Can I get an "Amen" on Overkill?

Is this just me? Or did anyone else scream at the sight of Matt Lauer on The Today Show this morning, standing in Michael Jackson's kitchen with his (Michael's) two dogs? I mean, yes, Michael's passing was sad, he lived a very tragic life (even in the classical, Greek sense of the word, not just the overused "News at Five!" sense in which everything is a tragedy). I was a big fan of The Jackson Five growing up, still break into song at times. He was adorable and grew into an incredibly talented solo artist.

Then he went nuts. With the plastic surgery and lifestyle and dancing on top of his lawyer's car last fall.

So, yes, his death at age 50 was sad. But a week's worth of mourning and retrospectives and headlines? Please. That was the entire Today show today. After the "dog scene" mentioned above, I flipped to Good Morning America only to be greeted with the breathless news that "Coming up, a look inside the King of Pop's Bathroom!"

No thank you very much. I don't really want to see inside anybody's bathroom.

Is it just me? Has my curmudgeonly nature completely taken over? Or can I get an "Amen" to letting people die in peace and giving them and their loved ones some privacy?

Me, I'm off to read the paper and drink coffee on my front porch.

Writers in Their Own Words--GCC

I've got a fun new book to tout today by my buddy Sheila Curran.



Everyone She Loved is getting some boffo press like:

Penelope Cameron May's unusual last request sets off the action in this riveting novel of love and friendship, betrayal and lies. Sheila Curran draws the reader in and this inventive book won't let go. Prepare to be surprised and moved. I read it in one delicious gulp.
Masha Hamilton, The Camel Bookmobile, The Distance Between Us

'Everyone She Loved' was the voice inside my head - at a time when I first contemplated my own mortality ... this could have been my husband, my girlfriends and my children ... it raises every emotion and suppressed fear within us all, with a clarity that is both deeply uncomfortable and yet stridently beautiful. Julz Graham, Dimensions

To whet your appetite even more, here's Sheila in her own words:

1.) How did you come up with the idea for this book?

Books are born in strange places. This one was conceived in the front seat of a car.

No, not that kind of conception. My friend Julianna was driving. Our daughters were chatting in the back seat. I was talking about an article I’d written for McCall’s about two young girls in Arizona whose parents had died within months of each other. “Did you know that in some states, if there isn’t a will, the kids can be sent to foster care?”

The girls in my story weren’t so unfortunate. Their mother had named her best friends, another pair of sisters, as the children’s guardians. ”Just make sure you chose someone to take over if something happens to you.”

From there we talked about difficult it would be to chose which couple among one’s siblings and friends would best be suited for the job. Where did one couple’s permissiveness slide into overindulgence, another’s consistency into unbearable strictness? The idea of dying was hard enough, but figuring out which couple would most love your kids in your absence? Impossible.

We paused in our conversation just long enough for my brain to settle on yet another catastrophic possibility. “You know what would be worse?” I asked. “What if I died and John (my husband) married someone awful? I’d have no control at all!”

Another pause. “Unless,” I continued. “I could get him to agree that if he remarried, my sisters and friends would check out the bride. Make sure she wasn’t some kind of wicked stepmother.”

And thus was hatched the idea of EVERYONE SHE LOVED, a novel that explores the faith one woman placed in her dearest friends, the care she took to protect her family, and the many ways in which romantic entanglements will confound and confuse even the most determined of planners.

2.) Are you more driven by plot or by character?

I always start with a character who intrigues me.

3.) Who's your favorite character in this book and why?

I think because I come from a big family, it’s really hard to choose a favorite. I love all of them. There’s Penelope, who has died by the time the book begins but whose oversized personality permeates the novel. Her stepsister Clover, who seems like such a ditz at the beginning, is dear to my heart because she makes me laugh. Lucy, who is my main character, is, of course, my alter-ego, and so is Martha, who’s such a smart-a*&s.

4.) What's your writing process/writing environment like?

I’m lucky enough to have an office in one of the upstairs bedrooms. I sit in a comfy armchair, feet on an ottoman and write on my laptop, coffee on a table to my right, dog lying to my left. I try to write from 9-3 but sometimes it’s just two hours a day. A few times a year I sit there and can’t even get a word written. Those aren’t fun. In the early phase, I write a lot of scenes I’ll later throw away. Some days I ‘go down the rabbit hole,’ which is what I call researching on the Internet.

5.) What's your favorite part of writing?

Getting into the flow where I’m not even really aware that I’m writing.

6.) What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about writing?

Well, Ann Lamott’s Bird by Bird has a chapter called Shitty First Drafts. I like that. I tell myself that if I can write even one bad page a day, it’s better than no pages.

This is a perfect summer read, so order yours today!

Always a New Adventure

I know that when I used to look at my parents (or pretty much everyone who was, say, over 40) I figured they were just a step or two from fossilizing.

Then, I became an adult--in both age and mindset, and I realized all sorts of adventures were still ahead of me. In the past 4 years I got married, had a book published, left a stable job (high school English teacher) and embraced another (less stable, but it rocks!).

And new adventures, large and small, continue.

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to write an installment on a "round robin short story". A Romance-y, chick-lit-y story. Um, not me. But it's been a hoot and they asked me to write another entry. Which I did. You can enjoy the whole thing at Romance in the Backseat. (My second installment might not be up until tomorrow.)

At the end of this month, I'll be having a little, out-patient-y procedure to remove my gall bladder (which is full of multiple, mobile stones. I was pleased to know the stones are busy little guys and not lazy slugs. But then my doctor pointed out it's the mobile ones that are the trouble-makers.) This will be both an adventure and a reminder that I AM middle-aged, I suppose.

What new adventures do you have on tap?

(And, yes, I'm still writing Unexpected Grace. 2600+ words yesterday. I'm very excited about it.)

Writers in Their Own Words--GCC

I've been writing like a madwoman lately . . . and I'm loving every minute of it. This week, my goal is another 10,000 words. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I've got another Girlfriend Cyber Circuit buddy to introduce you to . . . Judi Fennell is fun and smart and has a perfect debut novel for your beachside reading, In Over Her Head.





When Erica Peck, one terrified-of-the-ocean marina owner, finds herself at the bottom of the sea conversing with a Mer man named Reel, she thinks she's died and gone to her own version of Hell. When the Oceanic Council demands she and Reel retrieve a lost cache of diamonds from the resident sea monster in return for their lives, she knows she's died and gone to Hell.

When they escape the monster and end up on a deserted island, she amends her opinion - she's died and gone to Heaven.

But when Reel sacrifices himself to allow her to return to her world, she realizes that, Heaven or Hell, with Reel, she's In Over Her Head.

Let's hear from Judi in her own words:

1.) How did you come up with the idea for this book? Are you more driven by plot or by character?
I was working on a Fairy Tale series that are modern, paranormal twists to the old stories: Beauty and The Best (my American Title and original Gather.com finalling story), Cinda Bella, and Fairest of Them All, so I wanted to twist The Little Mermaid. Plus I saw the movie Failure to Launch and Matthew McConaughey's character was perfect for Reel. It all came together as the easiest story I've ever written. It just... flowed.

2.) Who's your favorite character in this book and why?
Honestly, I can't pick. I love all of them, even the sharks - and since I'm terrified of them in real life, that's saying something. We've got the hero, Reel, a devil-may-care, playboy type who really isn't; Erica, who has The Incident hanging over her head and making her question her self worth; Chum the chatty suckerless remora (due to an unfortunate boat propeller incident); Ceto the sea monster villainess--or is she?; Hammerhead Harry; Vincent the Great White with an agenda; Ernie and Amelia... I had a blast meeting all of these "folks."

3.) What's your writing process/writing environment like?
I do my best "splurge" writing locked in my office or at Borders. No internet, earphones in and I just let the story splurge onto the keyboard. I go to that place and immerse myself in it for hours. 6, 8, 10 at a time. It's draining but fulfilling. Editing is a little less intensive and for my final run-through I print the whole thing out in 2 column pages and block off several hours to go through it at one sitting.

4.) What's your favorite part of writing?
When the story flows out of my fingers as if I'm not even thinking of it. That usually happens when I'm immersed in it for about two hours.

5.) What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about writing?
Never, ever give up.

That's great advice, Judi . . . and I'm glad you took it to heart!

Promises, promises (or Novel 101)

Hello out there . . . anybody still reading this blog? Can't say that I'd blame you if you're not. I have all these good intentions . . . and I'm apparently busily paving a new road to hell with them.



Anyway, my apologies for so few posts this spring. As I might have mentioned a few times, I'm in the midst of writing a book. Note that I left off the prefix "re-". That was on purpose. I've rewritten/revised/re-imagined this particular MS several times over the past two years. And in April, after some soul-searching, and some "poor me/why me" complaining, and some wine, I decided to undertake it all over again. I blathered about that here.



And ever since, that's what I've been doing. Every morning I trundle up to my 3rd floor office, coffee cup in hand, open my laptop, put my scent-of-the-day candle on my candle-warmer thingie, and start writing. 1000+ words later (or more. Today was 2106!), I run spell-check, hit save, and jot down some notes about where I'm headed in the MS tomorrow. I've told my agent she'll have a finished draft by the middle of July. And now I've also told you the same thing. So I urge you to nag me about it. Seriously. I'm approaching this with more discipline and focus than ever before. Not that I ever thought writing a book was easy. (No, I've done it. I know how hard it is.) But, I'm learning it's not just the book or the writing or the ideas or any one thing. It's all of it and more. The timing has to be right, the story has to be true, and the writing has to have its own voice. Do I think I've hit that trifecta? Yes. Could I still be wrong? Of course. I certainly have been before. But this is what I do. I'm a writer, ergo I write.

Two of my writing pals have recently posted about their own writing processes (and hey, here's a shock, more eloquently then I have), so I urge you to check out Kristy's post and Patry's whole cool new blog.

Now, I ask for a bit more indulgence . . . I'm off to make myself some iced coffee so I can go sit on my porch and read what I wrote this morning. I'll be back to posting more regularly one of these days, too. But for now, my writing energy is focused elsewhere.

Summer in a Bowl

Okay, this is completely off-topic (and I'll soon have a new Novel 101 post), but this is something I have to share. This is my new favorite, to-die-for recipe. One of those I-could-eat-this-everyday recipes. And, it's healthy, easy and versatile.

I found it by going to one of my favorite sites, The Food Network. And it's from one of my cooking idols, Ina Garten. Love, love, love her.

Here it is, PANZANELLA, with my changes in bold:

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)--I used olive bread. Yum.
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes--I used those little cherub cherry tomatoes
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick--I didn't use a hothouse
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons capers, drained--I left these guys out

For the vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar--I used white wine vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.

This rocks. It's even great the next day for lunch. I added diced pepperoni and salami one night to make it more of a meal all by itself. Another time I'll probably add some leftover grilled chicken.

Anyway, enjoy.

Writers in Their Own Words--GCC

I'm not sure what it says about us, but my husband and I have become quite addicted to what we refer to as "Dead Wife Shows"--you know the kind of quasi-news show that's on at 9 p.m. (CST) on a Friday or Saturday night (when folks with real lives are out) that's billed as a TRUE-LIFE MYSTERY. It seems to usually center around some poor woman who ends up dead and then they try to solve the crime. It's fun, in a middle-aged couple sort of way, to sit on the sofa and follow the clues. Then we go to bed. We are Cuh-raz-ee!



So, you can imagien my excitement when I got to chat with April Henry co-author of Face of Betrayal. April knows how to kill you in a two-dozen different ways. She makes up for a peaceful childhood in an intact home by killing off fictional characters. She had one detour on her path to destruction: when she was 12 she sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to noted children's author Roald Dahl. He liked it so much he arranged to have it published in an international children's magazine.

By the time she was in her 30s, April had come to terms with her childhood and started writing about hit men, drug dealers, and serial killers.



Publishers Weekly said Face of Betrayal is “A sizzling political thriller… The seamless plot offers a plethora of twists and turns.”

Tell me this doesn't sound great: When 17-year-old Senate page Katie Converse goes missing on her Christmas break near her parents' white Victorian home in Portland, Ore., law enforcement and the media go into overdrive in a search for clues. Three friends at the pinnacle of their respective careers--Allison Pierce, a federal prosecutor; Cassidy Shaw, a crime reporter; and Nicole Hedges, an FBI special agent--soon discover that Katie wasn't the picture of innocence painted by her parents. Did Katie run away to escape their stifling demands? Was she having an affair with the senator who sponsored her as a page? Has she been kidnapped? Is she the victim of a serial killer?

Let's hear from April in her own words . . .

1.) How did you come up with the idea for this book? Are you more driven by plot or by character?
Lis Wiehl, my co-author and FOX-TV’s legal analyst, wanted to write a book with three main characters: a federal prosecutor (as she was), a TV reporter (as she is), and an FBI agent (as her dad was). When we decided to work together, we batted around a bunch of ideas that had their roots in true crimes. Face of Betrayal has echoes from a number of real-life cases, most notably Chandra Levy’s.

As a mystery and thriller writer, I’m all about plot

2.) Who's your favorite character in this book and why?
I like Cassidy because she is kind of venial and vain, but honest.

3.) What's your writing process/writing environment like?
I write in my home office, on my couch, at the library, at my gym. At first I couldn’t write at home because I would find myself doing something else. Now I’m better at getting my butt in the chair and away from loading the dishes. Lis and I will email each other back and forth a half-dozen times a day. When we have the basic idea, I’ll start working on the first draft. Then together we fine tune it.

4.) What's your favorite part of writing?
When the characters and situations take on a life of their own and start going in directions that are perfect – and that I didn’t forsee!

5.) What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten about writing?
Let it sit. The longer you can stay away from a manuscript, the more easily you can see the flaws. Months are better. Weeks are okay. Even days, in a pinch. But hours? Hours doesn’t give you enough distance.

I love April's advice about letting your writing sit to give yourself some distance. And of course, one great way to get away from your own writing is to lose yourself in a fabulous thriller. So, go read, kids, and enjoy!