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Let’s Get Personal

September 13, 2011Writing, Books3 Comments

On Friday night I went to a launch party for Darrell James's debut novel, NAZARETH CHILD. It's a book I've been looking forward to, and it was great to celebrate the release with Darrell and well, a hundred or so of his best friends. The great thing is that many of those friends are my friends too.

The following morning, I tweeted "I talked so much last night my throat is sore today." See, you get me in a room full of writing friends and I get so excited to have someone to talk to about writing and books, I can't shut up.

Which brings me to the subject of this post.

On Monday, the esteemed Steve Weddle asked this question on DO SOME DAMAGE:

"Wasn't Twitter supposed to kill crime fiction conventions? You make friends online, you don't need to meet them 'in person' to know them. Isn't that the, ahem, conventional wisdom?"

For me, the answer is no.

Don't get me wrong. Twitter is the single most useful tool I've found for networking on a daily basis. Every contact I've made in the publishing world started there, but I never intended for them to end there.

From the beginning, I made an effort to go out and meet the people I connected with on Twitter in person. If I recall correctly, the first Twitter friend I met was Linda Brown from the Mystery Bookstore. Soon after I met James Scott Bell. When I became aware of conferences, both local and national, I attended them. At my first Bouchercon in Indianapolis, I not only met Ali Karim, a twitter buddy for whom I have the highest regard, but two of my writing idols, David Liss and Sue Grafton. I walked away from that conference higher than a kite, and it wasn't because I'd spent too much time in the hotel bar.

I could go on and on, but I won't.

Social media (primarily Facebook and Twitter, and to a much lesser extent, this blog and other websites) have all been important in my journey to publication. They are, in many ways, crucial to getting published, and I could quite easily argue they're all you need (well, besides a kick ass book and some luck).

But I need the personal contact too. I need to be able to sit at the hotel bar and geek out and be a fan girl and talk incessantly about books and writing to like-minded people until my voice gets hoarse. I love doing it online, but that personal contact, however infrequent, strengthens the common bond we all have: a love for books.

And now, if you'll pardon me, I need to go pack for Bouchercon 2011. See you there, my friends.

Looking for a Few Good Writers

September 1, 2011Writing, Path to Publication, Author Interviews, Inspiration, Books, Question o' the Day3 Comments

Hey Author Friends:

I have a few features on my blog that I've been ignoring for far too long, and now, with your help, I'd like to put a little more effort into them.

I'm looking for authors (mainly crime fiction, but I'll consider others as well) to contribute to "Path to Publication," "Author Interviews," "Question o' the Day," or any other topic you might like to guest blog about. This blog is kind of geared toward aspiring authors, so anything in that vein would be great. I'd especially like to beef up the "Path to Publication" section because everyone loves a good success story, don't they?

The only caveat is I reserve the right to refuse if I don't think your content is right for my audience. Oh, and I don't get paid, so neither do you, except in all those book sales your presence on my blog might generate. I may add more caveats if I find I get too many requests or something like that. We'll see.

Anyway, I like to promote authors whose work I like. So that's what the purpose of all this is, as well as to give readers some content that informs, inspires, and/or entertains.

Contact me here in the comments, on Twitter, or on Facebook if you'd like to participate.

My Life as a Book

August 30, 2011Books2 Comments

Pop Culture Nerd posted this on Facebook today and I couldn't resist. The object is to fill in these autobiographical statements using only titles of books you've read this year (2011).

I grew up in: Calabama (Steve Brewer)

Now I live in: L.A. Noire (Megan Abboott, Lawrence Block, Duane Swierczynski, et al)

Weekends at my house are: In the Garden of Beasts (Erik Larson)

My ex was: The Cold Kiss (John Rector)

My superhero secret identity is: Queenpin (Megan Abbott)

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry because: (it's not) Fun & Games (Duane Swierczynski)

I'd win a gold medal in: A Drop of the Hard Stuff (Lawrence Block)

I'd pay good money for: Dope (Sara Gran)

If I were president, I would: (say) Heads You Lose (Lisa Lutz & David Hayward)

When I don't have good books it feels like: The End of Everything (Megan Abbott)

Loud talkers at the movies should be: (banished) In the Living Room of the Dead (Eric Stone)

Hey, that was fun! Leave your own answers on your blog (send me the link) or in the comment section.

I’m Possessed!

August 13, 2011Books1 Comment

Gretchen McNeil's debut novel, POSSESS, comes out on August 23, and to celebrate, I got a new tattoo:

Wanna see a close up?

Okay, so maybe the tattoo is just temporary. I love Gretchen, but not that much. The tattoo is the one sported by Bridgit Liu, the protagonist in POSSESS.

About POSSESS:

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, but the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

Check out the kick-ass trailer:

Mark your calendars, boys and girls. POSSESS comes out on August 23, 2011 and I promise you, it's a book you're not gonna want to miss.

Sharp Compassion

August 8, 2011Writing1 Comment

I'm excited to announce I'll be moderating a panel at the upcoming Bouchercon in St. Louis. It's called "Sharp Compassion: Finding the Humanity in Crime." It's at 8:30am on Saturday, September 17th.

Did I say excited? I meant super-crazy excited. And a tiny bit skeered.

Did I say skeered? I meant super-crazy-out-of-my-head skeered.

Thankfully, I've got a great group of panelists to ease the fear:

Rachel Brady, author of the Emily Locke mystery series

Laura Caldwell, author of numerous thrillers (and whose bio is too impressive to condense in this post, so you'd better just go read it)

Julie Compton, author of Rescuing Olivia and Tell No Lies

Janice Hamrick, author of Death on Tour

Marcia Talley, author of the Hannah Ives mystery series

It should be an interesting and thought-provoking discussion. Certainly worth getting up early on Saturday morning after a rip-roaring night at the hotel bar.

You can find a list of all the great Bouchercon 2011 panels right here.

See you in St. Louis!

Don’t Bypass the Gatekeepers

August 5, 2011Writing3 Comments

I've been thinking a lot lately about the books I buy and read. They're about equally split between eBooks and paper books and though I used to say I preferred paper books, I'm no longer certain that's the case. What I prefer is a good story. If it's delivered by a paper book, great. If I'm reading it on my Kindle, that's all good too. It's the stories that matter to me, not the method by which I get them.

Sure, there are books on my shelves I will never get rid of and that I'm happy to allot precious storage space to. But frankly, I acquire and read so many books that only the bestest, most specialest books get to stay forever.

So this post isn't about eBooks vs. paper books. It's about why I choose the books I buy and read, and whether or not self-published books will ever make the cut. So far, they haven't. I read article after article about John Locke, Amanda Hocking, and the like but I have yet to purchases any of their books. And I've certainly never bought a book simply because it was 99 cents. The only reason I've ever been tempted to buy any of these books is because, well, I want to see if selling millions of eBooks equates to good writing and good story telling. It may or may not. But I have too many books on my To Be Read (TBR) pile to give any time to titles that haven't been recommended by people whose taste I trust or are written by authors I already know I like.

All this to say, I still believe in the gatekeepers. The agents, the editors, the publishing houses, all those pesky people whose job it is to make sure the riff-raff doesn't get through. And before you get all offended by that last statement, remember, I'm an aspiring author looking for an agent. I'm counting myself as riff-raff here.

I should probably clarify that last sentence. I'll be riff-raff as long as my stories aren't the best they can be, not until they suddenly (ha ha, like anything every happens suddenly in publishing) gets published by a Big Six publisher.

Back to the topic at hand.

The gatekeepers aren't just comprised of agents, et al. They are my friends on Twitter who can't stop talking about a particular book. They are book store employees who jabber excitedly about this book or that. I'm a voracious, but slow reader. I need help culling titles. That help comes from the gatekeepers, whoever they might be.

Someone recently posted in group I follow that he was in the process of self-pubbing his debut novel and wanted hints on how to promote it. In the discussion that ensued, the subject of beta readers came up and it turned out he'd never even heard of beta readers. Said it was too late to enlist their help because the book was being uploaded in a few days. Hells bells, people, beta readers are the first line of gatekeepers. Do you think I'd consider buying his book now, even for a paltry 99 cents?

Lest you think I'm picking on debut authors, let me tell you this story. Awhile back I downloaded a self-pubbed novel by an established author I have a great deal of respect for. Certainly, someone who should know better. How surprised, and frankly, angry, was I when I saw it was so filled with typos and glaring errors I had to put it down by the third chapter?

I'm not saying people who haven't been traditionally published shouldn't self-pub, not at all. I'm saying that if you do, you'd better make damn sure you've written a novel worth not only my 99 cents but my time. That means at the very least you've had trusted beta readers take a look, hired a professional editor to copy edit (and perhaps even do a developmental edit), and make sure that story sparkles.

Oh, and to all you traditionally pubbed authors who are jumping on the self-pub bandwagon, that goes for you too. It might even go double for you, in fact I think it does. You've already built my trust and I might just buy your work based on your track record. Don't spoil it by putting out a self-pubbed book that's crap.

This post is already too long, so I'll end it here. In my next post, I'll discuss what to do to get my attention once you've done all this. Or actually, what you should be doing RIGHT NOW, regardless of where you're at in the writing/publishing process.

Playing with the Big Boys

July 19, 2011Writing, Diary of Bedlam3 Comments

This past Sunday night, I was invited to read a passage from Diary of Bedlam at the first Noir at the Bar L.A.

Eric Beetner, Stephen Blackmore, Josh Stallings, and Duane Swierczynski also read. I suppose it's appropriate to ask the question: Including my own, which of these names are not like the others? You guessed it: Holly West.

I'll be honest. I was terrified to read my work in front of this crowd. Not only was this to be Diary of Bedlam's first public outing, my work is considerably fluffier than the pull-no-punches, skulls-blown-to-bits stories these guys put out. I love reading the hard stuff, but I don't write it because when I do, it's trite, derivative, and fake. I'm a big believer in knowing your strengths, and playing them up to the hilt.

Not that I don't also believe in doing something new and challenging once in awhile.

So with that said, I did the only thing I could: I donned a push-up bra, black leather boots, and pretended like I knew what the hell I was doing.

For the most part, it went well. I certainly have no regrets, though I still wonder if perhaps I could've picked a better passage. That was the hardest part, you see–figuring out what to read. What best represented the tone, characters, and story of Diary of Bedlam? I'm not sure I nailed it, but the passage I picked at least did the job.

One thing I learned from this experience that I will certainly be putting into future practice: Reading your work aloud is an excellent editing tool. I'd heard this before and had even done it a little whilst editing Diary. But now I kind of think that every scene in every novel, every story, should be read aloud because it's easier to identify superfluous words and passages that don't work when you hear them, not just read them.

Many, many thanks to Eric Beetner, Stephen Blackmore, Aldo Cacagno, Josh Stallings, and Duane Swierczynski for letting me play author for a night. Makes me think someday I might be doing it for reals.

Noir at the Bar – Los Angeles

June 30, 2011Writing4 Comments

I don't have much to add to Stephen Blackmoore's post about NOIR AT THE BAR – LA EDITION.

Except:

It's likely I'll be reading a bit of my own work at this hallowed event, which is a pretty big deal to me, being a relative novice and all. And even if I weren't reading, getting the chance to meet up with my fellow LA writers and hearing them read their own work–well, that sounds like a damned good evening.

Visit the facebook page for more info.

Hope to see you there!

Patience, Young Grasshopper

June 13, 2011Diary of Bedlam, Inspiration, Books, Writing2 Comments

I attended the California Crime Writers Conference in Pasadena this weekend. What a great time. I met a lot of new people and got to know several people better. We all talked incessantly about writing, books and careers, and everything in between. In the process, I took away loads of great advice.

Patience
The first bit of wisdom I took with me was something I already knew, though it seems that I require daily reminders of its importance. Writers must have patience. Patience is something I've always had in short supply, but I'm going to have to cultivate it if I want to be happy in this career I've chosen (sometimes I feel like it chose me).

Until I started my search for an agent, I had no idea how much patience would be required of me. The process goes something like this: I send my query, the agent responds, usually within a couple of days, asking for more material. I send it on thinking they've been waiting with nothing to do for my brilliant manuscript to make its way to their computer. Of course as soon as they get it they're going to read it, love it, and offer me representation, right?

Turns out agents have other stuff to do besides reading my manuscript. In fact, they might not ever get around to reading it. At the very least, it is typical to wait weeks or months for a response, even when they've requested a full manuscript.

It’s June. Already.

June 4, 2011Writing, Diary of Bedlam4 Comments

June is my birthday month. When I was a kid, I hated having a birthday in June because school was already out for the summer and it meant I couldn't be celebrated at school the way other kids were when it was their birthdays. I'm sure my mother was pleased, however, because she never had to schlep 30 cupcakes into my classroom.

Speaking of my mother and cupcakes, here's a somewhat funny story, and I don't think she'll mind me telling it. For various reasons, my parents locked onto the health food craze early on. Certainly before any of my friend's parents (if they ever did). Progressive, right? Uh, no. It was the bane of my 13-year-old existence (along with the 1968 Oldsmobile they picked me up from school in). Back in those days, one didn't have stores like Whole Foods or even Trader Joe's, stocked full of healthy options that actually taste good. My mom's version of health food was carob, no salt, no fat, and wheat germ sprinkled on everything.

But I digress.

At some point during this time, my mother was called upon to bring a baked good to a school or church function and she chose to whip up a carob concoction–I do believe they were cupcakes of some sort. She set them down on the table and awhile later a lady picked one up, took a bite and said "Ew, what is this?" She might've even let an expletive fly. I know I would have. But my mother was standing close by and she heard everything, causing her much hurt and embarrassment. Her response to the incident now is "What was I thinking?" Indeed, mother, indeed.

Of course, this post was meant to be an update of what's happening in Diary of Bedlam land, so I suppose I should get on with it. I am, at the moment, looking for an agent, which means sending out query letters to various agents and agencies, hoping they'll at least want to take a look at my manuscript. On the whole, the response to these queries has been great–I'm at about a 35-40% success rate and the manuscript is currently being read by four agents with a fifth one who asked for more material. Definitely not something I'm complaining about.

That said, there haven't been any offers of representation and not only is it possible none of these agents currently considering the manuscript will make an offer, it is extremely likely they will not. Such is the nature of the process, I'm learning. Still, I'm optimistic, I really am.

I'm also writing the sequel to Diary of Bedlam, the working title of which is Diary of Deception. It took me three years to write Bedlam, so I'm hoping to finish this one more quickly. I need to learn how to write a polished novel in 6 months or less, I think.

In a few weeks I'll be 43, can you believe it? Well, I'm sure you can, but I certainly cannot.

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