My Weblog

Thank you, Sally

by Dana

Many of you may have heard the sad news that Sally Fellows—reader, reviewer, and friend to the mystery community--passed away earlier this week, peacefully, in her sleep.  Other folks (like Laura Lippman and Janet Rudolph) have shared their memories of Sally, and you can find an obituary here.  These thoughts below are some of the ways I'll remember Sally.

She could assemble a kick-ass panel and helped run an awesome convention. If Sally was moderating, you could expect interesting, challenging questions from her. She made you want to bring your best game. Mayhem in the Midlands owed much of its success to Sally's hard work. My first time there, she asked me what I thought.  I told her honestly, it was one of the best times I'd ever had. Small enough to relax and get to know folks across many sub-genres, I think Mayhem was where I truly first came out of my shell in the mystery world.

(An aside: Part of this process involved an unknown assailant (not a Mayhem attendee) dumping a glass  of ice water on my head from an upper floor window. One cannot stay en-shelled with ice water dripping over one. Much more of my de-shellment was thanks to the fabulous people who were there, helped mop me up, and expressed appreciation that I knew so many bad words. They have been firm friend ever since.)

Sally was a terrific reviewer.  I was thrilled when she liked my books or short stories (who doesn't love that?), and while she'd not hesitate to tell you what she thought didn't work, you knew her criticism would never be mean-spirited. It would be rooted in careful consideration and if you paid attention, you could learn something. 

Sally had high expectations and you knew it if she were let down—woe betide the hotel restaurant that kept her waiting during a convention! But she kept herself to those same high standards, and she would not stint in her praise if she liked something or if someone had done a great job. Sally made a point of letting whoever was in charge she'd had a good experience. 

I loved seeing Sally talk about her dogs. In the years that I knew her, she always had a small dog, and would light up when relating Trixie or Luke's latest trick or game. That happiness was a great thing to see.

Sally wasn't usually into paranormal books, but eventually, via friends, she got hooked on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and more of the Jossverse. She could go several rounds of “Spike vs. Angel” with any of us, preferably over a glass of wine (red! preferably a Shiraz or Cab; I was always happy when Sally enjoyed a wine I'd suggested).

I'm going to miss Sally at the upcoming Bouchercon (we all are!), and every other convention to come, but I'm really grateful to have known her.  I learned something every time we spoke. Thank you so much, Sally, for everything!

What are your best memories of Sally Fellows?

Love Me, Hate Me

By Sharon Potts

The first time I remember feeling it was when I was five years old.  I had danced in a ballet recital. The curtain went down, then came up to thundering applause.  All we little girls in our pink tutus hurried to the edge of the stage.  Parents and other people in the audience handed up beautifully wrapped presents, bouquets of flowers. My heart pounded with anticipation. I reached out for a box with a tangle of pink ribbons, but it was for another girl. I lunged for a bouquet of red roses. Not mine.

Tears welled up in my eyes. Didn’t they love me?

And then, as though by magic, I found myself holding a single white rose.

I don’t believe I’m that different from other people. I crave approval.  I want to be liked.  Loved is even better.  Unfortunately, my early careers weren’t the kinds that garnered many oooohs and ahhhhs. Think about it, when was the last time you hugged your accountant? But then twelve years ago, after selling the recruitment firm I’d owned, I began writing novels — the career of my heart. A career I hoped would bring me love and approval. 

Then the reviews came.

Yeah, yeah.  I know—authors are not supposed to read reviews of their books.  But tell the truth, you writers out there—don’t you Google yourself half a dozen times a day when you have a new book out?  And when someone, anyone, doesn’t adore your book, it hurts, doesn’t it?

The very first review I got for my debut suspense novel, IN THEIR BLOOD, hit me like a cold, stinky rag.

The liberal use of bad language and the "f" bomb were used so often that I wondered if the author was getting a bonus for every one she used.

A bonus? Really? So I counted "f" bombs.  I wouldn’t have made very much money and only the bad guys used bad language.

The reviewer continued:

The basic mystery was fair, but it was hidden so deep beneath uninspiring characters and cliché plot devices by the end I really didn’t care about the "whodunit."

Uninspiring characters.  Cliché plot devices.

Ouch. Ouch.

Remember, folks.  This was my very FIRST review of my very first published novel.  It had taken me eight years to get to this point and I had rewritten IN THEIR BLOOD eight times before it was accepted by a publisher. 

Several other reviews followed.  These new ones were positive.  But I hardly noticed.

Uninspiring characters.  Cliché plot devices.

That’s all I could focus on.

Then the review from Publishers Weekly came out.  A starred review!

I felt vindicated.  I started writing again.

For my second thriller, SOMEONE’S WATCHING, I was better prepared for the negative and the positive, but I still braced myself for the reviews.  I had chosen to take risks that might offend some readers, but it was more important to me to be true to my story than to try to please everyone. SOMEONE’S WATCHING did well.  Lots of positive reviews.  No hate mail.

I should have left things as they were. 

But a year and a half ago, inspired by old scrapbooks I’d found of my mother-in-law’s movie career in 1930s Berlin, I got a fresh idea.  My mother-in-law, whose stage name was Susi Lanner, had been a fairly prominent actress featured in over a dozen films. I was intrigued by a cigarette card (think trading card) that I found of her with a ruffled bonnet perched jauntily in her curls, a flirtatious smile on her lips.  And I thought about what it must have been like for her to have been an actress in Berlin at a time in history that was becoming increasingly dark and threatening.  The people she may have met.  The undercurrent of fear. The pressure to do or say the right things … or else.

And I thought, what if?   What if there had been another beautiful, struggling actress in Berlin at that time? And what if this other actress became involved with the wrong people and did things that would haunt her and her descendants throughout their lives? And so from an old cigarette trading card, THE DEVIL’S MADONNA was born.

The book I wanted to write explored some pretty chilling propositions. Possibilities that I recognized could make readers squirm in discomfort. But I felt the questions that arose were important ones. Can the innocent be guilty?  The guilty innocent? Should the sins of the fathers be visited upon their children?  (I believe the Bible took this one on, too.) At what point do we forgive? And who should be forgiven?

Edgy. Uncomfortable. Controversial. I did not want to write a pat, reassuring ending.  I wanted to make readers think.  To feel. To really consider.  But what if in doing so, readers hated my book? Or me? 

Should I have wrapped things up nicely?  I couldn’t. I felt it wouldn’t be honest.  My publisher agreed.  They were among the first to love the book.  And so on September 4, 2012, THE DEVIL’S MADONNA was officially released.

Early reviews are in. Some hurt.  I believe those reviewers misunderstood the book. Other reviewers love it.  Think it’s the best book I’ve written. I’m deeply grateful to them. 

Now the book is out there.  It’s up to the readers. And once again I feel as though I’m a five-year-old ballet dancer standing at the edge of the stage hoping someone will throw me a bouquet of flowers.

But a single white rose would do very nicely.

 

 

Sharon Potts is the critically acclaimed author of three thrillers about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.  Sharon has worked as a CPA and business executive and is vice president of the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America. Her novels include the award-winning IN THEIR BLOOD and SOMEONE’S WATCHING. In her latest thriller, THE DEVIL’S MADONNA, a young pregnant woman, threatened by a stalker, discovers secrets about her grandmother’s life in 1930s Berlin that will have devastating consequences for her marriage, her unborn child, and perhaps even the world.

Who Is THE OTHER WOMAN?

SO exciting! THE OTHER WOMAN launches today! It’s the first in my new series, in hardcover from Forge—and I am thrilled with the response. Oline Cogdill called it a“... highly entertaining hardcover debut.  Ryan combines both a timely tale and a multi-layered plot with gripping suspense.  Ryan uses her trademark effortlessly wry touch...a well-designed, brisk plot that is high on restraint and without gratuitous violence."

And it has a starred review from Library Journal:“Readers who crave mystery and political intrigue will be mesmerized by this…” and a starred review from Booklist! (See below for the rave.)

 One of the marvelous things about having so many pals in writing world is that everyone is interested in how everyone else works—how we think and how we make decisions and yes, even where ideas come from. I’ve answered a lot of new and insightful questions over the past week—and they’ve really made me think! And at the end of today’s post—THE OTHER WOMAN video. And a very very easy contest!

 ***From The Paper Store in Beverly, where I’m meeting readers on September 7: http://www.thepaperstore.com/index.php?src=news&srctype=detail&category=Special%20Events&refno=1162

 Tell us about THE OTHER WOMAN!

 I love that Julia Spencer-Fleming called it The Candidate meets Basic Instinct. I’ve called it The Good Wife meets Law & Order. A Booklist starred review (!) calls it “The perfect thriller for the election season.” It’s a fast-paced page-turner about a reporter on the trail of a candidate’s secret mistress. Who is the other woman? And if a candidate is having an affair—should the reporter make that public?  And its the first in a new series, so readers are starting at the beginning. Fans of Lisa Scottoline and Harlan Coben will love it, I hope!

 ***From Edith Maxwell, who (as Tace Baker) is author of the brand new SPEAKING OF MURDER http://www.tacebaker.com 

 What’s new and different in this book from your previous publications (which are many!)?

 Yes, THE OTHER WOMAN is very different! When I got the idea for the story, I realized it was too big and juicy and complicated to be in first person present tense. My thought was—there are too many elements that need to be going on at the same time. And the main characters, Jane Ryland and Jake Brogan, each needed their own point of view. That allowed me to reveal, separately, what each person knows and what they believe to be true—and also allows me to let the reader know thing that the character doesn’t. It seemed so ripe for dramatic irony—and it was an amazing and rewarding challenge to write it. Incredibly fun.

 And the TIME books are funny, THE OTHER WOMAN really isn’t. But Oline Cogdill’s rave review, commented on my “effortlessly wry humor”–so I guess it’s not all drama and suspense!

***From Linda Rodriguez, http://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com/p/about.html  Author of EVERY LAST SECRET:

Who were your literary influences growing up? Are there any authors (living or dead) that you would name as influences?  

 Growing up? After I finished all those little blue biographies (Dorothea Dix--Girl of the Streets, Mark Twain--Boy of the Mississippi) I read all the horse books, Black Beauty and King of the Wind and Misty of Chincoteague. Then the magic books, E. Nesbit and Edward Eager and Jane Langton. Of course, Nancy Drew and Donna Parker and Vicki Barr, girl stewardess.  (Remember?)

 All the Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories. When our library had a who-can-read-the-most-books contest, you know me. I was in it to win it.  Then one day I sneaked MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR from my parent’s shelves, and then TEN NORTH FREDERICK, and then—FAILSAFE. Whoa. Thrillers! Then ALAS BABYLON.  ON THE BEACH. SEVEN DAYS IN MAY. And my life was never the same.

 Influences now?  I’m a huge fan of Tom Wolfe, from The Right Stuff to Bonfire of the Vanities. I adore Stephen King, and consider The Stand as a life-changing book for me. Edith Wharton’s  Custom of the Country and House of Mirth.  Dennis Lehane. Lisa Scottoline.  Tess Gerritsen. Harlan Coben.

 ****From Crime Fiction Examiner Terry Ambrose, http://terryambrose.com/ author of PHOTO FINISH

 Some authors like to make an argument or address an issue when they write. Is there an issue that you're addressing with THE OTHER WOMAN? If so, what is it?

 Well. That’s interesting. You know, there is an “issue”—but it’s not what you might expect. It’s consequences. How everything we do, even if we think we’re doing a good thing or the right thing or an important thing—has consequences. And some of those turn out to be consequences we never could have predicted.  People talk about “doing he right thing for the wrong reason”—or the concept of “unintended consequences.” I wanted to let people think about that-- how one decision we make reverberates and resonates—and topples dominoes in people’s lives.

To examine secrets and desire and the need for power—how those things can change you. And how far people will go to get what they want.

 One character says: You can choose your sin, but you cannot choose your consequences.” And that’s what’s on the cover.

 I also say:  “Seduction, betrayal and murder—it’ll take more than votes to win this election.”

 ***From Julia Spencer Fleming http://www.JuliaSpencer-Fleming.com  New York Times Bestselling author on The Maine Writers blog:

 How has your career as an investigative journalist provided insight into writing crime novels such as The Other Woman?

When people ask me about research—I have to smile. I have been researching these books every day since I started on the air in 1975! I just didn’t realize it.  I’ve wired myself with hidden cameras, confronted corrupt politicians, chased down criminals—I know how someone looks when they’re lying, I’ve watched politicians close-up on the campaign trail, I know what bad guys think they can get away with—and how they try to fool the public. Is it power, is it entitlement, is it denial? Why do they think they can get away with anything? Why does the public believe so much of what they’re told?  Or—do they?

I wanted to show how the tension with politicians and reporters and police plays out..and how fragile reputations can be. 

******Here’s the video—we took kind of a risk with it—see what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdH02wV_O3M

Just leave a comment saying hi—and you’ll be entered for a free copy of THE OTHER WOMAN--your choice of a hardcover book, an ebook, or an audiobook. And thank you, Femmes and friends of Femmes, for your wonderful friendship!

COMPLAINTMENTS AHOY

My continuity editor, Victoria Koski, has coined a new word. Maybe we can get it into Webster’s? It’s “complaintment.” This is a complaint thinly disguised as a compliment. I may have mentioned them befor, since I get a lot of complaintments, particularly on  my professional Facebook page.

 

Here’s how complaintments work. What the complainmenter wants to say is, “I think your last five books are crap.” What she says is, “I used to love your books, but the last few have been real disappointments. I love your work so much that I really look forward to your getting back on task and giving us the ending we deserve.” That last sentence’s real meaning is, “Give me the ending I’ve decided must be the right ending for the series.”

 

Another favorite complaintment? “I love your books so much, I hate what Alan Ball has done with them. I’m sure you can’t enjoy this pornographic show. Can’t you stop him?” This means, “You sold out.”

 

I often respond with, “How did you mean me to feel when you wrote this?” It’s obvious the complaintmenter wants me to feel . . . bad. Really, really bad. (No, I can’t recall the last five books and rewrite them to suit the first person, and I’m very comfortable with my dealings with Alan Ball and HBO, thank you very much.) One complaintmenter never responded after I asked that. Another one huffed, “Well, at least I’m honest. I wouldn’t say anything behind your back that I wouldn’t say to your face, unlike all those other people on Amazon.” There are some false assumptions here. The first is that I read my Amazon reviews. I don’t. I realized three years ago that was the equivalent of drinking from a poisoned well. The second false assumption is that I was waiting to hear her opinion repeated to my face so I could be secure in the fact that she was being “honest” with me. I was not.