Motivation, Hitchcock and Why Cheaters Never Win

I was watching The Girl the other night and something Hitchcock said to Tippi Hedren has stuck with me. I can’t stop thinking about, even days later, and how it plays to the vanity of Hitchcock (specifically) and writers (in general).

In the scene where Tippi (played by Sienna Miller) and Hitchcock (played by Toby Jones) discuss her character’s motivation for going into the attic alone, knowing there would be birds there, (they were filming The Birds at the time). Tippi asked, “Why would Melanie go into that attic all alone?”

Hitchcock replied, “Because I want her to.”

Because I want her to.

While a cinematic genius like Hitchcock might be able to get away with that, for a lowly novelist like me, writing takes a bit more work. Just because I want my characters to do something, doesn’t mean I should make them do it. There has to be a reason my characters do and say the things they do and it's my job to give them that reason.

It's called motivation.

Motivation is what a writer weaves throughout a plot to bind it tight. Motivation is what makes even the implausible seem possible. Even the most unlikely seem inevitable. But what is it? A traumatic past? Money? Love? Revenge?

I can’t simply decide I want my protagonist to rob a bank or rescue a bunch of kids from a burning orphanage. There has to be a trigger that sets them on the course. Are they days away from losing their home to foreclosure? Is their child in need of a lifesaving operation and the insurance company refuses to pay. Did they lose a loved one to a fire? Did they grow up in an orphanage themselves?

These are seeds from which future action grow and if you want your novel to feel real, they must be planted. From these seeds should sprout a chain of events, fed on emotion and tended by circumstance, that will inevitably lead your protagonist to a place where the life-altering decisions they make are the only ones that make sense.

Look at it this way...

If a novel is a vehicle, then motivation is the fuel in the tank. It makes us move and takes us places. Maybe even places we never had any intention of going. Places we don't want to be... places we have a hard time visiting. If there's no gas in the tank, that vehicle isn't moving. But if you put the wrong kind of fuel in the tank then your vehicle breaks down completely. It becomes an undriveable hunk of crap that noboby wants to drive. Or read.

When Hitchcock sent his character into that attic full of live, pissed off birds, he wasn’t sending the character—he was  sending Hedren. He allowed his personal motivation to color the actions of his character… and in doing so, changed the movie completely.  

It was no longer about the story itself at all. It was about Hitchcock’s desire to punish Hedren for finding him repulsive. In punishing Hedren, Hitchcock gave us a peek behind the curtain. Even though we may not have known it at the time, we saw a writer at work and that is something your reader should never see.

The stories we write should be seamless.  Our characters should be fully formed, with their own set of experiences that give their choices weight and purpose and the conclusion those choices lead them to should seem inevitable.  

Anything less would be a cheat—to myself as a writer and to people I write for.

Maegan Beaumont is a native Phoenician,currently stuck in suburbia with her high school sweetheart and husband, Joe, along with their four children. She writes take-you-to-the-edge-of-your-seat thrillers, loves action movies and spending time with her family. When she isn’t busy fulfilling her duties as Domestic Goddess, she is locked in her office with her computer, her coffee pot and her Rhodesian Ridgeback and one true love, Jade.

Torrid Tales From the Book Tour

My debut novel, THE BIG BANG, is out and I've been out too--on a small book tour. I've imagined, dreamt, and fantasized about doing this for years, eleven to be exact, and honestly, despite some nerves, it's been pretty awesome. Great crowds of supportive friends and family. People coming out of the woodwork to buy books. New fans. Lots of fun!

I've also learned a few things. Quickly.

First, If invited to do a signing at a Jewish Book Festival, try not to be the author slated to give her five minute spiel after the guy who wrote the non-fiction account of the Holocaust. Particularly if, like me, you've written book a suburban satire/pregnancy whodunnit. Awkward. Luckily, the crowd seemed to appreciate the diversion, laughed and even bought my book!

Second: Have Laryngitis and the bookstore podium isn't miked? Talk about your book, but think twice before you read from it. One page into the section I'd practiced and had almost committed to memory and I realized I'd made something of a mistake. Not only couldn't I project my voice, nor alter it enough to delineate dialogue between characters, but my accompanying chest cold made my breathing/speaking patterns wonky. Better to talk about the book, take questions, sign copies and get back into bed.

Third: Sometimes, the four people you invite to a multi-author signing in a city like, say, Chicago, are the only four people that show up. At all. It happens.

Last: Everyone's a critic. Really, that's not true at all. I've had overwhelming praise and support from friends, family and reviewers alike. I've even received my first fan mail. The problem is, one side remark, Amazon review, or, in my case, lecture from a well-meaning attendee can overshadow all the positives. After speaking to a standing room only crowd, a family friend who'd missed my talk about the book and walked in halfway through the reading asked me if I had a little cold. After telling her that I had the equivalent of the plague and no voice as a result, she proceeded to tell me she was an international speaker and she was going to give me some tips and she did, for fifteen minutes. Among them, "you need to learn to project your voice."

In repeating the conversation, warts and all, to an author friend of mine, he told me to get used to the unexpected. Along with the wonderful experience of sharing your work with readers, friends and potential fans, there will always be those strange moments and niggles that keep you awake all night wondering what you could have done better. His--at one of his first signings, the bookstore owner came up to greet him just before the signing. The man informed my friend that he'd read his book, that it was clear this was a first novel, and went on to explain every weakness he'd found in the plot. Then, he sent  one very distressed author up to the podium.

Perhaps all that thick skin from trying to get an agent and then an editor grows for a reason...

Despite it all, I can't wait for my next signing!

Virginia and I Believe

by Shannon Baker

Why yes, as a matter of fact, I do believe in Santa Claus. I apologize to all my Jewish friends who are sick of Christmas stories and all the miracles and tales as sweet as my grandmother’s fudge. (I just made a batch of that to celebrate the season.) 

A long time ago in a country far, far away, I was a young mother in western Nebraska. To say our area was rural would be like calling M&Ms Christmas candy. (See, reference to Grandma Baker’s fudge for real Christmas candy.) We lived in the land where towns with the population of 2-300 people sat 30 miles apart on a long, straight highway, because that’s how long a coal train could run before it needed more water.

 It so happened that this particular Christmas was a cusp year. That means my oldest daughter was nearing the age of suspicion. This might be her last time believing in Santa. Ever. Once you stopped accepting the existence of the Man in Red, cynicism and the drudgery of a normal life followed. Back then we didn't know the term for people who didn't believe in Santa anymore, now we know they are Muggles.

My daughter decided this year, Santa must bring her the girl gift of the season, the P.J. Sparkles doll. My daughters never played with dolls and I knew a hard plastic doll with shiny blonde hair whose scratchy pink dress lit up with flashing lights wouldn’t change her mind. (Not playing with dolls might be because they learned mothering skills from me. Being a mother probably didn’t sound like all that much fun to them. It’s past your bedtime. Go to sleep.)

But if Santa must bring P.J. Sparkles, then that’s what he’d do. I started shopping early, visiting the K-Marts and Alcos in the “bigger” towns within a two-hour drive of us. No go. I got on the phone (remember, this was way before Cyber Monday and stores didn’t offer on-line shopping even if my dial up connection would tolerate it.) I called Cheyenne, Rapid City, Omaha. Toys-R-Us, Target, Wal-Mart. Everywhere. No P.J. Sparkles. 

Christmas eve dawned and I knew that in 24 hours my daughter would be scarred by the realization there was no Santa. It was too soon for her to grow up and join the rest of us, letting go of belief.

Dejected, I went about my busy day at our feed store.

Then a friend called. “What was the name of that doll you couldn’t find?”

“P.J. fricking Sparkles.” Only maybe I didn’t use such nice vocabulary.

“You’re never going to believe this but I found one.”

I nearly dropped the Christmas fudge I’d made from Grandma Baker’s recipe. “What? Where? No way!”

But she had found her. The little dickens sat in Lucy’s Jumble Shop, the next town over. Thirty miles away, tucked on the top shelf in the dark southwest corner of the dusty shop that carried everything from needles, shirts, Tupperware, pans, sheets, winter boots, ropes, spurs, and heaven only knows what, the last P.J. Sparkles in the civilized world waited for me to claim her.

Why would Lucy stock the hottest toy of the season and hide her in the back, when Lucy hadn’t added any new inventory since Jimmy Carter’s administration?

Because Santa put her there for me. 

Turns out, my daughter had already given up on Santa but didn’t want me to know. She looked at P.J. Sparkles for about five minutes and that’s all the attention P.J. got until I gave her to the rummage sale two years later, still looking sharp in her pink, scratchy dress.

But me? I believe. 

I will always believe.

Author Visits to Book Clubs

by Beth Groundwater

When I suggested to my book club that we invite a local women's fiction author to discuss one of her books and her writing career, the other members went all a-twitter.

“She'll think we're so unsophisticated.”

“What if we don't like her book?”

“What if she hates what we have to say about the book.”

“Goodness, a real author, I won't know how to act around her.”

Confused by their reaction, I said, “Wait a minute, I’m a real author, too, and you aren't self-conscious around me.” Also, I could vouch that this author was a person just like us, was very friendly, and would not judge their literary astuteness. I knew my book club would enjoy her book because it was set in a nearby town and was the type of book we had enjoyed reading in the past.

The group finally agreed, but when the evening of the author visit came, the nervous sweat was apparent. I got the discussion going after introductions by asking the author to talk about her writing career and her other books. Gradually everyone's shyness wore off, and we had a wide-ranging discussion about the book we'd read and the typical questions that we authors are used to answering.

“Where do you get your ideas?”

“What's your writing schedule?”

“How did you sell your first manuscript?”

Later, the author said my friends were delightful and thanked me for encouraging the group to invite her. The book club members said the experience was less intimidating than they thought it would be, and they'd like to invite other authors to visit. They talked about that author's visit and how exciting and entertaining it was for months afterward!

I have visited many book clubs, both in-person if the group meets within an hour's drive from my home or on a speakerphone or via Skype if the group meets farther away. I discuss with them whichever book of mine they've chosen to read for that meeting, and I answer whatever questions they have for me. These are my favorite kind of promotional events, because I spend an hour or two with book lovers and avid readers like myself. I invariably come away with titles of recommended books to add to my personal reading list and to suggest to my book club.

If you're a member of a book club, I encourage you, too, to invite authors to visit your book club. And if you are a member of a mystery reading book club, there are a whole slew of authors who contribute to this blog who would probably be willing to visit. Here are a few tips that hopefully will make an author visit less intimidating.

1. If you haven't already read books by local authors, ask your librarian or favorite bookseller to recommend some. Local authors and those who are not New York Times bestsellers are the most likely to have the time and desire to visit book clubs.

2. Once you've selected a few authors to invite, go to the first author's website (which you can find by searching for the name on the Internet) and click on the “Contact Me” or equivalent link. Send an email saying how much you admire his or her writing and name the book you hope to discuss, then request an in-person or speakerphone or Skype visit and list suggested dates and times. The worst that can happen is the author won't reply or will politely refuse and you can move on to your second choice. The best outcome is that the author will agree and arrange a visit.

3. Encourage your book club members to purchase the author's book and to bring the books to the meeting so they can be autographed by the author, if it's to be an in-person visit. If it will be a speakerphone or Skype visit, the author may be willing to mail autographed bookplates or bookmarks to you. Buying the author's books is the polite thing to do. Since authors usually are not paid by book groups for their time (though gas money is always appreciated for in-person visits), the least you can do is for the majority of the members to buy the book.

4. If one is available, print and bring a list of discussion questions for the book. Many authors, like me, provide discussion questions for their books on their websites. Another place to find discussion questions is at Reading Group Guides. Also, encourage your members to come prepared with one or two other questions for the author.

5. For in-person visits, I like to arrive 10-15 minutes early and set up a small display of my books, bookmarks, and a sign-up list for my email newsletter. Other authors may want to do the same thing. Also, we appreciate the opportunity to sell books to members, who may not have had a chance to buy one before the meeting or who may want to gift the books to others. We're also willing to sign and personalize any books that members bought before the meeting.

6. Someone should introduce the author and thank him or her for coming, then have the members of the book club introduce themselves. Especially if this is a speakerphone or Skype visit, it’s helpful for the author to know something about each member to distinguish them. And, if it’s a speakerphone or Skype visit, members should re-state their name each time they ask a question. Depending on the quality of the microphone used, a member near the phone or computer may need to restate questions from members who are sitting farther away.

7. Relax and enjoy the interaction. If you normally serve food during your meeting, continue to do so. Just let the author know beforehand. Most authors won’t turn down a meal, snack and/or a glass of wine! Make sure someone watches the time so you don’t keep the author longer than the agreed upon period, and plan for time at the end to autograph books, if it’s an in-person visit.

Having an author visit your book club can be a fun and rewarding experience, as you can see from the photo above of a visit I made to a nearby book club. I encourage you to conquer any qualms you have and go for it! If you have any questions about author visits, ask away. And, if you’d like me to discuss any of my books with your book club, please contact me at my website.

Comprehension 101

“I have a hard job. As a writer my tools are 26 letters. These letters are formed into words that must be arranged into original sentences in such a way to entice someone to buy what has been written.” This was the opening statement in a talk I gave many years ago. The audience responded with, “What’s hard about that?”  

One might smirk, nod with agreement, disagree, ponder, or reconsider. There are many ways to comprehend both statement and response.    

In the preface of his book, The Story of Ain’t, David Skinner writes, “Language is the ultimate committee product. The committee is always in session and, for good and bad, every speaker is a member of the committee.” After reading these words and, later the whole book, I was struck by profound loss. Why would I have such an emotional response about the creation of the dictionary, Webster’s Third? Because I realized that when my debut novel, Burden of Truth, is released in January it will no longer belong to me.    

The page is the final resting place of an author’s vision for those 26 letters. Once there, it belongs to the readers. To society at large. Each one will shape the meaning of the words. Starting in elementary school, American children are continually tested on this concept as their education progresses. It’s called comprehension. How well do you understand what has been written?

A character of mine has been called a pedophile. Not true by definition or action. And it forced me to dwell on how complicated comprehension actually is. How does one person see tragic love and another see a menace? They are reading the same words in the same order. What is inferred between the lines? What history influences the reading?

Authors should make no apologies for their characters. Nor should they be forced to. They are who they are: imperfect, heroes, compromised, traitors, morally suspect, difficult, talented, naughty, evil, murderous, and everything in between. In the end, that’s what drives compelling fiction. It sparks the imagination.       

But how should an author feel when a reader misses the comprehension mark? Should we care? After all, it no longer belongs to us. RIP. But what if the reader makes a public statement about the work that is misleading? Or false? Or has the potential to damage sales or turn off other readers? Will the comment be regarded as judgmental opinion or literary criticism? At one time, the borders weren’t smudged. Nowadays, a love of reading seems sufficient enough qualification to post in any format. Lots of questions, no tidy answers.

The way writers and readers approach a work and, more broadly, language, is unique to each of us. Personal experiences, prejudices, literacy, gender, mood, temperament, even haste, all effect how a work is perceived. That’s the magic of this business. It’s what makes writing and reading so enjoyable, so engage-able. And yes, frustrating, too.

My job is done. The work has been laid to rest. Comprehend away.  

P.S. The audience in the first paragraph was a classroom of kids.  

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...MURDER

by Lois Winston

Talk Gertie To Me was my first published novel. It combined chick lit, hen lit, and romance. The novel featured Connie Stedworth, a menopausal Martha Stewart clone; her rebellious daughter Nori; and Nori’s imaginary friend Gertie. The book received critical acclaim and was the recipient of a few awards. And then it went out of print. However, it’s now available for the first time as an ebook.

Two years ago Nori fled the conservative mentality of both her parents and Ten Commandments, Iowa, for Manhattan. She loves her new life -- until one devastating afternoon that culminates with the arrival of her mother. Mom is suffering from middle-age meltdown. Her only identity is as a wife and mother, but her husband is a workaholic, and her daughter is halfway across the country. Grandchildren would give her life new purpose. If only Nori would come to her senses and marry town mortician and most eligible bachelor Eugene Draymore.

To that end, Mom sets off to bring Nori home. But when she meets Nori’s neighbor, her plans take an unexpected twist, and she’s thrust headfirst into a career as the next Martha Stewart. Suddenly, she’s a somebody in her own right and reconsiders returning to her old life.

As a coping mechanism, Nori resurrects Gertie, her adolescent imaginary friend. A laptop mix-up lands her musings in the hands of Mackenzie Randolph, a talk-radio station manager on deadline to boost sagging ratings or lose his job. He knows he’s found the answer to his prayers when he reads Nori’s make-believe correspondence.

And maybe he’s found much more.

Meanwhile Dad, with Eugene in tow, comes in search of his AWOL wife. Tempers flare when Mom refuses to return home. However, when she and Dad hear Nori on the radio, they unite to “save” her from the corruption of both Mac and Manhattan.

And that’s when things really get interesting.

I honed my humor chops with Talk Gertie To Me. The book definitely prepared me to write the humorous Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.

A few years ago I was approached by a publisher to contribute a novella to an anthology. This seemed like the perfect vehicle for a sequel to Talk Gertie To Me. Readers had been asking for one for quite some time. However, as I mulled over plot ideas, everything I came up with involved a mystery. I finally gave in to my inner muse and wrote Elementary, My Dear Gertie, which is one part chick lit, one part hen lit, one part romance and all parts mystery.

Unfortunately, circumstances were such that the anthology was never published.

Then about a year ago, I began to see how indie publishing was taking off. Whereas once the thought of self-publishing was something I’d never consider, I started seeing authors having great success self-publishing their out-of-print books and even some never before published works. I had received the rights back to Talk Gertie To Me and decided to publish it and Elementary, My Dear Gertie as ebooks.

In Elementary, My Dear Gertie I’ve sent Nori, Mac, and Gertie back to Ten Commandments, Iowa. However, I needed a compelling reason for their visit because the last thing Nori wants to do is return to Ten Commandments. What better reason than Christmas? The sequel takes place two years after the original book. Nori has agreed to head home for the holidays, but she does so with all sorts of trepidations. It turns out to be anything but an ordinary Christmas.

Connie’s Christmas gift to Nori is a needlepoint pillow with a none-too-subtle message about marriage and children. Mac is all for exchanging I do’s. He’s even bought the ring, but before he can pop the question, an explosion (the literal kind) hurls him and Nori right into the middle of a murder investigation. Of course, Gertie can’t help but lend her acerbic wit to the twists and turns as yet another scandal envelopes the not-so-pious residents of Ten Commandments.

Both Talk Gertie To Me and Elementary, My Dear Gertie are available for Kindle, Nook, and iPad. Buy links can be found on my website.

Award-winning author Lois Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, a 2011 release, was the first book in the series and received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Kirkus Reviews dubbed it, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum” Death By Killer Mop Doll was released in 2012. Revenge of the Crafty Corpse will be a January 2013 release. Lois also writes romance, romantic suspense, humorous women's fiction, and non-fiction under her own name and as Emma Carlyle. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com, visit Emma at http://www.emmacarlyle.com, and visit Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers character blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.

Transcription of a Conversation with Special Agent Beatrice Alexander, F.R.E.A.K.

By Jennifer Harlow

NOTE: A few months ago I had the privilege of interviewing Special Agent Beatrice Alexander of the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad for an article in Government Secrets Gazette, now defunct due to budget cuts. (The NASA gang and I say thanks from the unemployment line, Mr. President!)  Now, I’m forced to go freelance. I remained in e-mail contact with Agent Alexander in the interim and at my own expense flew back to Wichita in an attempt to uncover more information for future articles (or blackmail. Leaning towards blackmail.) We met at a Starbucks, and I secretly recorded the conversation. Here it as follows:

Jennifer Harlow (JH): Hi, girl! You look…um…
Beatrice Alexander (BA): Terrible. I know. <sitting> Sorry I’m so late. I just came from a memorial service, and I’m exhausted. I’ve been…taking care of a sick friend for a few days.
JH: It never rains but it pours, huh? Who died?
BA: One of the Squad. We just got back from Dallas on an Op. It was, well  <chuckle> it’s been a tough week. A nightmare from start to finish. <More chuckling> God, I can’t believe I’m back here.
JH: Back where? Kansas?
BA: No, nothing. I just, exactly a week ago I met my brother in this very Starbucks right before the caca hit the fan.
JH: At least you got to see your brother.
BA: Yeah, no. It did not go well. I believe words like “monster” and “abomination” were uttered.
JH: Shit. Sorry.
BA: I expected it. We’re not exactly close.
JH: Still. If my brothers ever said those things to me, I’d kick them in the balls. Really I’ll find any reason to do that. Great cardio.
BA: I was tempted. Went the crying and vodka route instead.
JH: That works too. <a beat> At least you had work to take your mind off it. You said you went to Dallas? Why?
BA: Vampires. A group of them killing people. Then it got really complicated.
JH: Ooh, complications. I love complications. Do tell.
BA: I don’t know if I should…
JH: <a pause> No, I understand. Government secrets and all. Security clearances, blah blah blah. <sipping coffee> I’m sure you have tons of people you can vent these things to without them, you know, thinking you’re a few cigs short of a pack.
BA: <a pause> Okay, okay. You’re right. I need someone to talk to about this. I’m going nuts. And I know I can trust you.
JH: Of course you can! Of course. Yeah. <leaning in> So, vampires. Dallas. Give me the skinny.
BA: <looking around café for eavesdroppers> It was an undercover mission. Oliver and I had to pose as a married couple to infiltrate the vampire scene.
JH: Oh la la, a married couple with a beyond gorgeous man who has centuries of practical seduction experience. That sounds like fun. Hope you took advantage of it. And him.
BA: It wasn’t like that. <Note: she was blushing while she said this> We had a job to do. Lives at stake. <sipping drink> It didn’t help we were staying in his ex-girlfriend’s house. His stunning ex-girlfriend by the way. Mariana.
JH: Bitch! I hate her for you already.
BA: Me too. And there were all these other vamps around who kept acting like they were lions and I was a flank steak. Then things got even worse. A house exploded, I got kidnapped. Again. The vampire ruler of Dallas took a murderous interest in us. I killed over a dozen vampires in twenty-four hours. <rolling eyes> Like I said, it’s been a heck of a week.
JH: Sounds like it. But he protected you, didn’t he? Oliver?
BA: <silence> Oh, yeah. In more ways than one.
JH:  So you’re not annoyed with him anymore?
BA: No, I am <chuckling> on an almost hourly basis but…I do see him in a certain light now.
JH: Hope it’s a naked light. Often.
BA: You are so smutty minded, Jen!
JH: One of my many charms, Bea. <a pause> So, did you? Did Beatrice Do Oliver in Dallas? Get your freak on?
BA: I am not…continuing this line of discussion.
JH: Oh, you slut you, you so did. Muchos kudos, kiddo. <sipping coffee> So how is what’s his name, Will? How’s he handling your new “friends with benefits-ship” with the vampire?
BA: We are not…you really need to get your mind out of the gutter, Jen.
JH: <whining> But it’s so much fun in there. Beats the library where it normally is. <a beat> So? Spill. World War III time?
BA: Oh, Jen. It was so messed up from the start. He was away on his first vacation in years, and I couldn’t tell him I was going.  When he found out...it’s just so complicated. And it’s getting more and more complicated by the minute.
JH: Ah, the eternal dilemma: the good or bad boy. <sarcastically> Poor you. Either way, you win, Bea.
BA: Or I lose them both.
JH: Only if your God is a cruel, dramatic bitch with a multi-book deal.
BA: What?
JH: What? I didn’t say anything. <checking watch then standing up> Crap. Listen babes, I’m so sorry, I gotta motor. My layover’s almost done. Long drive back to the airport. Have to catch a flight back to Virginia. I have to interview a witch in this small town, Goodnight. Mona McGregor? Ever hear of her? She’s like the most powerful witch in America or something. I’m doing this whole Occult/Magic set of stories. Can I e-mail you if I have any background questions?
BA: Of course.
JH: You are a doll as always. Can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me. Enjoy your vampire boy-toy! Kisses!

End of transcription

INKSPOT NEWS - December 1, 2012

On Thursday, December 6, 2012, Beth Groundwater will discuss and sign copies of her new Midnight Ink release, To Hell in a Handbasket, at the monthly 6 PM Dies Librorum dinner social at The Book Haven bookstore, 128 F Street, Salida, CO 81201. Beth will also provide handouts on Ten Tips for Making Gift Baskets. Reservations are required.

On Saturday, December 1,2012: Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa are right around the corner. Here’s your chance to complete your holiday book-buying needs all at once. Come to One More Page Books, 2200 N. Westmoreland Street, Arlington, VA, 703-300-9746 to hear from and mingle with 16 authors who’ve had something new published this year in the mystery field. Booksellers from One More Page will be there to sell books, helping you avoid shopping for holiday gifts at the mall or waiting for them to come in the mail. This is free and open to the public and begins at 1pm.
Which authors will there? Donna Andrews, David Autry, Karen Cantwell, Jacqueline Corcoran, Meriah Crawford, Maddi Davidson, E.B. Davis, Barb Goffman, Jennifer Harlow, Smita Harish Jain, C. Ellett Logan, G.M. Malliet, Alan Orloff, Sandra Parshall, Marcia Talley, and Art Taylor.