Guest Blogger B.K. Stevens – What Do Teen Readers Want?

What Do Teen Readers Want? by B.K. Stevens

Earlier this month, I participated in an unusual panel at Bouchercon in Raleigh, North Carolina. The panel’s topic wasn’t unusual—these days, most mystery conferences devote at least one panel to young adult novels—but the panelists were. Three of them were real, live young adults, members of a high-school book club in Georgia. They brought along a list titled “Ten Things We Wish YA Writers and Editors and Publishers Knew about Actual YAs (Like Us).” As a writer whose first YA mystery was just published, I found the list both enlightening and reassuring. Parents and grandparents who give books to the young adults in their lives might enjoy checking it out, too.

Some items on the list are predictable—the club members like a diverse cast of characters, they don’t like having pets or young children put in jeopardy simply to heighten tension, and they think it’s important for YA writers to “talk to young people alive and young right now,” rather than relying on decades-old memories. Preachy mysteries don’t appeal to them—“We can smell a lesson a mile away”—but mysteries that mix serious issues with humor do. The club members also want writers to “treat YA mysteries as seriously as adult mysteries.” That means playing fair with clues, not introducing villains at the last minute, avoiding plot holes, and tying up loose ends. As someone who loves traditional whodunits, I was glad to see that some young people still value these time-honored standards.

The list also includes less predictable advice. The club members don’t see romance as a necessary element in YA mysteries, especially not if it seems injected into the book “just to create a relationship subplot.” The characters’ attraction to each other has to feel genuine. Also, not every protagonist has to be a “misunderstood loner,” and “not all characters need a tragic backstory.”

That was good to hear. Misunderstood loners with tragic backstories are so common in YA fiction that I worried about whether young readers would care about my protagonist, a popular athlete with an intact family. When I was planning the novel, I wondered if I should give Matt a dead parent, an addicted sibling, at least a lactose-intolerant cousin. I decided against it, and now I feel more confident about that decision. Of course Matt’s family has problems—all families do. Matt feels distant from his parents and thinks they won’t understand his problems, and they’re so intent on making him feel secure that they hide the challenges they’re facing. But they’re all good, well-intentioned people, and they all love each other. Once they start talking more openly, things get better—not suddenly, completely better, but better. I hope the novel succeeds in acknowledging that the problems young adults experience can be painful and real, even when those young adults aren’t misunderstood loners with tragic backstories.

I also felt cheered by the second item on the club’s list. “Adults are not always evil/boring/patronizing/incompetent,” these young people maintain. “We live with adults, and we actually care about them and sometimes even like them. And we have people in our lives who care about us.” Frankly, I hadn’t expected a group of teenagers to take a stand on behalf of the adults in their lives, but I was moved when they did. It made me feel pretty good not only as a YA author but also as a teacher, a mother, and a grandmother. If you’d like to see the full list, you can find it here: http://ccatmystery.blogspot.com/2015/10/ten-things-we-wish-ya-writers-and.html. It might make you feel pretty good, too.

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B.K. (Bonnie) Stevens is the author of Fighting Chance, a martial arts mystery for young adults, which was recently released by The Poisoned Pencil / Poisoned Pen Press. She describes the novel as “a cross between The Hardy Boys and The Karate Kid.” Interpretation of Murder, a novel for adults, is a traditional whodunit that offers insights into deaf culture and sign language interpretation. . B.K. has also published over fifty short stories, most in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. She has won a Derringer and has been nominated for Agatha and Macavity awards. http://www.bkstevensmysteries.com

Fans-Whether in Sports or Writing, It’s All the Same

FANS – WHETHER IN SPORTS OR WRITING, IT’S ALL THE SAME by Debra H. Goldstein

When I moved to Alabama, a colleague asked if I knew who was number one in football. Not being a sports enthusiast, but reading all parts of the newspaper religiously, I replied that the polls said my alma mater, the University of Michigan, was ranked number one.

“No,” I was told. “Alabama is number one.”

I scratched my head and wondered about him. Apparently, he didn’t keep up with the news and his taste in clothing – a crimson blazer and a houndstooth vest – left something to be desired. At least, it wasn’t as loud a combination as the burnt orange blazer and navy blue tie another guy in the office seemed to sport every Friday.

It didn’t take long for me to understand the fervent loyalty Alabama and Auburn fans have for their teams. They live, breathe, and probably would sell their first born child for if it would insure a victory. They revere their coaches as Gods – at least as long as their teams are winning. Some people think their devotion to their schools is crazy.

There was a time I was a member of that latter group, but not anymore. Since becoming a writer, I understand the value of fans. They are the people who validate my efforts and those of my fellow writers. They encourage and give us purpose. When a person says “I liked your book” or “Your book really made a difference in my life,” it means the world to us.
That’s why, having fans and being a fan is a reciprocal relationship. Readers trust us to give them the best book possible. They want us to transport them away from their everyday lives, even if only for a few minutes. Hopefully, we not only do that, but we treat our fans with respect and admiration.

Without our readers behind us, much like a team playing a championship game, we are nothing. So, it is a two way street. We must be our fans biggest fans.

Guest Blogger: James M. Jackson – The Allure of a Mystery Series

The Allure of a Mystery Series by James M. Jackson
One of my great pleasures of mystery fan conferences such as Malice Domestic and Left Coast Crime is the opportunity to talk with a wide variety of readers. When I get to chatting with a reader I usually ask about favorite authors to compare notes. After a while I’ll ask about how they approach series.
Writers and publishers like series because of the long-tail effect: if someone reads one book in the series and enjoys it, chances are good they’ll read another in the series, and another and another. Each new addition to the series not only has the potential to sell to fans, but bring in new readers who will ultimately want to read the entire series.

A couple of years ago my better half, Jan, and I were attending Malice Domestic. We wanted to read all of the books nominated for Best Contemporary Novel. Jan discovered that Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Through the Evil Days was part of a series. Rather than just read that book, Jan wanted to read the entire eight books in order. So she blitz read her way through the series in about two months’ time (while reading the other new-to-her books as well).

It turns out Jan is not alone. A significant percentage of people I’ve talked are like her. (I wish I had kept an accurate account so I could tell you the exact percentage.) They strongly prefer to read series novels in order—some so much so that they will not read a series out-of-order! Can you imagine how long it would take a reader new to Sue Grafton to catch up on Kinsey Milhone and the now twenty-four alphabet books starting with A is for Alibi and ending currently ending with X? Not going to happen, right?

Well consider these Kindle Book rankings for Grafton’s series (early morning 9/4/15):
X — #19
W is for Wasted — #1,603
V is for Vengeance — #4,603
U is for Undertow — #8,886
T is for Trespass — #9,164
C is for Corpse – #7,685
B is for Burglar — #6,760
A is for Alibi — #3,137
Not only does Grafton have a top twenty hit two and a half weeks after its release, she has seven other books in the top 10,000 Kindle sellers: the previous three and the first three. People are catching up if they’ve missed a few books, and people are starting at the beginning. This long tail is why publishers like successful series.
To allow that piling on effect, publishing contracts were (and often still are) for three books.

And the three-book contracts are, I suspect, why I have found another phenomena amongst many mystery readers. They won’t start reading a series unless there are a sufficient number of books published. The oft-stated reason goes something like “I don’t want to fall in love with an author and then have to wait a year for the next book.”

When presented with the Catch 22 situation that if no one buys the first books in a series, there won’t be more books, the next response is something like, “I want to make sure the series will be there.” Particularly with small presses and self-publishing they don’t want to invest in a character for only one or two books. From my sampling of folks I’ve met, those with this attitude often require a minimum of three books, and preferably four or five in a series, before they will become interested.
So, two questions for you, dear readers:
(1) Do you prefer reading series in order? If so, must you start at the beginning, or do you read the most recent and then if you enjoyed it go back and start from the beginning?
(2) Do you have a required minimum number of published books before you’ll start reading a series, and if so how many?

For those of you who want at least three, my Seamus McCree novels are now eligible for your consideration. You can read them in order: Ant Farm, Bad Policy, and Cabin Fever. (Notice I subtly stole the alphabet idea from Sue Grafton?) For those who want at least four, I promise Doubtful Relations will be published in 2016.

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James M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree mystery series. ANT FARM (2015), a prequel to BAD POLICY (2013) and CABIN FEVER (2014), recently won a Kindle Scout nomination. BAD POLICY won the Evan Marshall Fiction Makeover Contest whose criteria were the freshness and commerciality of the story and quality of the writing. Jim has also published an acclaimed book on contract bridge, as well as numerous short stories and essays. For more information: http://jamesmjackson.com

Go Set A Watchman – a Draft Not a Sequel

Go Set A Watchman – a Draft Not a Sequel by Debra H. Goldstein

Once upon a time, a book by Harper Lee titled To Kill a Mockingbird was published. The book was tightly written, had beautiful descriptions of the people living in a small southern town, and provided a moral compass for generations of readers. Despite the awards the book won and the adoration of the public, Ms. Lee said she wouldn’t publish another book and she held true to her word until 2015 when, after the death of her sister, who also was her personal lawyer, a manuscript “discovered” in Harper Lee’s sister’s lockbox was published.

The found manuscript, Go Set A Watchman, was explained as being the original Harper Lee version that after a year of rewriting under the guidance of her editor became the To Kill a Mockingbird published in 1960. Supposedly, her then editor felt the draft manuscript was flawed but believed the parts dealing with the main character as a child with the story told from the child’s perspective were strong enough to build a book around.

The editor was right.

My disclaimer at this point: since I began writing novels and short stories, I read differently. Rather than reading simply for enjoyment, I can’t help taking books apart structurally. Although Go Set A Watchman deals with events and characters after the time of To Kill a Mockingbird with flashbacks to the main character’s childhood, it is not a sequel. It is a draft.

Repetitive passages, instances of showing not telling, point of view shifts, and even a nickname reference without establishing a set-up for it are problematic – especially since readers are so familiar with To Kill a Mockingbird. The book isn’t bad, but it isn’t the story or even the characters associated with Mockingbird unless it is a passage dealing with the children. Those passages are engaging. A careful reader will find many full paragraphs and partial references made to events or actions that are fleshed out in the final To Kill a Mockingbird manuscript. Some characters are left out, others added and there are major differences between the arthritic Atticus of Watchman and his dignified characterization in Mockingbird. Most importantly, some of the points that Harper Lee subtlety made in lines readers recall after closing the last page of To Kill a Mockingbird can only be found in long speeches or between the lines in Go Set A Watchman.

If there had been no To Kill a Mockingbird, Watchman would have been read as a first novel with little to no lasting impact. Although Scout is a young woman in this book, to call it a sequel is a shame. It should be read and perhaps even taught in schools as what it is — a draft that with revision eventually became a masterpiece.

This blog originally was posted on The Stiletto Gang http://thestilettogang.blogspot.com/ on August 14, 2015. The Stiletto Gang blogspot is written by eight mystery and romance writers. I blog for The Stiletto Gang on the second and fourth Fridays of each month and post a personal or guest blog on It’s Not Always a Mystery every other Monday.  This is the first time I have ever reposted a piece from the other blog, but living in Alabama and reading the local and national media controversy respecting the publication of Go Set A Watchman, I can’t resist sharing my opinion in this venue, too.  Debra

Guest Blogger: Jayne Ormerod – Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Genres…But Were Afraid to Ask

Jayne Ormerod

EVERYTHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT GENRES…But Were Afraid to Ask
By Jayne Ormerod

(Whispered conversation between two young ladies recently overheard in a library bathroom…)
“Do you know anything about, you know…what they’re talking about in there?”
“No. I’m pretty inexperience when it comes to that kind of stuff.”
“Me too.”
“Is there some sort of book or something that would explain everything?”
“You mean like an illustrated how-to manual?”
“Yeah.”
“Not that I know of. But I’ve heard some of the older girls talking.”
“And?”
“I think they’re talking like they know, but they really don’t know.”
“So how do you learn?”
“I guess you just learn by doing it…”

No, these young ladies were not talking about the facts of life. They were aspiring authors attending their first mystery writers’ meeting. Words like genre and sub-genre and novella had been bandied about like bits of gossip dropped at a high-society cocktail party, all followed by a knowing look and responded to with an I’ll-pretend-I-know-what-you’re-talking-about-even-though-I’m-clueless nod. It might surprise you to learn that these two seemingly unrelated topics do have a lot in common.

Think back to your sixth-grade sex-education class. Remember that old (keep in mind that age is relative) lady who stood at the front of the class and droned on in a clinical, unemotional, rather boring litany of how a baby is conceived? At the end, everyone had lots of questions but were too afraid to ask. Instead, they resorted to learning bout the real facts of life from their equally uniformed friends who had older sibling who had real life experiences—while fooling around under the stadium bleachers.

The topic of genres is as whispered abut in the writing world as sex is in middle school. Many new writers rely on crumbs of information dropped by those older and more experienced. This often leads to misinformation and confusion. As a professional writer, it’s important to know just where your historical thriller with romantic and paranormal undertones fits into the grand scheme of things. You’ll need to know this for when you query an agent, or when position your book in the self-publishing arena.

In an attempt to bring enlightenment to this taboo subject, I’ll be the Old Lady at the Front of the Classroom, sharing with you, in a clinical and unemotional way, the Facts of Genres

Novels (works of fiction in excess of 50,000 words) are broken down into two categories: literary and commercial/mainstream.
Literary novels are often character or emotional based, and called “serious fiction” because their style and technique are often as important as subject matter. Think Steinbeck, Hemingway, or the more contemporary Amy Tan.
Commercial books are so named for their broad appeal. They are typically predictable, often driven by a compelling plot, and are usually read solely for their entertainment value. Authors like Nora Roberts or Stephen King fall into this category.
Commercial novels are further broken down into (and you don’t have to whisper it…) genres. The clinical definition, according to Webster’s Dictionary is “a category of artistic, musical or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form or content.” The most recognized genres in literature are: romance, westerns, mysteries, horror, suspense/thriller, science fiction/fantasy.

Genres are further broken down into sub-genres. In the interest of time and space, we’ll limit our discussion on sub-genres of mysteries—a novel whose central theme is the solving of a puzzle. Mystery sub-genres include (but are in no way limited to): classic whodunit; courtroom drama, cozy; forensic; historical; medical; police procedural; or private detective.

It used to be easy to categorize a book based on its primary theme. No more, as the lines between the genres are blurring. Many popular fiction writers intertwine elements into one novel with the same subtlety of a chef might sweeten a pot of chili with a square of chocolate. It’s a main dish with underlying elements of dessert—two unrelated ingredients combined to create one satisfying entrée.

So, be you a sub-genre purist or one who likes a little chocolate stirred in, at least now you know everything about genres, but were afraid to ask.

Disclaimer: The proceeding information was compiled on the best authority from a friend of a friend as relayed by her older and more experience sister, who learned everything she knows via experience—under the stadium bleachers.

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Jayne Ormerod grew up in a small Ohio town then went on to a small-town Ohio college. Upon earning her degree in accountancy she became a CIA (that’s not a sexy spy thing, but a Certified Internal Auditor.) She married a naval officer and they off they sailed to see the world. After fifteen moves she realized she needed a more transportable vocation, so turned to writing cozy mysteries. Her recent releases include two short stories, “Secrets” and “The Sniper Sisters,” in the anthology titled By the Bay: East Beach Stories. For more information on Jayne’s published works, please visit her website at www.JayneOrmerod.com.

Guest Blogger Sherry Harris – Openings

Sherry Harris

Openings by Sherry Harris

Oh, the pressure of writing the perfect first line, the perfect first paragraph. I’ve heard over and over if you don’t grab readers in the beginning you can just forget about it. (Me? As a reader I’m a bit more patient with a story.) So you would think when I was writing my first published book, Tagged for Death, I would have been a wreck but I wasn’t. Why? Because my first few lines came from a conversation I overheard in an airport while I was waiting for a flight.

Like most writers I’m constantly listening to other peoples’ conversations. On that particular day I noticed a twenty-something guy pacing around, talking on his cellphone. His conversation would fade in and out as he went by. But my ears perked up when I heard him say, “gunshot.” I would have loved to follow him back and forth but that seemed a bit obvious. Fortunately he paused long enough for me to hear some really interesting and twisted things. All I thought was: Wow. I’d love to use that in a book some day. (My next thought was: Wow. I hope you aren’t on my flight.)

When I had the opportunity to write a proposal for the garage sale series the opening was ready. And the rest of the overheard conversation became part of the plot. Here’s the opening of Tagged for Death: A gunshot sounded. I jerked the phone away from my ear. This time I hung up first. That had been the pattern–one gunshot then the caller disconnected.

I like the opening. Something happens right away and we know it’s not the first time it has happened. I hope it makes a reader react with an “Ooohhh, I want to know what this is about.” But this opening didn’t have an easy journey. When I submitted my proposal I had to include the first three chapters. My agent didn’t think the gunshot was cozy enough. Following his advice I changed the gunshot to a threatening phone call.

This is what I changed it to: “Leave,” a voice said. This time I hung up first. One word and then the caller disconnected. That had been the pattern.

The proposal was accepted and I was off writing the rest of the book. But the new first line never sat well with me. Sarah Winston had a lot of people in her life that handled guns — military personnel and police men and women. The threatening phone call also created plot problems. Was it a man or woman? (And if Sarah knew it cut the suspect pool in half.) Why doesn’t she recognize the voice? Should I say the voice has been electronically altered? My problems seemed to grow from there.

In the end, before I submitted the full manuscript, I changed it back to the original opening. The story unfolded as it should. To my surprise, no one ever mentioned the change. I’m not sure I’d recommend doing this. Sometimes a suggestion makes the story better but in this case it just didn’t feel right or work as well. I’m glad I stuck to my guns and hope my readers are too.

Readers: Do you have a favorite opening?

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Sherry Harris started bargain hunting in second grade at her best friend’s yard sale. She honed her bartering skills as she moved around the country while her husband served in the Air Force. Sherry uses her love of garage sales, her life as a military spouse, and her time living in Massachusetts as inspiration for the Sarah Winston Garage Sale series. Tagged for Death the first in the series was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. The Longest Yard Sale released on June 30, 2015.

Blog: Wickedcozyauthors.com Website: Sherryharrisauthor.com

Guest Blogger: Kay Kendall – Do Fictional Characters Make Demands? How Two Holocaust Survivors Entered My Book

Kay Kendall

Do Fictional Characters Make Demands? How Two Holocaust Survivors Entered My Book by Kay Kendall

Authors often assert that characters can take off on their own and run away with their stories. One writer said, “When Jim told me he was the killer, I had to change my plot.” But such remarks have made me dubious. Nothing like that happened when I wrote my first mystery, Desolation Row (2013). Yet, when I wrote the sequel, Rainy Day Women (July 2015), I experienced the phenomenon.

This realization hit me when someone asked why I—a Methodist—included two Holocaust survivors in my mystery set in 1969. My characters had simply demanded to be survivors because they had an important story to tell. After all, I grew up with versions of my characters Mr. and Mrs. Spektor in my head. As a child of the sixties, I cannot recall the first time I heard about the Holocaust. I have always known. Those horrors are as much a part of my upbringing as the Cold War and JFK’s assassination.

History fascinates me. I always want to know why things happened the way they did. What makes people behave irrationally? I recall clearly the moment I learned about Stalin’s blood purges in my Soviet history class. How were these atrocities allowed to happen? I quizzed my professor hard, and he smiled gently at my naiveté. Through years of studying Russian history and earning degrees in the subject, I learned to make sense of the plague that was Stalin.

However, try as I might—reading lots about the Holocaust and Jewish life back to Moses, plus watching documentaries and dramas—I still cannot understand the antisemitism that gave rise to Stalin’s contemporary, that other scourge called Hitler. I have gained some insight into how Hitler came to power, but the societal crush of the Holocaust remains beyond my comprehension. Yet today, despite discovery of the historical facts of the Holocaust, antisemitism again stalks the globe.

But back to my two characters, Mr. and Mrs. Spektor. They are the parents of Shona, the first murder victim in Rainy Day Women. I made them Jewish because European and American history tells us that many Jews were activists in progressive causes, and in my mystery Shona was a leader in the women’s liberation movement of 1969. Someone killed her. Her parents wonder if antisemitism had anything to do with it. Or, was it anti-feminism?

Historical mysteries provide a way for readers to refresh their knowledge of a time period, or learn about it in the first place. The 1960s gave rise to issues that are still relevant today, and in my books I seek not only to entertain but also to give gentle history lessons. I wrote my way through half of Rainy Day Women before, all of a sudden, the Spektors insisted they were Holocaust survivors. I paused only a moment and then agreed. I can only conclude that their demands sprang out of my subconscious.

All the history I studied combined with the outrage I feel over growing antisemitism. With the world becoming increasingly hateful, non-Jews like me also must speak up. Using my book as their conduit, Mr. and Mrs. Spektor step forward to remind us, “Never again.”
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Kay Kendall is a long-time fan of historical novels and writes atmospheric mysteries that capture the spirit and turbulence of the sixties. She is also an award-winning international PR executive who lives in Texas with her Canadian husband, three house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. Terribly allergic to her bunnies, she loves them anyway! Her book titles show she’s a Bob Dylan buff too. RAINY DAY WOMEN is the second in her Austin Starr Mystery series. Desolation Row is the first.
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Guest Blogger: Maggie Toussaint – The Evolution of a Bad Guy

Maggie Toussaint

The Evolution of a Bad Guy
By Maggie Toussaint

When I began plotting my second paranormal mystery, Bubba Done It, I knew one thing for sure. All the suspects had the nickname of Bubba. Other than that, I didn’t have a clue.

Before I could cast men in the suspect roles, I considered my setting and the types of characters I needed. I’m familiar with the setting as I use a fictional locale that’s similar to where I live in coastal Georgia. We have townies and imports. We have people with plenty and people with nothing. We have blacks and whites. We have a stalled economy and our share of foreclosures.

All of the top suspects needed a motive to kill the banker. Some good motives to consider were previous criminal record, financial trouble, and love.

The sheriff immediately adds four Bubbas to his suspect list. Since seafood is the main industry around here, it would be good to have a fisherman Bubba. I also wanted someone who’d moved to the county as a retiree, someone who didn’t quite get locals or their customs. That worked. Two Bubbas down, two to go.

Drugs are a universal problem in today’s world. I decided upon a Bubba with a bad track record as a crackhead, but who had allegedly reformed into an evangelist.

Lastly, I wanted to ensure my sleuth Baxley Powell had a definite call to action. She’d taken the heat in Book 1 as the top suspect, so for Book 2, I found a patsy in her brother-in-law. Why would he want to kill the banker? Baxley knew her Bubba was a dreamer who often needed money for get-rich-quick ventures. Baxley and her husband had bailed Bubba Powell out of financial scrapes for years.

With her husband dead, the task of saving Bubba fell to Baxley. She’s certain he couldn’t have done it.

Or at least she feels that way at first. With each layer of story revealed, she discovers more reasons for the Bubbas to have killed the banker. Her challenge is to sort through the evidence, in this world and the next, to finger the killer.

To summarize:
Populate your suspect list with characters fitting to your setting.
Give the suspects motives to kill your victim.
Layer the suspects’ relationship with the victim to create complex characters.
Make sure the sleuth has a clear call to action.

Maggie Toussaint

Buy link for Bubba Done It:
Kindle
Amazon hardcover

Guest Blogger: E.B. Davis – Finding the Right Beta Readers

Finding the Right Beta Readers by E. B. Davis

I read a myriad of genres and mystery subgenres. To me, the writing is the most important element of a good read, and variety is the spice of life, isn’t it? When I thought about what I wanted to write, my thoughts turned to fun reads—entertainment, summoning books of the supernatural variety. The manuscript I wrote and am now querying fits into many shelf categories. It’s a mystery, but it also has supernatural, romantic, and police elements. It hadn’t occurred to me when getting beta readers that my subgenres would affect reviews because I like different subgenres, but I found that I am not the average reader. What your beta readers write and read will affect their critiques of your book. I went into the process ignorant of this fact.

Most writers I know write cozy mystery. When I submitted my manuscript to those writers, the reviews I received were not helpful. The responses fell into two categories: Cut the supernatural, or cut the mystery and make it romantic suspense. I wanted to do neither.

Was my script bad? Did those readers’ comments have validity? I decided before butchering my manuscript to find other beta readers. My need for expedience led me to hire a professional—a conceptual editor.

The letter I wrote her prompted an immediate reply. She read my first chapter and wrote back asking why I was so negative about the manuscript. I told her of my beta readers’ responses. She said she’d get back to me. Her review found problems with the execution of the mystery in the second act, the investigation, but she had no problems with the supernatural subgenre. Her suggestions forced me to portray the supernatural world in a more definitive way, but, as I suspected, getting rid of the supernatural would have killed the best of my novel. Hiring a professional gave me confidence in my work.

But even a professional’s opinion is only one opinion. I looked to authors and readers of fantasy to beta-read my work. Two responded to my call, read my manuscript, and gave me suggestions that were constructive. Their reviews provided further edits in defining the supernatural world, providing more clarity for readers and improving its credibility. Another, more academic reader, who writes traditional mystery, provided more edits to the romantic relationships from a male point of view. Not only did it increase the validity of the romantic relationship, it cut the manuscript by two thousand words—a plus since an unpublished writer has little chance of selling a ninety thousand plus word novel.

Lesson learned: Don’t blind yourself to beta readers’ comments but also don’t believe everything you read, not even reviews of your work. Look at what your beta readers write and read before submitting your work to them.

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E. B. Davis writes mystery stories. Her current novel manuscript, Toasting Fear, is a supernatural mystery set in the Outer Banks, NC. Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays presented her short story, “Compromised Circumstances.” A Shaker of Margaritas: That Mysterious Woman included E. B.’s “Wishing For Ignorance.” “Ice Cream Allure” a romantic crime spoof, was included in Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing. More of her work is featured on her website. (www.ebdavismysteries.com) She blogs at Writers Who Kill (http://writerswhokill.blogspot.com), and is a member of SinC and The Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Guest Blogger: Jim Cort – The Story of a Story of a Story

Jim Cort

THE STORY OF A STORY OF A STORY by Jim Cort

“Before I Wake” had its genesis in my desire to try a story entirely in dialog. A few experiments were enough to convince me that some compromise would have to be made, and I wound up producing a story composed of documents and letters and transcripts that I thought still gave the effect I was looking for.

The story languished for while. I finally shipped it off to a house looking for stories to adapt into audio plays on tape cassettes. I’m not going to give the name of the company, because I intend to say mean things about them shortly. There it found a home, and they offered me a chance to do the audio script myself.

My experience with the audio house was less than idyllic. A little background: “Before I Wake” is the story of a man who believes himself threatened by his own dreams. The threat can reach him only when he is asleep. He winds up causing a disturbance and being held in jail, where he tells his story to a police psychiatrist. The original story had an all-male cast. I thought a female voice would provide variety in the audio version.

When I received the recorded cassette, I ws horrified to find my psychiatrist showing up at the county lockup in a party dress, detoured from the country club cotillion. Her whole professional status was undermined. The whole script had been rewritten and had come out pedestrian, cliché-ridden, clumsy and predictable. I had foolishly sold all audio rights to the house from then until the end of time, so there was nothing I could do about it.

 

So “Before I Wake”, in its radio incarnation, remained a thorn in my side for a long time. However, the story in its original version took off on its own.

In 1989 saw a call for submissions for a new anthology to be called October Dreams, put together by Dave Kubicek and Jeff Mason. The reference to dreams in the title made me think of “Before I Wake”, so I sent it along. A month or so later, the familiar rejection letter arrived, but not so familiar, either. Unlike most rejections, I sensed in this one a genuine reluctance to pass this story by. They mentioned their disappointment with the ending. I was moved to do something I had never done before with any story

I phoned them up.

I called the office number on the letterhead. I can’t remember now if I spoke to Dave or Jeff. I pitched a new ending over the phone. I have no idea where it came from. It was as if the words came out of my mouth at exactly the same moment the ideas came into my head. In the end, Dave said (or maybe it was Jeff), “OK, write it up that way, and we’ll take another look.”

I did and they did and they said yes. We all signed the papers, and everybody was happy. But that’s not the end of the story.

Fast forward 10 years to 1999.

I got a letter from a nice lady at Perfection Learning, a house that publishes educational material. They were putting together a middle school anthology to be called Flights of Fantasy. They had taken the trouble to track me down because they wanted to include “Before I Wake”. (Note to self: always be track-downable.) I was flattered. I must confess I did feel a little strange about becoming required reading. But I said yes and we all signed the papers and everybody was happy.

But that’s not the end of the story.

Fast forward 14 years to 2013.

I had been posting some of my old teaching materials on Teachers pay Teachers. (unsolicited testimonial: teacherspayteachers.org is a sort of clearinghouse where teachers, or former teachers like me, can share materials they’ve designed for their own classrooms and pick up a little money as well.) I came across a quiz on the story “Before I Wake” prepared by Marianne Todd of Sioux City Iowa (not her real name) for her Language Arts class. I got in touch with Ms. Todd. She was happy to hear from me, and told me that the story was a class favorite. I’m glad she didn’t ask me to take the quiz. I’m not at all sure I would have passed.

Deaf Dog Press has come out with a special edition of “Before I Wake” through Smashwords. It contains the original published story along with the original radio play. You can find it at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/527874.

Or, if you happen to be in Sioux City, Iowa, drop by Ms. Todd’s class. She might still have a copy.

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Jim Cort has been writing since the cows left home. He is curretly chief cook and bottle washer at Deaf Dog Press. His novel The Lonely Impulse is available at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/337106.