Colorado Author -- Megan DiMaria

I met Megan DiMaria at Barnes & Noble Centerra in Loveland, Colorado. It was October 24th, the same day I signed with a group of mystery writers. Megan had been scheduled for the hours just prior to our appearance.

When we heard the announcements, and realized there was another author in the store, we hurried up to meet her before she could get away. As I heard about her books and listened to her pitch, I realized Megan was writing in a genre that I haven't covered much on this blog: Christian fiction. I am pleased to introduce her work to my readers, but must caution you mystery and thriller writers that you won't find any dead bodies, killers, or sleuths in Megan's work.

Suspense, on the other hand, is as necessary to a good romantic or general fiction novel as it is any other genre. The synopses for Megan's stories demonstrate that writing fact.


Searching for Spice (synopsis from barnesandnoble.com):

"Linda Revere longs to have a sizzling affair . . . with her husband, a practical, no-nonsense community college science teacher. Unfortunately, life isn't scripted, and nothing goes according to plan. From having a demanding boss, and at times a frustrating job, to helping her family and friends with their troubles, life seems to be preventing Linda from achieving her goal of an exciting and passionate marriage. Linda hopes God will answer her prayers to jazz up her marriage, but is she ready for what happens next?"



Out of Her Hands (synopsis from barnesandnoble.com:

"In this second novel, Linda Revere is back and continuing to struggle with the turmoil of contemporary life. Linda has been praying for her children's future spouses since they were very small. Confident that her prayers will be answered, Linda is not prepared for the young woman her son brings home. But Linda soon learns that while everything she once controlled is out of her hands, God is still in control. Megan uses her trademark humor while dealing with issues to which her readers will relate."



Megan is available for book club appearances. You may also visit her at her blog, A Prisoner of Hope.

Book Signing at Old Firehouse Books

Don't Cricket McRae and I look as though we're having fun? Thanks to the great staff at Old Firehouse Books in Old Town Fort Collins, Colorado, that's exactly what we did yesterday from noon to three. We talked to dozens of readers, passed out bookmarks and shared our tray of sweet treats from Fiona's Deli and Cricket's delicious homemade chocolate molasses oatmeal cookies, sold a few books, signed more to leave on the shelves, and had a great time.




I have a side story to tell. In various places around Fort Collins there are rearing horse statues, with another one coming soon to a corner near our excellent Senior Center. I'd been looking for the horses that are on public view, so imagine my surprise when I walked right into one yesterday.

With the signing scheduled for noon, I had packed up my signing supplies and the tray of goodies and headed for Old Firehouse Books. After toting my things inside the store, I moved my car to one of the Old Town parking garages and walked the two and a half blocks back, taking a short cut through Old Town Plaza.

There I happened across one of the rearing horse statues I've been looking for. Being one who is easily distracted, I stopped, pulled out my camera, and took a few pictures.

This one is a lot more attractive and a lot less intimidating than the bright blue devil horse that guards the Denver International Airport grounds. That scary creature has bright red eyes and probably gives kids nightmares.

I took a few photos and hurried on to Old Firehouse Books.

One of the toughest things about book signings in bookstores is that most writers are also heavy readers. The desire to browse and buy can be overpowering. The bad news for Cricket was that our table faced the cookbook shelves, and she loves cookbooks.

The good news for me was that thrillers and mysteries were toward the back of the store. Out of sight, out of mind. I did wander a bit, however, and wouldn't you know it, I found a book about Twitter. I bought it to donate to the Northern Colorado Writers Library (as soon as I finish reading it, of course).

For you Colorado authors (and out-of-state authors visiting Northern Colorado), remember Old Firehouse Books when you set up your signing schedule. You'll love 'em.

Book Signing at Old Firehouse Books

I'm signing books at noon today with mystery author Cricket McRae at Old Firehouse Books in Old Town Fort Collins, Colorado. If you're in the neighborhood, please drop by. We'll have a big tray of those delicious mini-treats from Fiona's Deli (lemon bars, brownies, etc.). And, of course, my usual bowl of chocolate treats, including Hershey's Kisses.

Copies of The Prairie Grass Murders will be available for sale along with my new release, The Desert Hedge Murders.

Cricket's home crafting mystery series includes: Lye in Wait, Heaven Preserve Us, and Spin a Wicked Web.

We hope to see you there.

How I'm Now Keeping Twitter Time Under Control

I have author friends who still won't explore Twitter world because they're convinced the social site will be a time suck and will not provide a direct benefit such as drastically increased blog traffic or book sales. I don't blame them a bit. Twitter can be addictive. It takes a long time to build the relationships that lead to more blog traffic. And book sales? Maybe, maybe not.

My original reason for exploring Twitter was to increase traffic to my blog, and also to The Blood-Red Pencil blog where I am a contributor. I also use Twitter to promote classes and workshops for Northern Colorado Writers, book signings, and books I've read and wish to recommend.

At the beginning, I spent way too much time reading tweets (messages posted by the people I follow) and searching for more people to follow. It takes time to learn the process and figure out how to efficiently use this tool while also making one-on-one contacts. It also takes time to learn who you can trust (and you shouldn't click on links until you're very sure).

Once I was past that newbie phase, I found these self-imposed rules make Twitter fun to use without taking up too much time:

1. I change my password from time to time. I don't want to lose a lot of time fixing things if my account is hacked.

2. I don't tweet the link to every blog post. I pick the ones I think will appeal most to my target audience, two or three times a week, and tweet that link one to three times during the day.

3. I check to see who has recently included my Twitter ID in a tweet (by clicking on my ID in the sidebar). I acknowledge these with a reply when appropriate.

4. Then I quickly scan three or four pages of recent tweets. If I see a comment or question of interest, I reply. If I have something to say or ask, I'll post a note on that subject.

5. I try to hold myself to ten or fifteen minutes per session.

Like Facebook and other social media sites, Twitter will eat up as much time as you allow. You need to invest a lot of time at the beginning, perhaps the first three months. After that, it's up to you. Are you strong enough to set time limits? Powerful enough to resist the fun extras and stick to the plan? If so, try it out.

Mix and Match

I haven't done the Mix and Match for a while, so here goes:


What I'm Reading:

In fiction, I just finished Free Agent by Jeremy Duns, a classic spy story by a debut novelist. I liked it a lot and am looking forward to the next book in the series which is scheduled for 2010.

Now I'm reading Dead Men's Dust by Matt Hilton, How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Lynn Emerson (which won the Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction of 2008), and Writing for the Web 3.0 by Crawford Kilian.


What I'm Thinking About:

How I wish each person who reads this blog today would enter a request to your library to order a copy of The Desert Hedge Murders, ISBN 978-1-59414-785-2. And if it's not too much trouble, would you ask one or more of your friends who live in different cities to do the same?


This Week's Quote:

"There are differences in culture, in law, in language, but at their most basic level, civilizations share one undeniable truth: the scream of a victim sounds the same the world over."
---------------Matt Hilton, Dead Men's Dust

A Recommended Blog:

Hey, There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room.: Mystery Publishing from Idea to Bookshelf.

Regular contributors are: Jeffrey Cohen, Barbara Poelle, Lynne Patrick, PJ Nunn, Alison Janssen, Robin Agnew, and Kim Malo. My editor, Denise Dietz is listed as designated contributor, and her husband, author and editor Gordon Aalborg, as guest contributor.


The Best Thing I Had to Eat This Week:

A big juicy beef and buffalo burger with extra sharp cheddar cheese. I also cut up two large white potatoes into chunks, coated them with a bit of olive oil, and baked them on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees. They brown quickly, so turn them once during baking. Better, healthier, and easier than french fries.

An Unexpected Surprise from Colorado Country Life Magazine

First I received an e-mail from a friend, telling me my first Sylvia and Willie mystery, The Prairie Grass Murders, was one of the mysteries featured in an article in the newest Colorado Country Life magazine, a publication of the Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association.

That evening, a member of my critique group handed me a copy to see for myself. Not only was my book featured in the article, but the magazine's cover photo featured a bookshelf full of mysteries as the background, including mine.

The article is called Mad for Mysteries and was written by Julie Simmons. In a case like this, I like to check amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com to see if my sales ranks received a bump. I wasn't too hopeful in this case, because The Prairie Grass Murders hardcover has been remaindered and is no longer available new from booksellers. But here's the surprise: the sales rank on amazon.com includes sales of new and used books from the associate booksellers. My sales rank of The Prairie Grass Murders had jumped to about 80,000 (and that's a great number considering where it's been lately). Luckily, I still have new copies of the book to sell at my upcoming local booksignings.

This piece of accidental exposure points out something we often miss as we look for ways to promote our books. There are many publications across the country like Colorado Country Life that do book reviews, like to feature articles on local authors or books set in the region, or would be willing to publish your article on a subject of interest to their readers and include your own book, website, and blog information in your bio. Some listings might be in Writer's Market, others available through internet searches. It's an opportunity we can't afford to pass up.

Story Jumps Boundaries, Characters Are Out of Control

Lynnette's story began as a simple novel of suspense. The first outline had only one chapter that was not in Lynnette's point of view. Then one of the bad guys grew bigger than the part I had given him, so I wrote some chapters from his point of view. He was only a minor bad guy, so it became necessary to give the major bad guy a bigger part in the story. Scenes from his point of view clarified the plot. I now had the outline of a multiple point of view novel written in 3rd person past tense. It was looking good.

That single original non-Lynnette point of view chapter that I mentioned in the second sentence, however, created the need for a sub-plot taking place half a country away from Lynnette's location. Yep, I needed scenes from the cops' point of view. There was a good cop, and her partner, and the detective with a nasty attitude. I reined this team in, thank goodness, and let the good female cop keep all the police action. It was hard pushing the bossy detective around, but the good female cop helped me out on that.

While I had my back turned, concentrating on the cops, my first minor bad guy dropped dead. What? I didn't plan for that to happen. I loved writing scenes while pretending to be this guy--using foul language and acting like a slimeball. It was great. How could my story move forward without this guy?

Okay, I obviously had to bring another minor bad guy into the mix. He, unfortunately, showed up with a sub-plot of his own. Holy crap, I thought. Where did this guy come from and why is he messing with my plot?

I sat back today and listened to my characters fight about their roles in my (their?) novel and whether I even know what I'm doing with a story this big. They seem to want control. They want this book to be less of a suspense novel and more of a thriller, and they have some great ideas how to make it work.

Isn't this writing gig weird?