But back to “The Unusuals.” I liked the quirky cast and the weirdest of the entire squad. They actually solved a few crimes (the evil cat-napper for one) and the show set us up for future surprises. I enjoyed Amber Tamlblin as the newest homicide detective who has actually been promoted to the squad as a spy. Her family is super rich and she tries constantly to hide that fact. She got the job because as the captain told her “you’ve got money, you can’t be corrupted.” And he tells her – everyone has secrets. Hmmm. 

I loved the detective (Michael from LOST) who wears his Kevlar vest 24/7 because most of the men in his family died at 48 and…he just turned 48. His partner, on the other hand, has been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor and he seems to be invincible at this point in time.  I can’t wait for Wednesday to see what happens next.

I’ve been a bit lax in writing here mainly because I have three manuscripts in varying stages of completion and have been working on them. Hey, I’ve got hungry dogs to feed you know! I’m also chef cook and bottle washer, cleaning lady, dog walker and have to give some time to my precious husband, Dennis.

We had a minor trauma a couple weeks ago. Duke the rescue dog had to have a tooth pulled! Poor guy fractured his front tooth somehow, so off to the vet’s we went. Now, we COULD have had a root canal and crown put on, but…we had the vet pull that sucker. Duke didn’t care. He was back to his bouncy, loving self within a day. We were delighted to find he gained 10 pounds in the two months hes’ been with us. He’s still pretty skinny at 87 pounds, so you can imagine what he looked like when we rescued him!

Till next time….

Lyle writes in a style that is easy for anyone to understand and not too technical. Who else but a mystery writer or reader would enjoy reading the steps in doing an autopsy? You can in this book, Chapter 3, The Autopsy: A look Inside the Body. Want information on trace evidence? Chapter 15: Trace Evidence: Sweating the Small Stuff. I especially liked the blue-back grounded side bars citing real cases and telling how forensics helped solve the crime and convict the bad guys.

Lyle writes in a style that is easy to read and not too technical  Besides being a working doctor, he has published mysteries, and worked as a consultant to several television crime shows including Law & Order, CSI:Miami, Women’s Murder Club and Homicide,

If you write mysteries this is the one reference tool you must have on your shelf.

I’m a writer, so I record how I feel in weather like this. I’m working on a book that takes place in Oklahoma, so this weather is perfect for using my senses. I woke in the night to a burning sensation in my throat. If felt like I’d swallowed sand. My skin is dry and tight from too many showers and not enough moisture in the air. Then my skin becomes sticky from slathering lotion on my body and I jump in the shower and start the process all over again. My eyes burn, blur and water. The hot dry air blows junk my orbs irritating them. My nose runs constantly. I look like a coke addict. It’s kind of hard to write notes in my little book when I can’t see, but I try.

Did you go to the beach this weekend? How does that blazing hot sand feel on your winter-soft feet? Is the ocean warm yet? Or does it snatch the breath out of your chest when you dive in because it’s so frigid. Is your hair a tangled mess caked with salt from the ocean? Can you feel it bleaching while your ends split? Can you feel the burn of the blistering sun on your poor proboscis? Write it all down. You may never use any of these feelings, but if you need them some day you’ll have them recorded.

How about a swimming pool? Are you lucky enough to have one in the back yard? I lust after a pool when the weather is this hot. Then I sober up and remember what a huge pain in the butt a pool can be. Yes, it’s a lot of work and … I have two labs. If I had a pool, my house would always smell of Eau de dog – not nice.

It’s 10:00 A.M. and 97 degrees outside so I turned on the air-conditioner. That’s how I beat the summer heat. I just hope I won’t faint when the electric bill arrives.

When people still protest that they could never write a novel, I ask them if they can write one page a day, 250 words. Almost everyone says, that yes, they can do that. Well, 250 words a day for a year is a novel. Of course the novel won’t be publishable, you’ll still have to do rewrites, probably several. But the main thing is to get those words on paper. You get an idea, maybe noodle around with a character study, maybe do a rough outline, but you don’t have to. You can sit right down at the computer or take pen and paper in hand and just write. There is no right or wrong way. How long does it take to write 250 words? Probably 10 minutes maybe 20. Who doesn’t have 20 minutes to spare everyday? And I’ll bet you a chocolate-covered donut that soon you’ll be writing more than a page a day. My goal is 500 words a day, two pages. Sometimes I only write a few paragraphs, but often I will write four or five or six pages. Once I start writing, I enjoy it so much I keep going. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss your goal. The main thing is to have one.

If you’d like some tips and ideas on writing a mystery novel, go to www.silveradopublishing.com and sign up for my free writing course. That’s right, FREE as in no money! All I ask is that you come back here when you’re finished and leave me a comment if you enjoyed the course or how I might improve it.

Happy writing

You see them advertised all the time, writing conferences in your particular area of interest, mystery, romance or Sci-Fi. Some are small and regional with room for 40 or 50 people. Some like RWA National for romance or the Bouchercon and Left Coast Crime for mystery lovers are large national conventions that draw hundreds or even thousands of attendees. The programs consist of authors who have published in your genre and speak on their writing experiences, workshops for writing techniques but the real appeal of a conference is the editors and agents who attend. Conferences are the best way to meet editors and agents and get your work in front of them.

Conferences usually charge extra for you to have an agent/editor appointment and the money is well worth it. If you send your manuscript over the transom to an agent, it may never get read by the agent. Most agents have first readers who will look at your manuscript and say yea or nay. But if you can get an appointment with an agent or editor, you have the opportunity to pitch your book, face to face. This will also give you the opportunity – if you’re a fast talker – to let the person know you are not only an author, but a public speaker and have ideas to promote the books once it’s published and oh, by the way, this work is just the first in a series. With the state the publishing business is in today, agents and editors are not looking for a person to write one book. They want writers who can deliver several books, either stand-alone or series. As with any interview, do your best to look and act professionally.

This is your Career

This is your writing career we’re talking about. Dress as if you were going on a job interview, because you are. When you’ve finished speaking with an agent, thank them for their time. Most agents will ask you to send the first 50 pages of your manuscript with a synopsis. The minute you get home, send the agent what she’s asked for and remind her gently where you met. On the outside of your manila envelope, write “Requested Materials” so you actually get to the agents desk.Now all you have to do is sit back, with fingers crossed and wait.

While you’re at the convention be sure to take full advantage of not only the classes available, but the social mixers too. That’s a good place to meet agents and editors in a casual atmosphere where you can just smooze with them. I attended a small conference recently and had an agent appointment, but I also managed to talk to and get the business cards of two other agents and an editor. Be sure to use good sense and use good manners because the publishing world is a small one and you do not want to get a bad reputation. Editors move from house to house and they all know one another, so be on your best behavior but have fun. You never know, this might be the start of your writing career.

Dialog tags, ah the conundrum. For some reason, dialog tags are hard for a lot of beginning writers to understand. Why can’t you say, “I hate you,” Sue said, fiercely. Well, you can but that example uses an adverb to modify a verb. Remember? You want to use strong verbs, always. And the fewer the adverbs the better. Wouldn’t it be better and more importantly SHOW better to say, Sue spoke through gritted teeth, her face turned the color of rip strawberries. “I hate you.” You know Sue is not happy and you’ve conveyed who spoke without using a tag. But if you must use a tag, said, asked and replied are all you need. Don’t believe me? Read some Hemingway. Basically he only used said. He also rarely if ever used adverbs. Said is invisible, it disappears, you don’t really see it when you read but you know who’s talking.

So why, please tell me why do I still read, “I hate you, Sue gasped.” Try that out loud, please. Can’t do it? Neither should Sue. Yet I see adverbs modifying said all the time in published books by well-known authors! What’s a beginner to do? Write tags correctly and you’ll stand out in the slush pile. Here’s a good exercise to help you do it right. Take a book you own, maybe a paperback – I still have trouble writing in books, and go through it checking for all the dialogue tags where the author uses a modifier with said. On a separate piece of paper, see if you can’t rewrite the weak ones to make them stronger and better.

For instance instead of : “I’m sorry he hurt you,” Sue said kindly. How about, Sue wiped a salty tear trailing down the little boy’s face then hugged him close. “I’m sorry he hurt you,” she said. Better? I think so because you are showing that Sue is kind. How about -”NO,” he said authoritatively (yeah I just read that one!). Instead try – He stiffened his back, clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes. “NO.” the single word shot out of his mouth.

Well I could go on all day but I think I’ll go turn on the A/C and read a book. It’s about 90 degrees here and toooooo hot to think.

Let’s face it, point of view is hard for some beginning writers. They get tripped up, jump from Sally’s POV to Bob’s on the same page – sometimes in the same paragraph! Don’t do that. In any book, but especially in a mystery, the author is trying to confuse his reader to make solving the murder, robbery, kidnapping – or maybe all three, difficult to solve. You don’t want to make the text more difficult by switching POV incorrectly. So what’s the best way to write POV?

Here’s a tip – pretend that you are a cameraman, filming this mystery. Your camera can only see and hear what the character sees and hears. If you want to bring another actor on stage, the camera has to shift and follow that actor. You can shift by changing to a new chapter or perhaps by leaving a double space so the reader knows you’re shifting.

If you are at all concerned that you’ve shifted POV, read your manuscript out loud Better still, read it into a tape recorder. That way you can check to make sure your dialogue flows well and makes sense, too. Hope this helps.

This is a short blog, but I’ve been busy! My husband and I rescued a new companion from Lab Rescue. Duke is a three-year-old yellow lab and an absolute love muffin. It’s hard to think of murder, stalking and bloody crime scenes when a big dog is slobbering on you and demanding kisses and love!

Remember to comment and ask questions! I learn from these blogs, too.

We all know what they are: sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing. Most writers us sight and hearing primarily and sometimes touch. Your work will be richer if you can use smells and tastes, too. We ’see’ a lot in books. Beautiful women, tall buildings, the ocean at dawn, but how many writers tell me that the beautiful woman’s clothes smelled like she just took them out of the dryer? Maybe she smells of some exotic and expensive perfume. Now you’ve described two very different women by their scent. When your hero touches her elbow does he feel the nubby fabric of her suit? How about the roughness of her working-class elbows? we know immediately that she’s not only that she might be tight on funds, but also that she has more important things to do with her money than to worry about her elbows.

How about when a woman rushes to the train station to meet her long-lost lover. They kiss and she tastes coffee, or bourbon or peppermint, or God forbid garlic. How is she going to react? It makes a difference. Perhaps he smells of cordite! Or something darker, brassier, that coppery smell of dried blood.

It’s fun to come up with unusual ways to describe the five senses. Instead of saying, “Tom Barton had the sprinkler going, watering his lawn.” we say, “I heard the kissing sound of a sprinkler.” Can you hear it? How about this one, “His words came out low and rough, like pebbles from a rusty tin can.” Want to show how scared a young boy is? “Freckles stood out on his face like chunks of coal on a mound of snow.” Or “The night was dark and beautiful, like diamonds on black velvet.” Yes, those last two are from my books – and I must say I rather like them.

It’s a mystery to me why more writers don’t use all five senses.

Be especially wary of groups that are harsh in their judgment. I’ve heard of more than one writer who gave up because of the group’s cruel criticism and stopped writing. That’s sad. So if you find yourself in a group that’s not working for some reason, quit! Don’t worry about hurt feelings. This is your career we’re talking about! Find another group or start your own, but for heaven’s sake, don’t stop writing. One thing that has always puzzled me – and maybe someone out there in cyber-land can help. Why don’t men join critique group????? I’d really like to know!