Thinking about new writers

Yesterday I attended the monthly local meeting of Mystery Writers of America. Without fully understanding how it happened, I'm now serving as the chapter's vice president. This is an honor, but what scares me about it is knowing that I was recommended for this position because others believed I could infuse "new energy."

You know how it goes. Complain enough and somebody eventually says, "Well, if you think you can do better, we invite you to try."

MWA is a fabulous organization, but the complaints I allude to have to do with my outspoken opinion that the organization doesn't do enough to mentor its pre-published members.

So yesterday, I voiced some of my ideas to improve that. And today it occurs to me that I may be able to do something similar here at the blog.

One fortuitous side-effect of writing has been meeting other authors. What a cool bunch of people writers are. This morning I am wondering if the readers of this blog would be interested in posing a few questions to "authors at large." I could collect feedback from some of my author friends and post it here, and that would give you an opportunity for a little insight into their writing lives and their challenges in publishing.

Any interest? If so, please post your questions in the comments. I'll collect them and return with some professional feedback to share.

In My Mind, I Run Like a Kenyan

And write like one too, I guess. The full story is at the Stiletto Gang today. Please click through and reassure me that I’m not alone here.

What's Write for Me

Wednesday, November 25th, at 12:00 Central / 1:00 Eastern, I'm participating in this Blog Talk Radio show with other writers who gave NaNoWriMo a try. If you'll be online and would like to listen in, you can do so through this link. It's free, my favorite price. :-) After the fact, the recorded podcast will be available at the same link.

And the corpses pile up: Making a series believable

As part of the webcon, I had the pleasure of hosting a Blog Talk Radio show with some very talented authors this morning. The program synopsis is below, and the link to the panel discussion is here. (1 hour)

Mystery authors Ann Parker, Rebecca Cantrell, Deb Baker, Kelli Stanley, and Jeff Cohen discuss their approaches to bringing credible characters and fresh plot lines to a series. They’ll share their processes for creating story worlds that keep readers coming back for more. Throughout their discussion, panelists will take questions from conference participants.

Houston Press Interview and first book signing for Final Approach

Last week I was fortunate to be interviewed by Olivia Flores Alvarez of the Houston Press, a delightful editor who was kind enough to read Final Approach and, better still, like it. :-) It felt really nice to receive some support from the local media and the Houston Press was gracious to advertise the book launch, which happened yesterday at Houston's awesome indie mystery bookstore Murder By The Book. The interview is here.

My friends took great care of me at my first book signing. I had crazy-sweaty palms, but surprisingly managed to sign everyone's books without my hand sticking to their title pages. It was a standing room only crowd, thanks to dozens of wonderful, encouraging friends who brought their spouses, family, and neighbors. I met some new folks too, which is always fun. Walking away, I felt really grateful for another dream realized.

Next up is the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention! I'm heading to Indianapolis on Wednesday to talk books and writing with authors and fans from all over the country. Few things I like more than writers' conferences, so I'm bouncing with energy and excited for the trip. I'll post from there and let you guys know what's up.

Stuff I've learned: writing and selling my first novel

Sandra Moore was gracious to invite me for my first author interview today at Novel Journey, where I talk about my experience writing and selling my first book. I like to imagine that years down the road I'll have written more books, and I wonder how my insight into publishing will have changed since this first interview.