I thought I'd do the inaugural Crime Fighter Friday on my own fictional crime fighter - Agent J.C. Douglas - Jace for short. (You'll have to read the book to find out what the initials stand for.)
Jace had the typical life of any kid growing up on a farm - until, at the age of 16, her house burned down while she was reading in the barn. She lost her sister and her mom in that fire, and her father became a disconnected, bitter man. She never stopped blaming herself, just as she never got over her phobia of fire. But she turned what she perceived as her faults into an internal flame that propelled her to become a top-notch agent at the Serial Crimes Investigation Unit.
She lives on a little piece of land she owns in the Piney Woods region of Eastern Texas, where she enjoys swimming, reading, and decompressing after working long hours. Truth be told, she'd rather be working, but even a committed agent like Jace needs a place to get away.
Currently on the trail of a series of gruesome murders, she has to swallow her fear of fire to hunt down the arsonist responsible for burning men alive in their cars.
And hopefully learn to forgive herself somewhere along the way.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Wicked Wednesday - Dana Sue Gray
In my novel, Dying Embers, I follow the fictional Emma Sweet as she travels the country finding her old flames, and bringing herself what thinks of as justice - but what's really just revenge for slights both real and imagined. But at least she's got that sense of justice - albeit twisted - to back her up.
This week's Wicked Wednesday candidate only has a petulant need for things as her excuse.
Back in 1994, Dana Sue Gray decided she wanted stuff, but she didn't want to have to go through the trouble of actually working to get it. Instead, she hit on the idea that she could kill old woman and take their stuff. Or to be more exact - take their credit cards and rack up charges while she gave herself the lifestyle she wanted.
Using strangulation, beating, and knifing, she did away with at least 3 older women and attempting to strangle a fourth. That attempted murder was her undoing. Not only did the shop owner fight her off, but she got a good look at her attacker. Once her description got around, it wasn't hard to find this woman who was withdrawing large sums of money from her victims' bank accounts and spending their money like it was a windfall.
In the end, though, she got the only thing she'd every really earned - a life behind bars.
This week's Wicked Wednesday candidate only has a petulant need for things as her excuse.
Back in 1994, Dana Sue Gray decided she wanted stuff, but she didn't want to have to go through the trouble of actually working to get it. Instead, she hit on the idea that she could kill old woman and take their stuff. Or to be more exact - take their credit cards and rack up charges while she gave herself the lifestyle she wanted.
Using strangulation, beating, and knifing, she did away with at least 3 older women and attempting to strangle a fourth. That attempted murder was her undoing. Not only did the shop owner fight her off, but she got a good look at her attacker. Once her description got around, it wasn't hard to find this woman who was withdrawing large sums of money from her victims' bank accounts and spending their money like it was a windfall.
In the end, though, she got the only thing she'd every really earned - a life behind bars.
Monday, February 16, 2015
What's Next?
Dying Embers released on Friday - for Kindle and in paperback on Amazon or Createspace. Huge 'Thank You' to everyone who bought a copy. Even huger thanks to JB Lynn and Fran K who each took the time to review my book on Amazon and Goodreads. It really means a lot to me. :hugs: The paperback went live on Amazon last night, and it should populate to other retailers eventually. Hell, with something called 'Extended Distribution' it might even be available to libraries and junk. I hope you all get a chance to read it, if you're so inclined. It was tons of fun to write.
Anyway, enough about that. I spent the past week totally absorbed in DE and I want to talk about something else. Like what's next.
I know I mentioned this a week or so back. (Seems like eons ago. Time is wonky here in my world.) I do have options.
First off, I have a mystery set in a small town on the plains of eastern Colorado. Write what you know, eh? When a big-city detective finds a dead woman at his brother-in-law's funeral, he's sure it's foul play, but the local police think otherwise. The more he digs, the more 'accidental deaths' he finds and the more the locals want him to butt the hell out.
And then there's the suspense that borders on both techno and political thriller. After a senator's wife dies in an accident, the husband cries 'murder' and the case is shunted over to an agent who's fallen from grace. She's told to make it go away, except she finds the husband may be right. Especially when the coroner finds a heart attack with no underlying cause and suspects a microchip may be to blame.
Both of those are already written to THE END. They just need editing.
Of course, I could finish the half-written novel set in the Dying Embers universe - with a different agent of the Serial Crimes Investigation Unit in a different city chasing a different serial criminal. It would dovetail nicely with DE, but like I said, it's half-finished. I would still need to write the end and send it through edits before the end of March - when I've got a space set aside with my editor for my next book.
Or I could write this new book that's dancing around in the back of my head that would also be set with the S.C.I.U.
Arrgghh.
The easiest route would be the mystery, but since when have I ever done things the easy way? :shrug: In the interest of keeping myself occupied, I started entering the edits I already have on the mystery on Friday morning. It's going well, but with everything I've learned from this publication experience, I already know I'll have to start over on the edits and polish harder.
Ah, the writing life. Gotta love it.
Anyway, enough about that. I spent the past week totally absorbed in DE and I want to talk about something else. Like what's next.
I know I mentioned this a week or so back. (Seems like eons ago. Time is wonky here in my world.) I do have options.
First off, I have a mystery set in a small town on the plains of eastern Colorado. Write what you know, eh? When a big-city detective finds a dead woman at his brother-in-law's funeral, he's sure it's foul play, but the local police think otherwise. The more he digs, the more 'accidental deaths' he finds and the more the locals want him to butt the hell out.
And then there's the suspense that borders on both techno and political thriller. After a senator's wife dies in an accident, the husband cries 'murder' and the case is shunted over to an agent who's fallen from grace. She's told to make it go away, except she finds the husband may be right. Especially when the coroner finds a heart attack with no underlying cause and suspects a microchip may be to blame.
Both of those are already written to THE END. They just need editing.
Of course, I could finish the half-written novel set in the Dying Embers universe - with a different agent of the Serial Crimes Investigation Unit in a different city chasing a different serial criminal. It would dovetail nicely with DE, but like I said, it's half-finished. I would still need to write the end and send it through edits before the end of March - when I've got a space set aside with my editor for my next book.
Or I could write this new book that's dancing around in the back of my head that would also be set with the S.C.I.U.
Arrgghh.
The easiest route would be the mystery, but since when have I ever done things the easy way? :shrug: In the interest of keeping myself occupied, I started entering the edits I already have on the mystery on Friday morning. It's going well, but with everything I've learned from this publication experience, I already know I'll have to start over on the edits and polish harder.
Ah, the writing life. Gotta love it.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Why is Marketing So Hard?
It's release day and my brain really isn't in a new-post place. So I cheated and borrowed this from my post at Killer Chicks today:
Why is Marketing So Hard?
Hell, I was selling chairs to a volunteer at the thrift shop just last week. (Yeah, selling something to someone who works in the store. But hey, she was the one who told me she likes to refinish old furniture and there were these awesome chairs I thought would be perfect for her.) But I digress...
Anyway, I sell stuff. Every item out there is a product that can be sold. It's widgets all the way down. So, here I am at the release day of my very own product - Dying Embers. I know this widget better than any other widget I've ever had the opportunity to sell. I believe in this like no other. And I'm stymied at how to proceed.
I think part of the problem is in our society, it's verboten to talk yourself up. It's pushy. And lord knows, we don't want to be perceived as pushy.
Another part of the problem is it might be a widget or a product or a thingamabob, but this particular doohickey is 100% me. I could sell tools because I didn't have a vested interest in the tool itself. (The commissions, yeah, but the tool? No.) If someone didn't want to buy the tool - even after I told them all the wonders of said tool - then it was no skin off my nose. Move on to the next, and hopefully more enlightened, customer. (I really did sell the best tools.) Sure, their unwillingness to buy did reflect somewhat on my sales ability, but not on me personally. This time, if someone doesn't want to buy my book, it's a direct reflection on me. And if they bought a tool they decided they didn't like, it wasn't my problem. If they buy this book and decide they don't like it, they're talking about something that came out of me.
:shudder:
No wonder writers have such a tough time marketing their books. I mean, I have no problem selling other writers' books. (BTW, fellow Killer Chick, JB Lynn's latest book The Hitwoman's Downward Dog should be coming out soon.) I just have a problem selling my own.
So, in the interest of improving my own marketing skills for myself, go pick up a copy of my first self-published book - Dying Embers. It doesn't slice, dice or make Julienne fries. It's doesn't have shiny orange grips or added torque. It sure as hell doesn't get 34 miles to the gallon on the highway. But it should be a gripping and enjoyable read. It's cathartic as hell for anyone who's ever wanted to get back at their former boyfriends. And it goes well with a half-gallon of double-fudge-brownie ice cream.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Wicked Wednesday - The Car-B-Que Killer
Emma Sweet started out as a normal enough woman. Wife of a wealthy and influential business owner in Wisconsin, she was the envy of her friends and the locals. If you passed her on the street, you wouldn't know her as anything else. But even the most normal among us can snap. And even the most envied around us carry heartache they hide.
The difference is, most of of those people don't take our pain and turn it into a multi-state, cross-country killing spree.
Now Emma's taking her hurts - both real and imagined - and using them to get the ultimate payback. She's taking the phrase 'old flame' to the literal extreme and earning herself the name 'Car-B-Que Killer'.
She's already killed six. How many more old boyfriends will she take her revenge on? How many more bodies will she leave broiling in their cars before she's stopped?
Look for more information on the Car-B-Que Killer in the pages of my novel Dying Embers - available for pre-order now at Amazon, and available for immediate read on Friday, February 13th.
Revenge is better hot.
Monday, February 9, 2015
The Writerly Life - Release Week Edition
Since I've never done a release week before, I have no idea how other writers do it. This is where I'm at and where I expect to be throughout the week.
First things first - Dying Embers is done and ready to be uploaded to Amazon. The Kindle edition will be out on Friday if at all possible. You know, barring flood, famine, or wonky internet connection. (I joked with my MIL about that last one on the phone yesterday. :shudder:) I'm ready to start working on the print version, too. No release date on that yet because I'm totally clueless about how long that process takes. But I do have the PDF of the cover now. Yay!
Most of this week will be devoted to getting Dying Embers out there so y'all can read it. And to that end, I hope I'll be too busy to angst over it.
Oh, who am I kidding? I have angst pre-scheduled in between all my other tasks. Every time I have a free moment, I'm angsting.
I'm like trying to be all Zen. But in the words of Bush "Everything's Zen, everything's Zen... I don't think so."
But I am using a day planner for the first time in over a decade, so I won't forget all the stuff I have to do. (As long as I remember to write it down.)
At the end of this week, I will be a published author. No big plans for Friday. No champagne (because I don't drink). No big dinner at a fancy restaurant (because eating out scares me after reading the health dept report around here). Nada. And that's okay, because I don't need fireworks. What I'll need at the end of this week is a nap.
And then Saturday, I need to get back to work on something other than Dying Embers.
If you're a published writer, do you celebrate your releases? If not, how do you imagine you'd celebrate your first release?
First things first - Dying Embers is done and ready to be uploaded to Amazon. The Kindle edition will be out on Friday if at all possible. You know, barring flood, famine, or wonky internet connection. (I joked with my MIL about that last one on the phone yesterday. :shudder:) I'm ready to start working on the print version, too. No release date on that yet because I'm totally clueless about how long that process takes. But I do have the PDF of the cover now. Yay!
Most of this week will be devoted to getting Dying Embers out there so y'all can read it. And to that end, I hope I'll be too busy to angst over it.
Oh, who am I kidding? I have angst pre-scheduled in between all my other tasks. Every time I have a free moment, I'm angsting.
I'm like trying to be all Zen. But in the words of Bush "Everything's Zen, everything's Zen... I don't think so."
But I am using a day planner for the first time in over a decade, so I won't forget all the stuff I have to do. (As long as I remember to write it down.)
At the end of this week, I will be a published author. No big plans for Friday. No champagne (because I don't drink). No big dinner at a fancy restaurant (because eating out scares me after reading the health dept report around here). Nada. And that's okay, because I don't need fireworks. What I'll need at the end of this week is a nap.
And then Saturday, I need to get back to work on something other than Dying Embers.
If you're a published writer, do you celebrate your releases? If not, how do you imagine you'd celebrate your first release?
Friday, February 6, 2015
True Crime Friday - Beyond Conviction
Truth be told, I stumbled across the documentary, Beyond Conviction, the other day, but I didn't watch all of it.
Basically, it's a movie wherein victims of crimes confront the people who made them victims. The stories themselves seemed like they'd be interesting, but the commentary from 'noted psychologists' turned me off. If only the criminals could see the way victims lives were impacted, and if only the victims could see... and if only people stopped thinking of these criminals as criminals... yada, yada, yada.
Okay, so I watched the first of three such cases - which I suspect were cherry-picked to prove the documentarian's theories - was presented originally as a rapist who attacked a girl who was living in the house where he stayed while going through some personal crap. Partway into the segment, low and behold, the rapist was the victim's brother. Pure shock value presenting it that way, and I was a little pissed for the rape survivor at their tactics. And yes, in this particular instance, the only way she could heal was by confronting her brother and letting go of the anger she'd been holding for 13 years.
I skipped the next one when it turned out to be a mother whose son was killed in prison by another inmate. Yes, she was hurting, but I couldn't see how confronting the other criminal who killed her son would do anyone any good.
I didn't go back for the third instance, but according to what I could find online, it centered around a daughter seeking answers from her father - who had killed her mother.
They call this 'restorative justice'. The first and the third cases here, I could see how confronting the person who basically ruined your life could help with closure. Not so sure how that mother in the second case is ever going to find closure. But that's just me. Personally, I'd just want to be alone with the man who killed my child so I could beat him to death with a brick.
Have you ever watched Beyond Conviction? If you have, should I have stuck around through the other two cases? If you haven't, what do you think of the concept of restorative justice? Would you want to talk to the person who wronged you and get answers? Or would you rather they just rot in jail?
Basically, it's a movie wherein victims of crimes confront the people who made them victims. The stories themselves seemed like they'd be interesting, but the commentary from 'noted psychologists' turned me off. If only the criminals could see the way victims lives were impacted, and if only the victims could see... and if only people stopped thinking of these criminals as criminals... yada, yada, yada.
Okay, so I watched the first of three such cases - which I suspect were cherry-picked to prove the documentarian's theories - was presented originally as a rapist who attacked a girl who was living in the house where he stayed while going through some personal crap. Partway into the segment, low and behold, the rapist was the victim's brother. Pure shock value presenting it that way, and I was a little pissed for the rape survivor at their tactics. And yes, in this particular instance, the only way she could heal was by confronting her brother and letting go of the anger she'd been holding for 13 years.
I skipped the next one when it turned out to be a mother whose son was killed in prison by another inmate. Yes, she was hurting, but I couldn't see how confronting the other criminal who killed her son would do anyone any good.
I didn't go back for the third instance, but according to what I could find online, it centered around a daughter seeking answers from her father - who had killed her mother.
They call this 'restorative justice'. The first and the third cases here, I could see how confronting the person who basically ruined your life could help with closure. Not so sure how that mother in the second case is ever going to find closure. But that's just me. Personally, I'd just want to be alone with the man who killed my child so I could beat him to death with a brick.
Have you ever watched Beyond Conviction? If you have, should I have stuck around through the other two cases? If you haven't, what do you think of the concept of restorative justice? Would you want to talk to the person who wronged you and get answers? Or would you rather they just rot in jail?
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