"Showrooming" and the Independent Bookseller’s Dilemma

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Today I'm proud to be hosting  bookseller Robin Agnew of the terrific independent bookstore, Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookshop, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Aunt Agatha's is a charming shop, chock full of  great mysteries, hand-picked favorites for display, and a warm and knowledgeable staff eager to match readers with that absolutely perfect book. Alas, the new-ish customer practice of "showrooming" has caused this small business owner to take pause and have an existential conversation with her inner curmudgeon. Welcome, Robin!

show·room·ing

noun, informal:  the practice of visiting a store 

or stores in order to examine a product before 

buying it online at a lower price.

ROBIN AGNEW: I often work in the store on Saturdays, usually our busiest day of the week, when our college town welcomes lots of out of town visitors and shoppers, especially in the summer when the weather is nice and it’s pleasant to walk around downtown.  

Often visitors to the store will snap some photos.  Some of them like the ambiance of our store which is, to put it mildly, packed to the rafters with books and book-ish smells. Some even take a photo in front of the store by our logo. I like that and find it charming.

More recently, however, I’ve found that many people use cameras for a different reason – to take a picture of a book they plan to then go online and buy for, I’m assuming, less money.  Now, I can certainly accept that people will go online and buy things.  I do it myself,  That’s anyone’s prerogative.

What I find difficult to accept is the fact that we have taken a great deal of trouble to populate our store with the widest possible variety of mystery and crime novels, displaying them thematically, labeling and describing our favorites, etc.  It’s often these books that are photographed. These aren’t books that could be found browsing on online - they are particular recommendations made by us with our particular sensibility.

I recently had a nice family – older parents, late 20s or early 30s daughter – who came in, browsed, and the parents picked up and bought a book.  Their daughter merely picked up books I had carefully selected to display and photographed them, all the while chatting pleasantly.

She was assuming I could certainly understand her need to save 4 or 5 dollars.  Being in a downtown, I see all kinds of people, from the genuinely destitute to the clearly wealthy. I’ve often given a discount or merely given books to people who obviously don’t have the money for something to read. I don’t even mind giving away a novel to an obvious drug addict – maybe that novel will give them a bit of solace, I hope so.

But why middle-class people feel entitled to go ahead and seek the “best deal,” the “biggest discount,” while at the same time demanding your service and attention I find difficult to fathom. I recently posted a whine about this on facebook and got a staggering number of responses, many from authors and booksellers. My dilemma: to put up a sign, or not to put up a sign?  Is it too curmudgeonly?  My husband thinks so.

I got answers ranging from charging a photography fee (appealing, but certainly difficult if not impossible to collect) to suggestions for signs saying “No photos,” “These books never run out of power,” “Buy local,” “Want to remind you that buying a book from us instead of online guarantees good karma” (this from a former bookseller, now a writer), “Photographs $5 payable in advance,” “Our books are shy.  That is why we wrap them in brown paper before leaving the establishment,”  to “No Drinking, Smoking, Electronic Purchasing, or Swearing.”

And from a couple booksellers I respect:  “Signs, probably not, comments specifically to the individual, yes…The challenge is to make your point politely.”   And from a longtime friend and colleague, “Independents should embrace being curmudgeonly – folks already think we are just because we work in bookstores.  Mostly, I think that the answer to this issue is simply to keep doing what we do, which is engaging customers one on one when they walk into our stores.”

I have created a sign that says “Your cell phone is not a shopping tool.”  And I know there are other reasons to photograph – to see if you already have the book, to add it to your list and come back to it later – but mostly this kind of showrooming is on the rise and while I haven’t yet put up my sign, it remains to be seen how far my embrace of codger-hood will go. I feel it coming on.

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: When I saw Robin's original Facebook post, I tried to make her feel better by saying I used electronic media the other way around — basically, what I do is download hundreds and hundreds of free sample chapters, read them at odd times (on the subway, waiting at a doctor's office), mark down which one's I really like, then go find them at our local bookstore or the library. 

Lovely Reds and readers, what's your opinion of "showrooming"? Have you ever seen anyone do it at a bookstore? If you were a bookstore owner, how would you handle it?

Tell us in the comments!

Aunt Agatha’s

213 South Fourth Avenue
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
734.769.1114

Hours of Business

Monday - Thursday 11-7
Friday & Saturday 11-8
Sunday 12-5

[email protected]

Where I Write by Sally Goldenbaum

SALLY GOLDENBAUM: Many, many thanks to the wonderful Reds for inviting me to spend some time with all of you today. I’m so happy to be here.

Wherever here might be, that is. . .

My writing (and reading) life is a wandering one, ruled by some mysterious force. Do any of you have this problem? I’ve lived in the same town, on the same street, in the same house for decades. I love my house and I love being home. But when I’ve finished my coffee and am ready to start the work day, I resist my little office beneath the eaves. It doesn’t call to me.  So off I go, searching for the perfect writing spot.

A few weeks ago the NY Times ran an article about where writers write. “Ah,” I thought. “Kindred wanderers.” The pictures of Joyce Carol Oates’ office and Mona Simpson’s kitchen (where she writes) were lovely, but only Colson Whitehead wandered. And he didn’t go very far—only moving from a spare room to a dining room to a corner of the living room to a room with a view.
But their stories reminded me that I have been able to write a book at home—but only with help. One summer Nancy Pickard—a writer and friend--—and I were both facing tough deadlines.We needed discipline (mostly me) and a place to write. We decided to try my porch—the weather was peasant and backyard quiet. We imposed strict rules to ensure a full day of writing. Watching Nancy diligently writing was exactly the impetus (guilt had a tiny role) to keep me from doing laundry. And it worked. The muses found the porch and at the end of that summer Nancy had completed the manuscript for The Scent of Rain and Lightning and I had finished The Wedding Shawl.

But then winter came, snow filled the porch, Nancy moved to a new condo with its own writing space.

And my wanderlust returned.
About that time, I saw an HGTV show featuring a couple looking for their dream home. They had trouble finding one because the husband—a writer—could only write in a bathtub—and none of the prospective homes had one he considered suitable. (Lots of questions surfaced in my head—is there water in the tub? A pillow on the bottom? A waterproof computer on his knees? And I was VERY curious about what he wrote.) That story convinced me I wasn’t as bad off as I thought. Maybe wandering was a GOOD thing—certainly preferable to our bathtub, anyway. I simply needed to follow the ‘force’—whatever that mysterious thing is that primes the pump and gets the creative juices flowing. It didn’t seem to be my house—and it certainly wasn’t  my bathtub.
One autumn I wandered farther than usual—1400 hundred miles or so— and found a place filled with muses—Cape Ann, MA, where my husband and I rented a tiny place with a magnificent ocean view. It’s where the Seaside Knitters Mysteries are set, and walking the shore not only gave me the idea for Angora Alibi, it gave me the real life Pleasant Street Tea shop. This comfortable cafe with its deep couches and great Paninis called to me. It was exactly the place to write A Fatal Fleece, and as New England leaves turned glorious colors, thoughts and scenes and story of the mysterious death of an old fisherman with a big heart were born.

Back home in Prairie Village my choices are not as picturesque (not a single ocean in Kansas!). But I listen hard for the call of a muse. Some days the friendly baristas at the neighborhood Starbucks beckon, and I block out the cappuccino machines and gossip and sweet babies and listen instead to words in my head.

Other days, I wander down the road to our local library and depend on the millions of words around me to inspire great and murderous thoughts. (And when I need a break I walk down the mystery aisles and touch the books of my favorite authors, absorbing their magical vibes.)

And then, finally, summer comes back and the porch calls. Usually. But not always. Recently I retreated to Nancy’s new deck instead. My daughter-in-law, son and family (3 children under 4, 2 dogs, and a cat) moved in with us for a few months. The porch, soon filled with Legos and talking toys, had pushed the muses away. But Nancy’s deck, with its view of a duck pond and jogging trails, was perfect and the words began to flow—until finally, miraculously, Murder in Merino came to life.
Different seasons, different stories, different life situations require different writing spaces for me. Maybe that’s what wandering is all about. As Colson Whitehead asks, “Where’s the good mojo today?” What’s going to make the similes pop, the red herrings fly?
So you look for the mojo. It may be invisible, but it’s there. Is it on a porch, a tea shop or  coffee shop, a friend’s place? And then you find it and the words flow, the red herrings fall into your lap, the scenes pop.
Until they don’t. And then, as Whitehead says, the hunt begins all over again.
And so I wander…and listen…

Sally is offering a copy of both Murder in Merino and Angora Alibi to comments today! So let us know where you write--or do your best thinking...

Please visit her on Facebook.
Or on her Website.

Flashes of Talent

HALLIE EPHRON: You'll have to wait until next year to compete in the Flash Words competition at the New England Crime Bake (NEXT year it's Nov. 9-11, 2013 with guest of honor Joseph Finder), but at this year's Bake, the competition was fierce and the winners awesome.

The challenge: To write a compelling crime story in 150 words or less, using at least ten of twenty title words from novels by our Guests of Honor, Nancy Pickard and Barry Eisler.

Title Words: Assassin, Bitch, Body, Coast, Confession, Detachment, Die, Fall, Fault, Ingredient, Killing, Marriage, Murder, Rain, Requiem, Scent, Secret, Storm, Truth, Virgin.

This is even harder than it sounds, and I'm quite sure I couldn't have done it at all, never mind create a coherent tale. Congratulations to the three not lucky so much as talented winners who have graciously agreed to let us run their winning entries.

Just Desserts
By Betsy Bitner

I’ve cooked up a storm every fall for twenty years, determined to get a compliment out of my mother-in-law or die trying. But in truth, getting her to say something nice would be a miracle akin to the virgin birth. Each Thanksgiving she manages to find plenty to bitch about: lumpy gravy, dry turkey, sour cranberry sauce.

I’m done killing myself for her approval when all she does is rain on my parade. And I’m done with my husband defending his mother by saying, “It’s not her fault she has refined tastes. You should try harder.”

This year my efforts will yield more than a sink full of dirty dishes. I’m making a special dessert for the two of them: apple tarts – heavy on the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Oh, and a secret ingredient. Let’s see if her tastes are refined enough to detect the scent of bitter almonds.

A former public defender and professionally trained chef, Betsy Bitner turned to mystery writing for the fame and big bucks. She researches her novel, which is set in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, by trying a variety of outdoor activities from a polar plunge to field dressing game. You can read about her adventures at http://www.lostintheadirondacks.com.

@stormyweather
By Brenda Buchanan

For forty of her forty-one years, Luella Remington was a bashful virgin with a secret. She made a killing writing steamy romantic novels despite an utter lack of first-hand carnal knowledge.

Then she met Storm Bernardsson, whose lessons about a body’s capacity for pleasure left her purring like a contented cat. They had their first fight when Luella demanded he leave his 20-year marriage. She complained about his equivocation on Twitter, oblivious to a certain new follower.

She anticipated hot make up sex when a tweet from @stormyweather lured her to Confessional Point, clad in a raincoat, stilettos and nothing else.

No one will ever be able to prove it, but Luella didn’t slip and fall from that rain-slick coastal cliff. Mrs. Bernardsson was discrete, strolling back to her idling car, inhaling the sweet scent of salt, humming a tune of her own composition: Requiem for a Bitch.

Brenda Buchanan lives in Portland, Maine, where she practices law by day and sits in front of the keyboard nights and weekends. Her just-completed mystery, tentatively titled The Quick Pivot, features a newspaper reporter investigating murder and well-kept secrets in a Maine mill town.

Confessional
By Lorrie Lee O’Neill

“Dead,” he thinks.

Rain peppers the church’s windows. The requiem drones in Latin. Ethel leans in, her hand like softly-plied leather on his.

“It’s not your fault.” She whispers. The storm picks up.

“I am an assassin,” he feels, but nods instead.

That priest waves a thurible over the body. There is the scent of incense.

At confession, he had told that priest he wanted her dead. This was his truth.

“She willed her entire estate to the church,” he confessed.

He drove home embittered. He argued, but her heart was as set as it was ardently failing. She called for that priest. She took communion. He endured it all with a sense of detachment.

Guilt consumed him, both then and now.

At the church he had given his secret to that priest. That priest arrived and administered her last rites, but with an added ingredient to her communion wafer.

Lorrie Lee O’Neill is a graduate of Emerson College in Boston, MA, with a BFA in Creative Writing, Literature and Publishing. She has written articles for magazines, radio scripts, poetry and more recently, ventured into the genre of short stories and pulp fiction.

Betsy, Lorrie Lee, and Brenda will be checking in today and pleased to accept praise and answer questions.

Sisters in Crime: Celebrating 25 Years!

LUCY BURDETTE: I like to imagine being in the room about twenty-five years ago when nine or ten feisty women crime fiction writers got together to talk about their careers. They realized that men were drawing the majority of book reviews and that women's books weren't getting nominated for awards at the same rate men's were. And smart women, they knew that letting readers know about a book is a necessary prerequisite to selling. And so the concept of Sisters in Crime was born. (Here's a wonderful history about those early days and years.)
Today the organization has grown to 4000 plus members with chapters in most states and a smattering of other countries.

But when I was starting out writing my first mystery (as Roberta Isleib), I knew none of this. Only after I landed a contract and got published did I meet my first "sister"--Hallie Ephron. "You should join this organization," she said. "It will be good for your career." She said the same thing when I was nominated as vice-president and then president of the New England chapter, and then went on to serve on the National board and as its 21st president.

And she was right. I've learned more than I could ever describe about the nuts and bolts of writing and the publishing world from SinC. But best of all, I've made lifelong friends who support each other through the peaks and the troughs of this crazy writing life. So thanks to that first gathering of brave and thoughtful women. And here's to twenty-five more years of Sisters in Crime!

I know my other JRW sisters are members too. What are your thoughts or memories about SinC?
ROSEMARY HARRIS: WELL..so glad you asked! I remember going to one of my first SINC meetings at the home of someone named Jan Brogan and the speaker didn't show up so Jan and someone named Hank Phillippi Ryan and I just took over and created a program. (I had never met either of them before but if I'm not mistaken, we were brilliant.)

I've met so many great people..too many to count. And of course there is the famous generosity of spirit SINC members share. I was honored to be asked to be president of New England SINC a few years back following in some great footsteps - including yours Lucy!

LUCY: And you did a great job, Ro! The amazing thing about the New England Sisters is the president also co-chairs the New England Crimebake conference. It's a miracle any of us stagger out of that alive. But we have so much fun!

HALLIE EPHRON: I remember that meeting, Ro. You were definitely brilliant.

I think the first "sister" I meet was Kate Flora. She's a founder of the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime and became one of SinC national's presidents. The thing I appreciate so much about the organization is the focus on promoting the work of women mystery writers (as opposed to promoting MY new book). I remember so many writers coming to meetings before they were published and staying for the long haul. Like the current chapter president and VP, Sheila Connolly and Barbara Ross.

RHYS BOWEN: I remember going to my first SinC meeting when my first mystery novel was about to be published and feeling overawed because I was in the presence of big name SinC founders Linda Grant, Sue Dunlap etc. But being made to feel instantly welcome and that I'd arrived in the right place. I've felt that way ever since.

If you're members, we'd love to hear about your experience in SinC! And here's to 25 more years! (Photos include Carolyn Hart, Joanna Carl, Margaret Maron, Mary Saums, Jim Huang, Cathy Pickens, Kathy Wall, Beth Wasson, Nancy Martin, Charlaine Harris, and an early iteration of the JRW gang--all taken at SinC events.)

Nancy Pickard stops by to chat.

Today we welcome Nancy Pickard, a writer who has managed to stay at the top of our profession for a remarkable twenty years after winning her first Agatha, and who just gets better and better. If we divide mysteries between cozy and hardboiled, I suppose she belongs more on the cozier side but actually she writes good literature that just happens to involve a crime.

RHYS: Welcome to Jungle Red, Nancy, and congratulations on your new novel, The Scent of Rain and Lightning, which has garnered a whole slew of starred reviews. Tell us a little about the story and the inspiration for it.

NANCY: Thanks, Rhys. I'm delighted to be here.
There are two big "what ifs" in my story. One is, 'What if a man who may have been wrongfully convicted of murder is released from prison and comes back to the same small town that may have rushed him to "justice"? The second is, "What if his son and the daughter of his alleged victim fall in love?"

I was inspired by several things. One was the landscape, which is quite dramatic and unexpected and called to me to write a story set there. Another was my knowledge that when a person goes to prison for a crime he didn't commit and then is released, the family of the victim may not be able to forgive him even if he didn't do the crime, because they have spent years, maybe decades, hating him, and they can't let go of it. (This is not to imply that my character is or is not innocent. No spoilers here.) Another was the thought that the children of murderers and their victims may have more in common with one another than they do with most other people. They are both innocent victims of the same crime. They may understand what the other has endured, in ways that nobody else can. And last was the idea that decent people can do bad things.

RHYS:I love the title, by the way. Can you tell us a little about the significance of it?

NANCY: Just as there's always a change in the air before a storm, I think there are signs before human storms, too. Sometimes they're subtle, like a slight scent of rain, and sometimes they're as blatant as thunder or lightning in the distance. In my book, there are warning signs for the characters, but unfortunately for them, they miss those signs. Good thing they did, though, or I wouldn't have a novel.

I "almost" thought up the title all by myself, btw. I had another title on it--can't remember what that was--but an editor read my manuscript, saw a phrase that was something like "a scent of rain and lightning," and said to me, "There's your title." So do I get credit, or not? I think. . .not.

RHYS: It's another stand-alone novel, following the huge success of the Virgin of the Small Plains. Are you done with series? Do you like the freedom of different casts of characters in the stand alone?

NANCY: I'm *probably* done with series. Never say never, right? But it would be hard to give up that freedom you mentioned and to go back to a series. The thought of it makes me feel a little panicky, as if the fence lines around my pasture had just pulled in a lot closer to me, pinning me in a smaller space. So to speak. Apparently, writing these two books that are set (partly) on ranches has infected me with a cow-metaphor virus.

RHYS: You choose to write about your home state of Kansas, making it almost a character in your novels. Your deep feeling and appreciation for your native territory is so obvious when one reads. What is it that attracts you so much to your own environment?

NANCY: I was married for a long time to a cattle rancher, and the area where he (still) ranches is beautiful. I love rolling ranch land, I love plains and prairies, and I love small towns.
Kansas, is all of that, plus some surprises in the landscape, too. One of those surprises is in "Scent," which features a monumental landscape of high rocks similar to "Monument Rocks" in western Kansas.

RHYS: You have won numerous awards and achieved pretty much everything that can be achieved in the mystery world (apart from James Patterson's income, maybe). What would you still like to accomplish in your career?

NANCY: Is it too late to be James' ex-wife? Okay, seriously. Well, I haven't met a book deadline in years. That would be nice. (If my editor sees this she will heave a sign so big it will push all the water out of New York Harbor.) I guess I'd like to win an Edgar, and so be a bride instead of always a bridesmaid (a finalist four times), but it's okay if I never do. Sometimes it really is enough to be nominated. Really. No, really.

I think all I really want for my future is a goodly supply of ideas and enough time and skill to do them justice. I want to make a lot of readers very happy that they read my books. I want more days when I love my work and fewer days when it makes me crazy. Or I make myself crazy. These desires may not sound that ambitious, but they sound like a huge world of goodness to me.

RHYS: Is there anything very different you'd like to try?

NANCY: Nope. I think I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and writing what I'm meant to write. Sometimes I think it would be wonderful to try to write a big fat fantasy/adventure/magical novel, but then I think no, because that might take the pleasure out of reading them. What I really want is to just keep improving as a novelist. That could mean trying new things--large or small-- in any given book. That would be satisfying.

RHYS: So what's next for Nancy Pickard?

NANCY: Finish this blankety-blank book that I'm (hahahah) writing. Right now I have six different first beginnings, three endings, seven titles, and no middle. It's due at the end of November. ::clutches throat with both hands, makes desperate gagging sounds::
Thanks so much, Rhys. Y'all have a wonderful blog, and I'm proud to be a guest here.

RHYS: Thank you, Nancy. And great success with The Scent of Rain and Lightning.
What a fun guest. And if you haven't read her books yet, rush to the bookstore today!

Hitting the big time with a little story: Robert Daniher

HALLIE: Getting a first short story published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine is hitting the big time, a milestone worth serious celebration! And today we're celebrating with Robert Daniher whose short story "Pain in the Neck" is being published in the October edition.

Congratulations Bob! What was it like hearing, and how did they contact you with the good news?

ROBERT DANIHER: I received a letter in the mail from Dell Magazines that resembled a subscription renewal. My subscription had run out several months earlier and I often got renewals in the mail. I almost threw the envelope out, if you can believe that. When I opened it and a check fell out in my lap, I fell off my chair.

There was a letter from the Assistant Editor which began with, "Congratulations!" I was ecstatic! I'd been published in a few smaller markets before but this was my first publication in a national magazine (MWA approved) and the first time I was PAID.

The story was the month's winner for their Mysterious Photograph contest. Each month the magazine features a strange photograph and asks the readers to write a crime story in 250 words or less about the photo. I was especially excited because many successful authors have won that contest in the past. Such as: Nancy Pickard and Stephen D. Rogers. Certainly nice company to be in.

HALLIE: Was this the first short story you submitted to them?

ROBERT DANIHER: Oh no. I'd been submitting to both Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen on and off for a decade now. But after receiving nothing but rejections I took a break from submitting and devoted my time to focus on improving my writing. I joined a writer's group, joined the Mystery Writer's of America and participated in the MWA-NY chapter's annual Mentor Program. I only began submitting my work again, recently.

HALLIE: Tell us about the story, and what do you think it is about it that made it a winner?

ROBERT DANIHER: Developing a crime and a solution in so few words is a very daunting task. I find that most winners of that contest seem to focus on a brief situation that takes you in one direction with a twist at the end. A lot of the time, it's all about the twist. Dark humor seems to be consistent in many of the winners as well.

What I tried to do with my story was create just that. A short setup to a funny twist that, hopefully, the reader won't expect. I'm sure a lot of really good stories got sent in that month. But ultimately there's a combination of skill, luck and timing to these things and I guess this time all three came together for me.

I also think persistence is a key factor. You have to write everyday and keep submitting no matter how discouraged you get. I know that sounds cliche, but it really does help you become a better writer. It's like being an athlete. They don't just play a game once a week and become the best. They practice every day with discipline for years. It's the same with writing. You have to respect it and be disciplined. I still have a long way to go in my writing career, but I can tell my work has improved greatly since taking that break and becoming more disciplined. Persistence, even in the face of rejection, can ultimately lead to success.

HALLIE: You've said a mouthful! Every one of us at Jungle Red can attest to how you have to keep at it, keep growing. Can you give us a line or a paragraph from the story, just a teaser?

ROBERT DANIHER: I can't offer too much since it's only 250 words. But I can say, if you hit the lottery, keep your mouth shut about it until you cash the ticket.

HALLIE: I find short stories excruciatingly difficult to write. Do you, and what do you think it is about the form that makes it so hard for some of us to master?

ROBERT DANIHER: I agree. It's easy for writers to fall in love with their words. Sometimes, in order to set a scene, we like to spend a lot of time describing things in order to put the reader into the moment. Raymond Chandler was famous for it. We also love to show our research if there was a lot done for our stories. In a novel, this works and is often needed. But, there's no room for it in a short story.

I learned a lot of that during the MWA Mentor Program. My mentor was cutting things from my work left and right. It wasn't fun to see that but, in the end, it really made a difference. A lot of my details weren't actually necessary. My final drafts are now half the original length. It's heartbreaking for writers to get rid of all that good stuff. That's probably why some writers avoid the short story. For me, it's that challenge that draws me to it, as excruciating as it is.

HALLIE: Thanks, Bob! You are an inspiration! And we're all rooting for you to keep right on publishing. And special thanks for this wonderful photo of you with such an inspirational writing book.

Chapter One - Call me Ishmael

ROSEMARY: Okay, perhaps I shouldn't start my next book with those words, although occcasionally the task of starting a new book can seem as difficult as harpooning the white whale.

In this business we don't get much time to pat ourselves on the backs for delivering a manuscript before we have to get started on another one. That's where I am right now. It's seems the afterglow period gets shorter and shorter with each book. (There's a parallel here with the more traditional use of the word "afterglow" but I'm not going to go there.)

I won't say I'm stumped for an idea - there are a number of stories floating around in my brain - (yet to be harpooned) but the thing hasn't revealed itself yet.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? The thing - the reason these characters are on the page doing what I want them to do. In some ways writing has gotten easier and in others, it's more challenging - not to keep repeating oneself whether it's language or situations.

Does Sue Grafton think about stuff like this?

HANK: Oh, of course she does. Of course! In fact, name dropping, she told me that she rewrote K is for Knowledge because in the midst of it, she realized what it was really about. (Something like that...as she was talking, I was thinking, don't forget this, don't forget this--when I should have been totally listening.) I've been a reporter for 30 years. After each big story, I think--oh, this is the last one. I'll never be able to think of another one. AND then I always do. And then the pattern starts again.

So, I think it's the same way with books. At least I hope so. NO. It really is.

ROBERTA: Oh yes Ro, and I've heard the very accomplished and talented Nancy Pickard talk about having to throw away 200 pages because she realized it wasn't going in the right direction. Now that would be discouraging!
I keep a file folder called "new ideas" into which I stuff newspaper articles and little snatches of thoughts. Unfortunately, when I leaf through it to mine for a new book idea, there doesn't seem to be much there. Sigh. A lot of real ideas just seem to unfold during the process of writing. Can't be forced or the writing reads exactly that way.

ROSEMARY: My idea file occasionally yields a secondary or tertiary story line but so far not the whole enchilada.

HALLIE: 200 PAGES!?!?
For every novel I keep an "out" file where I save all the lines I cut from the first (and second...and thirty-second) draft, and it usually ends up longer than the final draft of the novel. But that's not the same as, just like that, deep-sixing 200 pages.

I'm with you Ro, right now I'm thinking about the next book that I'll need to start just as soon as I finish revising the one that's due in 3 weeks. I have a few glimmers of ideas, but nothing remotely approaching a plot. A plot is pretty essential for my kind of book. Where, oh where am I going to find the plot. Sadly I find that feeling often persists months into the writing.

ROSEMARY: Et tu, Hallie? Well, I feel a little better now. Something's coming...it just hasn't jelled yet..but it's jellin.'

Ahab beckons.

The Eternal Student

ROBERTA: I have to admit I'm a writing book junkie. I have dozens of them and I'm always looking for tips that will catch my imagination and improve my writing. Just before the mystery convention Bouchercon began, I was fortunate to attend Donald Maass's seminar on writing the breakout novel, sponsored by Sisters in Crime. Who wouldn't want to write the breakout novel, if you're going to all the trouble of writing one anyway? I was quite relieved when he talked mostly about developing complicated characters, rather than outlandish plots. Now I'm going through my novel draft, looking for ways to make the readers care more about my protagonist, to make her human, to make her multidimensional, to bring forth more drama, more conflict, more contradictions. A lot of what he discussed can be found in his excellent new book, THE FIRE IN FICTION. Though sometimes it takes hearing the ideas out loud for them to sink in. Have you heard any tips on writing lately that have caught your imagination and maybe made a difference in what you're writing? Or maybe an oldie but goodie that you tend to fall back on?

HALLIE: When I was at Bouchercon I was on a panel with James Scott Bell who wrote the excellent book, PLOT AND STRUCTURE. He talked about the "doorways of no return." At the end of Act 1 of a novel, for instance, there's a point when the protagonist must have no alternative but to move forward (and do something that character is profoundly uncomfortable doing) -- and once through cannot turn back. Moving through that doorway of no return propels the character into Act 2. It's a much more useful notion than "plot twist."

JAN: I took an online class in screenwritng last fall that was amazingly helpful. I needed it to remind myself how to write a screenplay, but it's also a way to look at novel writing from the point of pure structure. Along the novel writing way, I've developed a system I use for revision -- after the first draft. I was thrilled to find that it worked equally well in revising a screenplay.

On the other hand, I just wrote an essay for an essay collection thats coming out on how crazy parents make themselves over college admissions. And I can tell you, after all these years, an essay is hard every time.

HANK: Writing tips. Yeah. Why are they so provocative? It always seems like there's the perfect one, just the one you need, just around the corner. I'm so bummed I didn't get to hear Donald Maass, and Hallie's class was wonderful and inspirational, as usual. I'm starting a new project and of course, now in my head I'm going through all the "tips" I've ever heard.

And I guess the one I'm stickin' with is: Sit down at the desk. Write the book.

RO: I like Hank's tip. I've taken two classes that I thought were enormously helpful - Hallie's workshop at Crimebake three years ago, and Nancy Pickard's class for SINCNew England a couple of years back.
I bought a lot of books when I first started writing and I leaf through them every time I start a new book. Time to start leafing again.

ROBERTA: Jan, do spill the name of your screenwriter teacher when you get a chance. And please chime in with your favorite writing tips. And come back often this week--tomorrow we'll feature suspense writer Libby Hellmann, then James Benn on Wednesday, and on Friday--stay tuned for the Hallopolooza!

Welcome Nancy Pickard!

ROBERTA: Jungle Red Writers is so very delighted to welcome mystery goddess Nancy Pickard! She is the author of sixteen novels plus short stories and Seven Steps on the Writers Path with Lynn Lott. The Virgin of Small Plains won the Agatha award for best novel, and was a finalist for the Edgar, the Dilys, and the Macavity awards.

Welcome Nancy! First of all, we are dying to know what's coming next and when will we see it?

NANCY: Thanks, Roberta. It will be THE SCENT OF RAIN AND LIGHTNING, another stand-alone set in a small town in Kansas, but it's not finished yet. It's the story of what happens when a small town sends the wrong young guy to prison for murdering one of their most beloved residents, and then what happens twenty-six years later when he is released. It's a family saga, small town politics, love story, and mystery, set against dramatic landscape.

ROBERTA: Can't wait for that--though I guess we'll have to. I remember hearing you interviewed at Malice Domestic several years ago, just after THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS had been published to much acclaim. You said that you'd pulled back from conferences and other activities over a period of time to concentrate on writing. Can you please talk about your writing process and how you keep your focus?

NANCY: There was another reason I pulled back, which was that I felt myself getting cynical about conferences, etc. I sternly told myself that if I couldn't enjoy them and be appreciative, I should stay home. It took me about 10 years to go back with any regularity, but when I did they were fun again.

As for my focus? I don't have much sometimes. I'm a binge writer--when it's flowing, I don't do anything but write. But when it's not, flowing, when the well goes dry after I've sucked so much out of it, then nothing happens at all for a while. When I started writing fiction, I brought my disciplined, journalism-trained self with me, but I lost her somewhere along the way. I began to go with the ebb and flow of my internal rhythm of creativity--as pompous as that sounds, alas--and it changed my process completely. I think I write better books as a result of that change, but I have a harder time meeting deadlines. And by "harder" I mean I don't meet deadlines, lol. Well, I guess I do still meet the ones for short stories, but novels? Hopeless. I do not recommend this course of non-action for new writers!

ROBERTA: You've had wonderful success with short stories along with your novels. Tell us about how writing shorts feels different. Can you work on two things at the same time?

NANCY: I can't work on two things at the same time, except in the sense that I can sometimes write a short story or plot a new book during those dry-well periods I described earlier.

Short stories feel different, because they feel. . .short, lol. It is such a joy to know I will be able to type THE END after only about three weeks. I don't mean that it takes me three weeks of doing nothing but working on a story, I just mean that's about the gestation, writing, and editing period of several days spread over several weeks.

ROBERTA: Of course, everyone is nervous in this publishing climate. Since you've been at this a while, any thoughts on where you think we're headed? Advice for the anxious writers?

NANCY: I've been in this fiction business almost 30 years, and I can tell you that I have never experienced a single year when publishing people sat around on Dec. 30 and said to one another, "Wow, what a great year in publishing!" It's always a bad year in publishing. That's one reason I stopped reading industry news a long time back. It's best, I think, to limit one's focus to the page in front of us, because our own writing is the only thing we can control, and I'm not even sure how much real control we have over that. My philosophy from the beginning was that somebody is going to be published, no matter how dire the times, and it may as well be me. I've heard other published authors express the same bedrock sentiment. I recommend it. As for where we're headed? Every year will seem like a bad year in publishing to a lot of people; for others, well, somebody has to get published.

ROBERTA: I love that mantra: "Someone is going to be published, it might as well be me...someone is going to be published, it might as well be me..."

Last question, we can't end an interview without mentioning your central role in founding Sisters in Crime. Have women writers made progress since the early days of the organization? What do you think we need to keep working on?

NANCY: Absolutely, we've made tremendous progress. If we could compare bookstore and library shelves today with those of, say, 1980, we'd see the astonishing difference in the authors and kinds of books. What do we need to do? We, individually, need to keep writing the best books we can. We have much, much more than a toehold on those shelves now; we have entire shelves to ourselves. To keep that place, we need be creative, adventurous in our writing, and confident in ourselves. As an organization, we need to continue to support our sisters (and fellows). Join Sisters, provide useful programs for writers, BUY BOOKS, create and maintain links to the industry, have fun.

ROBERTA: Thank you for visiting--now go back and finish that book so we can all buy it! And the floor is open....

Stars in Our Eyes

"You don't have to be a star, baby, to be in my show..." Marilyn McCoo

ROBERTA: Don't take this the wrong way, girls, because of course each one of you is a star in my eyes! But I wrote this post from Left Coast Crime in Denver where the guest of honor this year was Stephen White, one of my steady favorite crime fiction writers. White has just seen the 16th book in his Alan Gregory series published this month. I own every one of these books in hardcover--they feature a clinical psychologist in private practice in Boulder, Colorado. I haven't loved all the books equally, but I do love the world he's constructed and the people he's filled it with. (Okay, not all of them. I'm really hoping the wife will be cut loose, but that's another story.) Like me, White worked as a psychologist before he started writing so he really understands that universe. And he gets it absolutely right in his books. And he's a huge commercial success to boot. I'm full of admiration.

He doesn't travel the mystery convention circles much, so a sighting is fairly rare. Which of course didn't stop me from asking him for advice about getting published back in 1999. I can't remember what he told me but there was a long line of fans waiting so when the throat-clearing behind me began to drown out our conversation, I finally had to step aside. A couple years later, I invited him to appear on a panel of psychologists writing crime fiction. He politely turned us down--family obligations. And a few years after that, I asked if he'd consider reading DEADLY ADVICE for possible blurb. He reported that his publisher told him he had to stop, he was becoming a "blurb whore." It's even possible that that was the second book I'd asked him to blurb. Umm, these things do run together.

So anyway when I saw him behind the book counter at the hotel in Denver, I quickly bought DEAD TIME and hurried over to introduce myself and ask him to sign it.

"I know who you are," he said.

Of course he knew who I was, see paragraph two above. And then he wrote a lovely inscription about how it was an honor to be on my bookshelf and I stumbled off happy, with stars in my eyes.

Your turn to dish now, Jungle Red Writers. Tell us about meeting your favorite writer.

RO: Oooh, this is a tough one. I've met so many great people in the last year. My, ahem, admiration for a certain tall, thriller writer is well-documented so I needn't go into that again.

I'd have to say two women have blown me away with their kindness and generousity - and I was a fan anyway...Carolyn Hart and Barbara D'Amato. The first time I met Carolyn, we'd had a few email exchanges, but I never imagined she'd remember me..she called me Ro, as if she'd been doing it for years. I instantly loved her. And I was lucky enough to sit at Barb D'Amato's table at Malice last year. She's extremely cool, and maybe just as tough as Cat Marsala.

Then again, I gushed pretty good when I met Laura Lippman. I'd just read What the Dead Know, and had sent her an email. I said hello to her at Malice and she said, "didn't you send me an email?" I was like a fourteen yr-old meeting Miley Cyrus. This is embarassing..I'd better stop at those three...


HANK: Well, Ro, you and I both share the tall-thriller-writer syndrome. But it's only because he's so incredibly talented.

I must say, I was pretty intimidated when I first met Hallie. She was teaching a writing class, and I felt like a third-grader. I once wanted to tell Sarah Strohmeyer what an amazing panel she gave, and it was all I could do to put a coherent sentence together. Katherine Hall Page, as gracious and warm and friendly as anyone could be. She came up to me to introduce herself! Puh-lease! And Sara Paretsky--beyond charming. Here I was, new as anyone could possibly be, with my brand new book cover just out that day, and she insisted on seeing it. Just as if she wasn't at the top of the Pantheon (can that be?) and me just a beginner.

I gushed at Julia Spencer-Fleming, I'm embarrassed to say, and was hoping she didn't notice. I talked about the genius and warmth of John Lescroart so much that my usually patient husband began to roll his eyes. But the worst I've ever been was with Robert Pinsky. I asked a question at one of his poetry readings, and he said "good question, it's clear you've read my stuff." Or something like that. And twinkled at me. (or so I thought.)

Well, that was it for me. Pinsky Fan Club president? Any day.

You've got to admit, Roberta, that it shows what a wonderful community this is. If you had asked--who was NOT nice to you? I can't really think of anyone.

Oh, wait. (Smiling.) Yes, I can. But she doesn't write mysteries... And I'll never tell.

HALLIE: The biggies for me... I got to interview Michael Connelly about plotting at last year's Book Passage Mystery Writing Conference. I'd boned up by reading his then latest, THE NARROWS, and my copy of the book is still papered with Post-Its with quotes and questions I wanted to ask. Turns out he plots by the seat of his pants, but an analysis of the book's structure reveals that tried-and-true three-act structure. It's simply the organics of the novel. Second biggie was when I met Ian Rankin at R. J. Julia's in Connecticut and interviewed him for a piece I was writing for Writer magazine. He's got rapscallion eyebrows and still smokes, and his real passion is the city of Edinburgh. Another seat-of-the-pants writer who lets his characters guide him, and oh what chararcters they are. Third--Nancy Pickard. I interviewed her at Bouchercon in Madison for another article. I'd loved-loved-loved VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS and was dying to know how she'd come up with her opening scene, which is a knockout, so perfect for setting up that story and those characters. Turned out, the opening scene was the LAST scene she'd written. Three interviews...restored my faith in writing from the gut (combined with prodigious talent, of course).

JAN: Okay guys, since you have hit all the crime thriller stars, I'm going to go in COMPLETELY different direction. On Valentine's Day, my husband and I were doubledating with my good friends Beth and Steve. Beth works for public television on the Between the Lions children's show. We were joined on our date by one of her colleagues and his girlfriend. Her colleague was Chris Cerf, whose name you may or maynot have ever heard, but he's a songwriter. And he wrote all my favorite Sesame Street songs, including Put Down the Duckie and Monster In the Mirror.
Yes, I admit, I was starstruck over Seasame Street.
Besides always watching the show with my kids,I had the tape of those songs and my son and I sang every single song on that tape pretty much every day for months....years....??? Honestly, I felt like I was meeting one of the Beatles. I pretty much gushed all during the dinner. The best part was that Chris, unlike the Beatles, apparently never gets a lot of gushing, so he was thrilled too. Then the six of us went out to hear Marcia Ball sing jazz at Skullers and she covered one of Chris's grown up jazz tunes that night in the club. It was pretty cool. (And my son, now 18-years old and writing his own songs, thought so, too.)

ROBERTA: Ok now I've thought of tons of other names, but enough about us! Let's hear from the Jungle Red readers: what writers in the flesh gave you a thrill? (Oh heck, you know what I mean...)

Tagged

"Chain, chain, chain, chain of fools..." Aretha Franklin

[SORRY - We lost all the wonderful comments when this got edited...]

Doggone Nancy Pickard has tagged the Jungle Red Writers for the blog equivalent of a chain letter.

Here are the rules, she said glumly:

1) Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.

2) Share 7 facts about yourself.

3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

4) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

And so here are Roberta's facts. Hallie, Jan, Ro, and Hank will come later this week! And our mystery taggees will be announced on "Anything can happen day!"

1. I despise chain letters. I don't care what you threaten me with--plague, tanking sales, loss of love--I refuse to pass them on. The only reason I'm going along with this is that we adore Nancy. And Hank was so darned excited about being tagged--who could resist?

2. I'm the second of four in my family, but people say I act like I'm first. In Hallie's terms, I suppose that means I'm bossy.

3. I once made an appointment and paid big bucks to visit a hand-reading expert in Tennessee. I still remember him telling me I'd be married twice, the second time to the love of my life. He was right!

4. I love taking lessons. Right now Tonka the wonder dog and I are attending agility classes together. This teacher is going so slowly that I may have my lesson-craving satisfied for the rest of my life before we ever get ready to compete.

5. I did not make the cut for cheerleading in high school. I did, however, nab a spot on Highlander dancing team for the all-girl bagpipe band.

6. I used to sew my own clothes. Now people in my house are lucky if they can get a button replaced.

7. I love groups of women working together. Did you read the style section of the NY Times a couple weeks ago about the woman who'd had a bad experience in her sorority and avoided women ever since? I feel really sorry for her.

Gender Quiz Part Deux: the Results Show

Jerry (as Daphne): "You don't understand, Osgood! Aaah... I'm a man!"
Osgood: "Well, nobody's perfect."

**the closing lines of Some Like It Hot

Okay, so we have no winners. Of the valuable prizes we offered, at least.

And yet aren't we all winners? Getting to share our thoughts in this cyber village?

NO, huh? Okay. So lets raise a glass to the beautiful-and-talented Nancy Pickard, who got 4 out of 5 right, and that's pretty terrific. (And goodness knows, she certainly wins her share of prizes when the stakes are higher and the decisions more meaningful.)

Anonymous--and you know who you are--got three right. And Alias Mo got two. Had I guessed, which I would have been to terrified to do, I would have gotten one right. Lisa, you let them win, right?

So what can we learn from this? Besides that the Jungle Red sisters (and their sister in crime Mo Walsh who offered two of her favorites as #2 and #3) are devious and tricky?

You tell us!

Meanwhile, we'll tell you the answers.

Considering that we all did our best to fool you, congratulations to all.

#1

"I want you to kiss me. I want you to hold me. I want you to take me upstairs and make love to me. I want you to do it with no expectations because I don't have any. I could dump you tomorrow and you could dump me. It doesn't matter. But I'm not fragile.....This is a no-obligation offer....All I want tonight is you."


Male! Harlan Coben's Promise Me.


#2"He looked much as usual: bulging piggy eyes, gargoyle face, unfashionably long hair. The pallor was a change from his usual boozy redness, though, and the stain on his shirt was definitely not Chivas Regal. Louis Warren kept staring at the body, idly wondering if he had two more wishes coming."

Female! Sharyn McCrumb's Bimbos of the Death Sun



#3"Nothing had prepared me for the shock of seeing death on the face of someone I loved. I looked at him and I realized what a great power, what a great presence, what a great life had ended. I kissed my fingertips and ran them over his hard cheek and walked outside.Tears swelled from my heart, and a cold passion for revenge rose up with them."

Male! T. Jefferson Parker's Silent Joe



#4 Peter collected souvenir copies of the wannabe A-bomber flyer as he walked back to his car on Dunster Street. The damned things were posted everywhere. Peter unlocked his car. Despite his detours for coffee and encounter with Harvard Harry, he had plenty of time to get back to the Pearce for his final appointment with Rudy Ravitch before discharging him. He got into his car. Her know he should have called the police the minute he spotted Harry. MacRae and Needleman had every right to be pissed at him. No, he wasn't a detective, as MacRae so helpfully pointed out.

Female! Our own Hallie Ephron's Guilt



#5 It wasn’t raining at the moment, but an on-again off-again drizzle was expected to rev up into a torrent. Eldridge had left a message on my cell phone that he was running late, but now it was seven thirty and he hadn’t shown up yet. I told myself that it was probably a moot point. This was no night to stage an accident. How could anyone predict the physics of a rash with a downpour lubricating the streets.

Female! Our own Jan Brogan's Yesterday's Fatal.