start with Dent’s Formula. It is my working guide. Now, being a pantser, I write very little if anything down. Like H. Bedford-Jones, the King of the Pulps, I just start writing. But in the back of my mind is Dent’s Formula.

Between Acts II and III of the four act drama, I put the Look In The Mirror Moment.

I beat up the main character in Acts I and II, slowly bring him back in Act III, with the final battle and triumph taking place in Act IV.

Following Dent and Bell has made my writing life easy-peasy.

And perhaps they’ll simplify storytelling for you, too. And I didn’t charge you one red cent for this advice. :)

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading and writing!