Still editing...found "Where there abolitionists... and changed it to "were there abolitionists?" And my heroine was "week as a kitten." It's funny how much difference one letter can make, isn't it?

Sighing and SMH (shaking my head, my son taught me that),

Eliza

My new favorite book isHow to be a Villainby Neil Zawacki. It's full of helpful hints, from where to locate your evil lair to hiring minions (always get them to sign liability waivers, it's a high-risk profession and insurance is outrageous) to dealing with sidekicks and animal companions.

 "In the end, the most important part of being evil is feeling good about your bad self." Positive affirmation is important for bad guys, too.

I once wrote a story where the villain was so happily bad that I couldn't kill him off, even though a bunch of other characters were trying to snuff him out.

Did you read "Dilbert" this morning? 

Dogbert-- "How's your novel coming along?"

Dilbert-- "I'm off to a slow start. All I did this week was stare at a blank screen and feel bad about my lack of talent."

Dogbert-- "Maybe try writing something."

Dilbert-- "I have to think that would make things worse."

Isn't that hilarious? I'm absolutely sure that none of us writers could possibly relate....

Eliza

I'm going to add some cool quotes at the beginning of Family Secret's chapters before I submit them again to agents. I don't know if it'll make any difference, but it's fun. Here's one:

 

"None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them."

--Charles Caleb Colton

Hey everyone,

 

I'm plotting my third murder mystery. I've got an old skeleton in the basement but I'm also considering a bloodbath including a newly-introduced leading character. Even as I write this I think I'll twine the old and new murders together in the plot line. The murders are unrelated but the timing is going to make them look connected.

 

Hmm. That gives me an idea on how to connect them, at least after the fact....

 

Thanks for the help!

 A friend just showed me a pen-and-ink drawing he made of a Taos Pueblo. It was really impressive. (I'm not an art critic but I thought it was terrific.)

 

Somehow we got started talking about perspective. In his art class, he said, his teacher tells them to stop working after an hour or two and step away from their work. They should walk across the room and study it from different distances and angles.

 

I think that translates to our writing, too. Give it some time and distance, look at it from a different perspective, be objective.

I've been brainstorming my next book and have lots of ideas. My first idea, a new paranormal, is intriguing but, at this point, has no middle or end. Just a beginning. Even I need a little more to go on.

 

My next idea was a third book in my mystery series. (Family SecretsandSkeletons in the Closetare books one and two, and they're still with agents.) My first idea was dark and scary, with three dead bodies in the first chapter. The heroine, who's already been pushed until she's ready to snap, would get kidnapped and buried alive in a coffin.

InThe Cat Who...books by Carol Nelson Douglas her main character, Qwill, can write 1000 words on any subject at any time. Ironically, his articles are usually the most boring part of the book.

CND writes mysteries solved by Qwill's Siamese cats, Koko and YumYum. I always enjoy her stories, but sometimes she kills off characters that I like. Sometimes they don't solve the mystery in time to save the next victim. I don't like that, either.

Perhaps that explains my own issues when writing mysteries.

A new sporting goods store opened just south of Denver and my husband and I checked it out with some friends. Thankfully, my husband doesn't drag home dead animals and hang them in the garage. When he hunts and gathers, it usually involves pizza or fried chicken.

The store is really cool, though. I was checking out the crossbows when the (very handsome) clerk came over to help me. "Are you shopping for your husband?" he asked me. Apparently I do not look like someone who goes crossbow-hunting.