Dying to Tell: The Story Begins

It’s the fall again. October. Halloween. The feverish run-up to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the holidays. It’s also my transition from promoting my last book, Dying for the Past, to promoting my next book, Dying to Tell. Somewhere between is a blur of days and hours and hotel rooms. In the past several months, I can count the number of weekends I’ve had without travel or book events on one hand. I think I might have some fingers left over, too. But hey, I’m not complaining! It’s been fun meeting the readers and fans, talking with other authors, and giving key note speeches and book discussions. This past summer has been a blur.

Now, it’s time to take a deep breath and start again. I have three Dying for the Past events remaining this calendar year and will begin the events for Dying to Tell with this blog. Phew.

And somewhere amid the hotel rooms and podiums and meeting all the fantastic readers and fans, I’ve managed to pen three-quarters of a new thriller—Double Solution.  I hope I can keep them all straight. Let’s see, Oliver “Tuck” Tucker’s books are cozy mysteries about a dead detective solving crimes with a historical subplot and a few laughs along the way. Double Solution is about Jonathan Hunter, a wayward CIA consultant who is hunting his brother’s killer and finding his worst Middle East nightmares right at home in small town Winchester, Virginia.  Double Solution is still in the making and I cannot wait to get back to the keyboard and see what Hunter will do next.

For now, Dying to Tell, the third Gumshoe Ghost installment, hits the shelves in January 2016. It’s time to tell Tuck’s latest tale—the story of William Mendelson, a recluse bank executive, found murdered in his secret vault. Surrounding William’s fate is a treasure trove of Egyptian antiquities. Now those relics are missing. The secrets are coming out. The dead are talking.

Tuck is pulled into the case by the spirit of a World War II Office of Strategic Services operative with his own agenda. OSS Captain Ollie Tucker I—Tuck’s namesake—knows the past is catching up to the survivors of an Egyptian spy ring from more than seventy years ago. With the help of his beautiful and brilliant wife, Angel, and his gruff former partner, Detective Bear Braddock, Tuck must unravel a tale of spies, murderers, and thieves. But how to begin? Perhaps, with the botched robbery at Mendelson’s bank and the disappearance of his Egyptian loot? Or, the Kit Kat West nightclub where the sultry Lee Hawkins revives 1944 Cairo nightlife with her WWII veteran grandfather, Keys Hawkins? There are too few clues and too many suspects—like Marshal Mendelson, the conniving, bitter son; a suave bank executive wooing Angel; the vivacious bank teller sharing whispers with a lonely but heroic security guard; and the alluring and dangerous Egyptian antiquities professor whose arrival in Winchester coincides with Mendelson’s murder.

Who killed William Mendelson and what did his murder have to do with the 1944 murder of Professor Youssif Iskandr?

Writing Dying to Tell was different. As the third installment of Tuck’s dead detective adventures, I wanted to take Tuck’s unusual life—or death as it were—somewhere very personal to him. In Dying to Know, Tuck struggled with being dead. First, how to maneuver in the world of the living but with different rules. How to contact Angel and how to pursue his killer while still learning to be a dead detective. Hercule, his devoted black Labrador, helped him with much of this. And so did Doc, his live-in spirit guide. It was painful, difficult, and at times, heartbreaking for him. Ultimately, Tuck found his way.

In Dying for the Past, Tuck is in contact with Angel and is working steadily to reach that same resonance with Bear, his stubborn and grouchy former partner. But, he also has to come to terms with a new secret—that his long-lost family might just be made up of gangsters, spies, and rogues. All of them may have ended up as spirits, too. Tuck also finds some enjoyment to being a dead detective. He learned to use his world to his advantage. So what more could a guy want?

Life. At least, the taste of his former life. Love. Confidence in his commitment to Angel—and in hers to him. Is that too much to ask?

Dying to Tell takes on the issue of Tuck being back amongst the living but not truly one of them—his life with Angel. Angel, as you might know, is a beautiful, brilliant history professor. She’s on her way to bigger and better things at the University. She’s attracted the attention of a handsome, mysterious, and suave suitor. Tuck, being the witty and self-reliant spirit-cop that he is, is smart enough to see the writing on the wall. How can he keep Angel to himself when their life together is everything except real? They can share no glass of wine. No kiss. No touch. No romance after dark. Tuck is everything Angel ever wanted—except alive. Except physical.

What is she to do? What is Tuck to do?

 Dying to Tell summons up the three elements that Tuck’s books always bring: a traditional murder; a historical subplot that connects to the present; and a twisty, turning conclusion that makes you ask, “Who isn’t a suspect?” But it also takes Tuck and Angel’s life to the next threshold. After two years of being spirit and wife, does “death do you part” mean it’s time to part?

And as for Operation Salaam, the OSS, and famous World War II spies, I’ll discuss some of the historical research I did for Dying to Tell next month. This was, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable books to research of the three Tuck mysteries so far. Next month, I’ll talk about the way I wove in the historical facts, twisted a little history, and came up with Dying to Tell.

See you then.

Tj O’CONNOR IS THE GOLD MEDAL WINNER OF THE 2015 INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS BOOK AWARDS FOR MYSTERIES. He is the author of Dying to Know and Dying for the Past, available in bookstores and e-books from Midnight Ink. His third paranormal mystery, DYING TO TELL, will be released January 2016. He is currently working on a traditional mystery and a new thriller. Tj is an international security consultant specializing in anti-terrorism, investigations, and threat analysis—life experiences that drive his novels. With his former life as a government agent and years as a consultant, he has lived and worked around the world in places like Greece, Turkey, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and throughout the Americas—among others. He was raised in New York's Hudson Valley and lives with his wife and Lab companions in Virginia where they raised five children. Dying to Know is also the 2015 Bronze Medal winner of the Reader’s Favorite Book Review Awards, a finalist for the Silver Falchion Best Books of 2014, and a finalist for the Foreword Review’s 2014 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award.

Learn about Tj’s world at:

Web Site:  www.tjoconnor.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tjoconnor.author
Blog: http://tjoconnorbooks.blogspot.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7148441.T_J_O_Connor

 

Still Knocking On Wood

--by Linda O. Johnston

It's November already, nearing the end of the year.  It's also the month after the publication of my latest Midnight Ink book, KNOCK ON WOOD, the second Superstition Mystery.

I was really busy letting the world know about KNOCK ON WOOD last month, going on blog tours and participating in Facebook events and even doing live workshops, signings and more. 

One of the most fun things was my participation in the cozy/noir smackdown at the NoHo Lit Crawl in North Hollywood, CA, where other authors of cozy mysteries and I read from our work to give examples of how cozy authors dealt with various topics.  Authors of noir mysteries did the same as if it was a competition.  Our topics included reading a good example from our work of what constitutes a cozy versus a noir, character introduction, death scenes and sex scenes.   Most of my examples came from the first Superstition Mystery LOST UNDER A LADDER, but one came from KNOCK ON WOOD.  It was a lot of fun, and the audience participated by voting.  I believe cozy came out on top but that really didn't matter.

Then there was my hour helping to host an online Facebook event: a Halloween Spooktacular, where I talked about Halloween and superstitions relating to that holiday as well as my books.

But now it's November, the month after publication.  Things have calmed down a bit although I'm still blogging and doing more to let people know about my stories.  Plus, I'm writing.  Heck, I never stop that, no matter when it is!

In fact, time to return to it now.  Have a happy November, everyone.

Every Day’s a Gift

I’ve thought about writing this blog post for years. I finally did it the other day while I was sitting at the vet with Tasha (the inspiration for my mystery series) and waiting for her to go in for an MRI.  The lesson was powerful for me, and I hope it someday helps you, too. Then again, perhaps you’re smarter than I am and don’t need it.  ;-)

Tasha-dog recovering from her MRI with best buddy Teddy

 

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Love comes to us in packages we don’t expect—some we may think we don’t even want.

Mine, as most of you know, lives in the form of a 100-pound German shepherd named Tasha. An animal who has changed my life in so many ways. An animal who is the inspiration for my mystery series. An animal who has connected me with some of the best people in my life. An animal without whom, I wouldn’t be writing to you today.

But our life together has been far from easy.

When she was four months old, Tasha started exhibiting significant health and behavior problems. In spite of the best veterinary care, four trainers and three animal behaviorists, by the time she was two, the problems had gotten worse. Euthanasia was mentioned more than once as a reasonable option.

I never considered it.

Then she hit age three, and we had a particularly bad day. I remember thinking that night—perhaps even muttering it out loud—that my life would be easier if Tasha died.

Tasha and the universe discussed it for two weeks, then decided to grant my wish.

The only noticeable symptom on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving eight years ago was that Tasha didn’t want to go on her afternoon walk. By six that evening, I cradled her head in my hands and told her I wasn’t mad at her anymore. At eight, I told my husband, “I have a bad feeling about this.” He thought she was fine, but didn’t argue. We took my lethargic-but-otherwise-healthy-looking dog to an emergency vet.

At nine, the emergency vet told me that Tasha’s spleen had twisted. If there was no cancer—a big if—Tasha had a fifty percent shot of surviving the surgery to remove it, and then a fifty percent shot of surviving the forty-eight hours after surgery.

Then she handed me a hospitalization and surgical estimate for an amount most people would pay for a used car and gave us a choice: pay and take our chances, or euthanize. Tasha wouldn’t live the night otherwise.

Euthanasia was not an option.

I collapsed sobbing outside the clinic, convinced that I had made this happen. That my stupid, not-even-true wish was going to take my dog’s life. My husband, being smarter than I, said something like, “Well, if you wished this, take it back!”

I never prayed so hard in my life.

By midnight, Tasha had obtained two blood transfusions so she’d be stable enough for surgery. At three a.m., I received a call saying that she had survived surgery. Forty-eight hours later, the vets let her come home and agreed that she would live provided there was no cancer. The cancer-free biopsy came back a few days later.

I could finally breathe again.

Why do I write about this? I will never forget that night or the gift of getting my girl back. She mellowed as she got older and the behavior issues lessoned significantly, but no matter how bad the day—and there have been a few bad ones since then—I have cherished my girl.

Every night I say a prayer thanking God, the universe, and whoever else is listening for giving her back to me. I know that every day I’ve had with her since then has been a gift. Each prayer ends with the mantra, “May Tasha have a long and happy life.”

We all have days that seem unbearably tough. Times our loved ones disappoint us. Times we disappoint ourselves. My challenge to each of you is to find gratitude—and express it—even on those days.

Every one of them is a gift.

Tracy Weber


Preorder my newest mystery, KARMA'S A KILLER, now at Amazon Barnes and Noble.

Yee haw, yippee, and yahooey!

Check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  A KILLER RETREAT and MURDER STRIKES A POSE are available at book sellers everywhere

5 Reasons I Love the Cover for WHISPERS IN THE MIST

By Lisa Alber

Woohoo! I almost feel like not writing a post and letting the cover stand on its own. On the other hand, I'm so proud of my book baby in its finery that I can't help but gush.

In July I wrote my first Inkspot blog post as a Midnight Ink author. I didn't get into many details about my novel (coming out August 2016) because everything was new and in process. And now here I am loving the new title (my working title was Grey Man) and the cover. Let me tell you all the reasons why:

1. The title works on so many levels, and I love it when titles reflect the layers within a story. The word "whispers" implies hidden or secretive things, right? There's the past whispering at one of the characters, tormenting her. There's guilt and regret and betrayal, all which can whisper at you, eating away at your well being. There are literal whispers--manipulations and threats spoken aloud. There's the atmospheric shush, like a whisper, within literal mists.

2. And speaking of "mist" in the title. The novel is set in Ireland, where atmospherics abound. In the novel, mist has descended on my fictional village, further obscuring already murky goings on. I mean, it's moody, right? I like a moody mystery myself, which is probably why I write them that way.

3. I adore the way the path and figure draw you into the cover and thus the story. It's the pictorial version of drawing in readers with a verbal, Once upon a time ...

4. There's my name. My name! Aspiring novelists dream of having their names on the covers of their books. I'm heartily grateful to see mine on Whispers in the Mist. Thank you, Midnight Ink!

5. Last but not least, I love the color teal. The Midnight Ink art department didn't know this, of course, but I feel like they chose that color just. for. me. :-)

A short and sweet post for me this month, because in the case of my cover, a picture really is worth a thousand words.

If you're curious about who the figure could be (and who I think it is) and want to read some short excerpts from Whispers in the Mist, please check out my Facebook author page. It's open to the public, and you don't have to be signed up for Facebook to view it (I don't think). Just scroll down a little to view the posts with the word GIVEAWAY in them.

Let me know what you think!

Question for you, dear readers: What do you look for in a cover? Do you pick up books based on their covers?

Back in 1888

I'm now putting the final polish on my second historical mystery. Quaker midwife Rose Carroll is once again trying to track down a murderer in an 1888 Massachusetts mill town. This time the subplots have to do with continuing prejudice against former slaves, a baby's eyes becoming infected from his mother's gonorrhea, and the conflict that arises between sweethearts of two different faiths and social classes.

The research continues. The former slave in the story, Akwasi, who has become a Quaker and has a successful furniture-making business, is brought in for questioning for the murder, and so I had to understand police procedure from the time. I checked around, and, voila! I found a book from 1890 called The Massachusetts Peace Officer: a Manual for Sheriffs, Constables, Police, and Other Civil Officers. And it's perfect. It states the laws, illustrates with various cases, and more. An invaluable resource.

Gonorrhea was next. I looked up symptoms in men and women, and I knew there wasn't a real cure until antibiotics came along a few decades later. But was there any treatment? Why, yes. I found a long paper describing using balsam (basically sap) of the Copaiba tree from South America, right down to the dosage. The extract didn't always succeed in reducing the inflammation, but occasionally did. Also sometimes effective were Cubebs, a kind of pepper from Indonesia.

And then there's language. Yes, gonorrhea was called "the clap" as of the 1580s. "Maitre d'" isn't attested until 1890, however, so my character can't use that. "Blowhard" was attested as of the 1850s, as was, "Don't cross the bridge 'till you come to it" - the latter from the poet Longfellow. "Paycheck" wasn't used until 1894, but "great minds think alike" was written in the early part of the nineteenth century.

You never know where research will take you!

Readers, anybody have an interesting tidbit from the Victorian days? Writers, what has your research uncovered?

Oh, and check out this fabulous review of Delivering the Truth from historian and award-winning short story author, KB Inglee!

"As a midwife, Rose Carroll gets to go into houses all over town. Not just the houses but the bedrooms, and the private lives. It’s a perfect set up for a detective. As a Quaker she has a strong sense of justice.

I love books in which real historical people appear as secondary characters. John Greenleaf Whittier is the kindly mentor and the voice of conscience.

I love books with a strong sense of place. Edith has done her research on the town renowned for the manufacture of fine carriages.

I love strong women protagonists who still seem a part of the time in which the author has set them. Rose is one of my favorites."

Knock on Wood

--by Linda O. Johnston

This is one of THOSE months.

Which months?

Months in which I have a new release from Midnight Ink!

This time, it's KNOCK ON WOOD, my second Superstition Mystery.  The series features Rory Chasen, a superstition agnostic who's come to Destiny, California, which is all about superstitions, to learn their reality after her fiancé walked under a ladder and was killed.  Her arrival, and the first murder she has to solve, was described in the first Superstition Mystery LOST UNDER A LADDER.  In that book, she's also asked to manage the Lucky Dog Boutique by its owner, whose life Rory's lucky black and white dog Pluckie saves.

In KNOCK ON WOOD, Rory's best friend Gemma arrives for a visit, stays to manage the nearby Broken Mirror Bookstore, and winds up being a murder suspect.  Guess who has to help clear her.

I love writing cozy mysteries!  I like putting myself in the figurative shoes of my protagonists.  Not that I'd ever want to stumble over a dead body or have to save my friends or myself from arrest by figuring out whodunit, but it's a wonderful outlet for my active imagination. 

Plus, all my mysteries star dogs--and I'm a real dog lover.  In fact, as I've been sitting here writing this post and some other material I've had to leave my computer for a few minutes now and then when instructed by one of my dogs to take them outside or open the front door so they can see the world and seek treats that neighbors bring!

And with the Superstition Mysteries, I get the added benefit of researching and including all kinds of superstitions.  Yes, the most common ones like--of course--knocking on wood and crossing fingers are there a lot, and there's at least one black cat in Destiny, but I also use many less known superstitions.

Which ones?  Well, you could always pick up a copy of LOST UNDER A LADDER and, in a couple of days, KNOCK ON WOOD and find out!

Attending a Mystery Writers of America Writers Workshop: A Pictorial Review

For those of you who don't know (probably most of you!) I take a writing sabbatical every August.  This is time that I minimize my yoga teaching and studio management duties in the hopes of having a solid chunk of time for my next book.  This year's sabbatical was very productive, and I spoke about it in this blog article.

 

The last day of Sabbatical was the best, however.  I attended a character development seminar with David Corbett that was hosted by the Mystery Writers of America Pacific Northwest Chapter.  Here is my photo log of the day.  I really did do some writing, I swear!

I got up at the crack of dawn (OK, 6:00) but somehow still managed to miss the ferry by literally seconds.  My car is the red one, first in line for the next boat which would leave an hour later.

My husband has nicknamed me the creepy puppy lady. This photo of my car's bumper hints at why.  Marc is especially fond of the sticker on the upper right. Husband and dog missing. Reward for dog.

Since I had sixty minutes to wait, I took the opportunity to work on revisions for my 4th Downward Dog Mystery, tentatively titled A FATAL TWIST

It was the perfect foggy Seattle day to learn about murder.

 The ferry is pretty dead on Sundays at 8 AM, so I had it almost to myself.

Did I take this photo before or after the zombie slot machine ate my brains? (I obviously haven't quite gotten the hang of taking a selfie yet.)

Even though I caught the ferry an hour late, I arrived  at the picturesque location at the Suquamish resort with enough time to walk around the gorgeous grounds

The resort is on the Suquamish  Indian reservation, with some awesome Native American artwork, like this magnificent totem pole.

I took this photo to prove to my husband that I actually attended a workshop.

 

And after the workshop, I spent some time in the casino. I wandered around the huge gambling area, taking my time. I vowed not to play until I'd discovered the exact machine that would help me make my millions. When I saw Zombie Outbreak, it was love at first sight. I vowed to spend however long it took to either double or lose the $20 I had allocated.  (Losing it took less than 5 minutes.)

 

 

Then it was home to a much brighter Seattle!

 

 

 The photos don't show it, but I did learn a lot, and I plan to put it to use with the start of my new series, tentatively called the Murder in Paradise Mystery Series.  Now I just need to find time to write it!

Tracy Weber


And if you want to show me some love, you can preorder my newest mystery, KARMA'S A KILLER, now at Amazon Barnes and Noble.

Yee haw, yippee, and yahooey!

Check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  A KILLER RETREAT and MURDER STRIKES A POSE are available at book sellers everywhere



Writing Women

Can men write about women?

Sheesh, I sure hope so.

Of all the upbeat comments I’ve had recently, this email meant a lot to me:

“Thought I'd say I enjoyed Antler Dust and Buried by the Roan. I like Allison—and I really like Trudy and the relationship between the two women. Not everybody does friendships between women well, but you nailed it—creating a great one that really resonates as true with me.”

“Allison” is Allison Coil, my protagonist, and “Trudy” is Trudy Heath. They live on the edge of the Flat Tops Wilderness in western Colorado. Allison is an outfitter and hunting guide; Trudy worked her way out from under a bad marriage (in Antler Dust) and she now owns a garden center and a line of specialty food products. They live across a small meadow from each other and they are best friends.

This email note was from—yes—a woman.

Allison and Trudy met in the first book and I can state emphatically and without question that I had no idea that they would pair up and become a team through Buried by the Roan, Trapline and the new one, Lake of Fire. Trudy started out, in my mind, as an important but temporary character.

I didn’t think Trudy would stick around for the next three books.

Or resonate.

But readers seem to like her. She’s earthy. She’s crunchy granola, to use a cliché. She’s herbs and organic gardening. She’s slow-moving and serene. She owns a successful business, which started to blossom in the second book, but she’s not all about profits. She cares about the environment but she’s practical, too. She’s healthy and mystical and calm. She’s a good counterpoint to hunting guide Allison Coil, who has her own kind of serenity and, I hope, cool.

But can men write about women?

I ask, why not? I’ve been thinking about this recently. In came up last week during an event at Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins for the fourth book, Lake of Fire. The ability to write across-gender is not a new topic; hardly!

I think if you take a close look, it’s more common than you’d think. To my mind, nobody wrote about men—especially weird, warped men—better than Patricia Highsmith. There are many examples of men writing from a woman’s perspective. Madame Bovary. Anna Karenina. Bleak House. The Fortunate Mistress. The Scarlet Letter. These men aren’t just writing about women—they are writing from a woman’s point of view.

But in genre fiction? The vast majority of the time, you have a female writer and you get a female protagonist. Male writer? Of course, male protagonist.

But don’t all books, save for Lord of the Flies, have both genders? If you are a male writer and you include a woman, shouldn’t she be as fully formed, as fully thought-through, as your men? I’m not thinking about the bit parts, the transitional roles. I’m thinking about the major players—your hero’s wife or girlfriend or mother or co-worker. 

Sure, there are a few things a guy can’t experience quite the same way. Giving birth, for instance. That’s one. But we can read a thousand accounts of what it’s like and draw some conclusions. Can’t we? Isn’t the point to know, specifically, what your character is going through?

General doesn’t cut it.

Writers deal in specificity. At least, I think that’s where the work lies.

As writers, one of our most important jobs is to answer the question of how—how does my specific character do X or Y or Z? How does my specific character feel about doing X or Y or Z? Regardless of gender, who better to answer that question than the writer who created them?

Because neither gender has a corner on certain emotions, do they? Sure, women might be more A and men might be more B. Again, those are generalities. How does your individual character process the events being hurled her way? That’s the question.

Is this pure hubris? Am I being too, um, cocky?

I’ll let you be the judge. All I know is that it’s fun trying to get it right.

Key word: trying.