A Quiet Friday Morning

Crime Scene Tape

Usually, on this blog, I write about my publishing and writing experiences. But something happened this past Friday that put our cul-de-sac in our subdivision in the local news, and not for a good reason.

I never heard the gunshot. And the presence of police cruisers and an ambulance in our cul-de-sac normally didn't raise any undue concern.

But the yellow crime scene tape promised a different story, one that would involve someone I knew.

The ambulance slipped away, sans sirens and flashing lights.

For the first time, a murder had occurred on our street. Supposedly, a young man had shot and killed his girlfriend. (I'm only saying this because although there's been an arrest, the young man has not yet gone to trial.)

My husband knew the suspect, and we both knew another man who also lived in the house where the shooting took place a few doors down from us. This is the closest I've been to knowing someone who's been directly or indirectly involved in a murder.

The police had put crime scene tape up at the end of our street. This was where the reporters had set up cameras and interviewed neighbors, including a woman who claimed the suspect had sped through the stop sign. I can believe it.

Our driveway wasn't blocked, but police had put up crime scene tape across the street close to the crime scene, using mail boxes to tie the tape around. I counted four or five police cruisers on our end of the cul-de-sac, with one cruiser at the end of our street. Occasionally, another cruiser joined the latter, effectively cutting off access to our street.

We'd experienced the same thing last summer when the SWAT team had been summoned the next street over.

Quiet neighborhood? Yeah, right. Since I've lived here, we've had a field set on fire, a break-in next door, a break-in in a local church, and a self-inflicted gun shooting. Before that? My husband told me a fire had broken out in the woods nearby, and a bullet had nearly hit his daughter during deer hunting season.

But this was the first time we'd experienced a murder.

That day was the first time I met a homicide detective working a case. We gave him some information we had, but I'll say no more here. If it helps the investigation, so much the better.

Now I know what the back interior of a CSU vehicle looks like (at least here), and I watched crime scene investigators, homicide detectives, and the deputy coroner as they worked the crime scene.

Eight hours later, they took down the yellow tape.

Crime scene investigation fascinates me, but I prefer to watch it on a station like the Justice Network. Because when it hits close to home, it has a profound effect, not only on the victim and suspect and their friends and family, but also on those who live in the area.

Before the murder, I wondered how many people even knew this street existed. Now we do, in infamy. Yes, the memory will fade as other people resume their lives. But for those of us involved in some way, however small, the memory will linger much longer.

Indie Gathering

This past weekend, I attended Indie Gathering International Film Festival in Hudson, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. I went with two author friends, Amy and Missy, and we had a table in the vendor hall, so I took copies of the Reel Dark anthology to sell. I also had rack cards of Death Sword and Exterminating Angel, my two paranormal angel suspense stories. They were the reason I was at Indie Gathering. Both short novels had received an award each.

I'll admit, this is one of the best-run festivals I've been to. All events took place in the hotel, and there was plenty of networking as well as viewing films and attending panels. I went to the short thriller-suspense films and Missy attended the panel on crowd funding. Amy had a couple of short films also screening.

Which got me thinking, could I come up with a short film for submission for next year, plus another screenplay or two? Seeing how they show micro films, maybe it's a possibility that I can enter a project I'm currently playing around with.

Anyway, I have one more con to attend this year in Louisville, Kentucky: Imaginarium. It's a multi-genre writers' conference, with panels, a vendor hall, and a film festival, plus awards banquet.  I'll be sharing a table with Amy and Missy in the vendor hall, which is free to the public this year. Looking forward to meeting new people and seeing old friends again.

Bits and Pieces: A Summary of My Week

It's my birthday today and I'd hoped to hear some news on a submission, but no luck. (The site says X weeks and it's been the requisite number of weeks, hence my reason for being twitchy.)

However, another short story publication should be out soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to post something next week.

Ah, the waiting game. Authors know it well. So do actors, waiting to hear back on auditions. Best remedy is to keep busy. That's not too difficult. But like I said, it gets harder when the time has past and nothing is said. I hate to be left wondering.  

On a totally separate note, I visited a bookstore I hadn't seen in almost 20 years: Joseph-Beth in Lexington, Kentucky. I attended my first meeting of the Kentucky Indie Writers and stopped at J-B on the way home. Besides the bookstore, I also want to visit the Kentucky Horse Park again. I've always loved horses and Kentucky has a connection with horses that runs deep. So it wouldn't surprise me if I found myself writing a story about them.

Tomorrow it's back to work. Have to get ready for Fandom Fest next month. But tonight, I'm going to relax and celebrate the final hours of my birthday watching classic film noir.    

Happy Writing!

Southern Kentucky Book Fest Writers Conference

This past Saturday (April 20), I drove to Bowling Green, Kentucky, for the Southern Kentucky Book Festival Writers Conference. Two reasons I enjoy this conference: 1) It’s easy to get to and 2) It’s free.

Don’t let “free” put you off. This is my third time attending and each time the workshops have been informative and well-presented.

There are four sessions from 9 AM to 3:30 PM. (Let’s just say having Bowling Green be on CST is an added bonus.) This year I attended three: “The Moral Premise” (Patti Lacy), “Taming the Shaggy Beast: Letting Your Novel Write Itself” (Lee Martin), and “Changing Fact into Fiction” (David Bell).

“The Moral Premise”, based on Stanley D. Williams’s book, focuses on the conflict of values. Using The Help as an example, Patti Lacy discussed how the characters were in conflict not only with one another but also with themselves, depending on their core values.

She handed out bookmarks with a Moral Premise story check list that I plan to utilize in hopes of making my writing stronger.

Lee Martin’s workshop, “Taming the Shaggy Beast”, gave five tips then expanded on them. According to Lee, a story needs interesting characters, a sense of mystery, action, causality, and details. He added another word: curiosity. Writers need to be curious about what happens next.    

He also had us do a character sketch, this time adding a twist. As Martin put it, “Characters become unforgettable when they act out of character.” My character was a flamboyant professor who spent his evenings meditating. Not perfect, considering I had to write quickly. But it did plant the seeds of a story in my mind.

In “Changing Fact into Fiction” David Bell talked about how our lives are research projects and we only need be observant of our surroundings to find story ideas. Albert Camus did the same in his Notebooks, jotting notes, snatches of conversations, and observations of people around him. Writers are observers and even if we don’t know the circumstances of particular situations, we can make up our own.

I also got to spend time with Fiona, an editor for a digital publisher. We had lunch and talked about the state of publishing, editing, the viability of the short story, and writing in general.  

Overall, I had a great time in Bowling Green. Can’t wait for next April.

A Tale of Two Vampires

It's official! I finished The Ripper's Daughter, my vampire Victorian paranormal mystery for National Novel Writing Month on November 20 and verified it November 25.

I wanted to write about vampires, but I also wanted my story to be different. So I decided to make the relationship between Nathan and Stephen a symbiotic one. Stephen needed Nathan to drink his blood and Nathan had someone he could feed from without endangering other people's lives. Their relationship goes much farther, however, a sexual one they need to keep hidden from society. Not only that, but also continuing the charade of Stephen, Nathan's master, playing the part of his manservant.

Inspector Lewis

What really inspired me to write this story, though, was Inspector Lewis. The show aired on Masterpiece Mystery while I was plotting my NaNo WIP. Not that the two have anything in common except I knew, after watching Inspector Lewis, I wanted Nathan to be a former Detective Inspector.

Who would I pit Nathan against? Then it came to me. Who is the most infamous murderer in Victorian history? Jack the Ripper. (Okay, there are others, but I'm going with the most well-known.) And what if Jack the Ripper weren't human? What if he were a werewolf, and only Nathan knew this? So the DI risked his life and all he had to become a vampire and stop the Ripper? But what if he failed?

I explore this throughout the story. The guilt Nathan feels at failing to catch the Ripper and the determination to stop him when he finds the Ripper has come to Louisville, Nathan's new home. Nathan now owns a saloon called The Cloak and Dagger. I wanted a place where he could get information but not resort to making him work as a police officer or as a reporter. Besides, both those jobs would require working in daylight, something Nathan can no longer do. He can go out in overcast weather but direct sunlight will cause considerable damage, even death. And if Nathan dies, so does Stephen and vice versa.

Although this is a first draft, I thought I'd share a short excerpt.Remember, this is from a draft and is not intended to be considered final.

Please enjoy!

Excerpt:

I caught Stephen biting his lower lip, a worried expression on his face. Concern? He needn’t worry. After all, he turned me, knowing a vampire’s strengths and weaknesses. He knew I wouldn’t take foolish risks.

No, it was something else. Stephen hadn’t eaten or drunk much the last couple of days and seemed a bit sluggish and redder in the face, as if stricken with high blood pressure.

Something primal stirred in me. A faint coppery smell triggered an ache in my fangs which dropped slightly.

Our eyes met, Stephen’s blue ones darkening. He rose, pulling the brocade curtains shut against the moonlight and any passersby. We couldn’t risk complacency. To do so could put our lives in danger.

He crossed the room and sat on the sofa next to me. The light from the lamp glinted on his hair, throwing shadows across his face, the bridge of his aquiline nose. But my attention was drawn to his carotid artery. I licked  my lips, desire pooling in my body, heightened by his nearness and the smell of blood. As my fangs continued to drop, my need grew and I shifted impatiently, eager to drink.

Stephen leaned his head back. I unbuttoned his shirt collar, pushing it aside to reveal pale flesh at the juncture of neck and shoulder. Leaning in, I breathed in the scent of soap and water, a clean smell.

He made no sound as I licked the skin, readying it. I looked down to see Stephen clench his fists and I wrapped my fingers around his wrist. The gesture served two purposes, to comfort him and to anchor myself against the ecstasy of drinking his blood.

Stephen closed his eyes. My breathing quickened, my heartbeat increased as adrenaline pumped through my bloodstream. In contrast, Stephen’s breathing and heart rate slowed as his heart struggled to pump the excess blood circulating through him.

Again, I marked the spot with a gentle swipe of my tongue, tasting salt. The ache in my fangs intensified and I became heady with passion, both for his blood and his body, which needed to be satisfied in that order.

I bit, incisors pricking his skin. A thin line of blood trickled free and I lapped at it. Within seconds I fed, my mind focused on Stephen and the pleasure this act gave both of us.

For him, it was relief. For me, it became an almost orgiastic experience.

His hand tightened on my leg, fingers pressing into my kneecap as I continued to drink. At first I worried I hurt him. But he assured me the sensation was one of pleasure-pain and far more preferable to the discomfort he felt when his body became gorged with too much blood.

     

Another Vampire Story For NaNoWriMo

When I participated in my first National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge, I wrote a vampire story set partially during the French Revolution. Around that time, the Anita Blake novels and Anne Rice's vampire stories were quite popular, although I'd never read them.

Instead, I was influenced by anime and manga, particularly Vampire Princess Miyu and Hellsing Ultimate. I'd read Bram Stoker's Dracula, had seen numerous films based on it. But vampire lore has existed in other countries and cultures long before Stoker penned his horror masterpiece. I knew that if I wrote another vampire story, I'd want it to be different.

One of my favorite anime is the Mermaid Saga series by Rumiko Takahashi of Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha fame. Yuta is a young-looking sailor who ate mermaid flesh 500 years ago. According to the legend, those who eat mermaid flesh either become immortal, die instantly, or mutate into horrible immortal monsters known as "lost souls."

When I decided to write this current vampire story, I wanted to get away from the blood sucker who stalks his victims. Nathaniel James didn't become a vampire because he wanted to subsist on blood. He wanted to become powerful enough to stop Jack the Ripper, a man who could shapeshift into a werewolf at will. But to become a vampire, Nathan had to find someone willing to turn him. And that was Stephen, descendent of a long line of vampire masters. People like Stephen have a dilemma. They produce too much blood and need someone to drink from them. But the people they turn die instantly from blood poisoning more often than not. If a vampire master can't find an assistant, the only way to get rid of the excess blood is through blood letting, such as cutting. But this practice is frowned upon as being barbaric. 

Stephen is Nathan's vampire master and also his manservant and lover.Not only do the men have to keep their vampirism secret but also their relationship. And that's not easy when a young prostitute, Charlotte, has her eyes on Nathan, a former Detective Inspector and someone she thinks is perfect to help her catch the Ripper. But Nathan has his own reasons for seeing the Ripper killed. 

Here are a few videos that influenced the story.

Mermaid Forest - Lost Souls

(Unfortunately, I can't embed this video, but here's the link:)

http://youtu.be/taW-njNouvk

  

Putting the "Fan" in Fandom Fest

The Plot Bunny Cometh

This past weekend, two types of fans descended on the sci-fi/fantasy/horror con known as Fandom Fest. The first consisted of authors, readers, editors and publishers devoted to speculative fiction. The other kind blew air on perspiring con attendees. Yes, folks, when other bloggers mention the unbearable heat, they speak the truth.

Nevertheless, this con is particularly special because not only did I participate in an Author Reading, I also sat on my first panel: “Urban Fantasy – Can You Define It?” Other authors on the panel included Michael Williams, Denise Verrico, Missa Dixon, and Julie Kagawa. Yes, folks, I sat next to a RITA winner. For those of you who don’t know, Julie Kagawa won the 2011 RITA for best young adult romance with her novel, The Iron King.

The problem with panels, of course, is not being able to attend them all. Fandom Fest offered a diverse selection, ranging from “Academic Credibility for Speculative Fiction” to “Cover Art – A Book is Judged By Its Cover” to “The Paranormal in Fiction.” And no, I can’t tell you my favorite panel. I enjoyed them all.

Also enjoyed hanging out with three other members of Savvy Authors: Amy McCorkle, Marian Allen and Fiona Young-Brown. Except for Amy, I hadn’t met Marian or Fiona in person until then, even though they live in the region.

Of course, cons are for networking. Not only did I collect a number of business cards and bookmarks, I also chatted with authors and publishers, some who I’ve met before at previous cons. Gwen Mayo, a Kentucky mystery writer, gave me some good advice about noting information on the back of someone’s business card for future reference. And Missa Dixon gave me tips on how to prepare for a panel. I’m happy to say my first time went pretty well. Not perfect but better than I expected.    

Credit also goes to Gwen and Sarah Glenn of the local chapter of Sisters in Crime for telling me about Fandom Fest and encouraging me to contact Stephen Zimmer, the literary track director. And thanks to Stephen for letting me play in his sandbox.  

Fandom Fest Literary Track: http://fandomfest.squarespace.com/literary-track/

Fandom Fest Literary Guests: http://fandomfest.squarespace.com/literary-guests/

Fandom Fest Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fandom-Fest/109559779115312

Don't Forget to Turn Out the Lights and Lock the Door Behind You

The Bookstore officially closed its doors this past weekend, ending a nearly four-decade existence. While one could blame the plethora of e-readers and the economy, apparently another contributing factor was the transition of the Armor Library from Fort Knox to Fort Benning.

Those who know me will tell you I'm not a sentimental person (cats excluded). But as I walked those aisles for the last time, perusing the shelves and noting titles for future reference, a pall hung over the store. I had to smile when I saw a display of Yasmine Galenorn's books which were gone a few minutes later. "Happy reading," Only two days earlier my husband had bought me Teeth (ed. Ellen Datlow), Camera Obscura (Lavie Tidhar), A Madness of Angels and the Midnight Mayor (Kate Griffin), and an angel statue. Now I had returned to pick up a copy of one of Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series. I'd hoped to buy The Iron King but Jerry told me that was sold out, so I bought The Iron Daughter. (On a side note, I will kick myself for missing Julie's signing there back in April.) Along with Julie's YA fantasy, I bought Where Angels Fear to Tread by (Thomas Sniegoski) and Demons are a Girl's Best Friend (Linda Wisdom).

Do I wish I could have afforded more books? Hell, yeah. Although I'm pretty sure my husband would have something to say about all the books piled against the walls. He claims I have too many books and I rejoin that I'm a writer and one can never have too many books. (Disclaimer: The DH isn't a bibliophobe. He likes to read non-fiction. And no, I don't know if "bibliophobe" is a word or not, but if it isn't, it is now.) :-)

But there it is. Farewell, Jerry, and thanks for all those years of supporting local writers. I don't know whether or not Jerry will open a used bookstore, but my fingers are crossed. While I regret I only knew about The Bookstore a year or so, I'm glad I got the chance to not only buy books from an independent bookseller but to attend two signings by JR Ward.

I'm taking some great memories with me.

Waiting for the Sequel

Statue of an angel from The Bookstore

No, this isn’t a post on writing. Instead it’s a sort of farewell to a small bookstore in Radcliff, Kentucky called The Bookstore.

I learned about The Bookstore last year while at Fort Knox. JR Ward was scheduled to sign Lover Mine. My first thought? Awesome! My second thought? Why hadn’t I heard of this place?

The Bookstore is set in a small unassuming building on Lincoln Trail off Dixie Highway. Its owner, Jerry, not only supports local authors, he doesn’t look down at those of us who read and write genre fiction. (Trust me, I’ve seen bookstore owners eschew commercial fiction, considering it beneath its literary cousin.)

Sadly, though, this particular story is coming to the proverbial end. The Bookstore is closing but not completely. According to a Facebook post, Jerry plans to continue selling used books. So perhaps it’s not a closing as much as a restructuring.

His decision, from what I’ve heard, was partly affected by digital sales impacting print sales. This doesn’t surprise me, considering the Borders debacle.

I’m only sorry I hadn’t heard about The Bookstore before. Thank you, Jerry, for supporting authors and readers.    

By the way, did I mention he also sells awesome angels, dragons, and faeries?

http://www.radcliffbookstore.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bookstore/123297824422#!/notes/the-bookstore/all-great-and-truly-exceptional-things-must-come-to-an-end/199777240067429