My Weblog

Horse Sense

 

By Elaine Viets

I've been off my feed recently, ever since I woke up with a numb left foot. The docs decided something was haywire with the wiring along my neck and spine and I had a pinched nerve. I'm supposed to go for an MRI in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime, the numbness turned into pain -– it hurt to walk.

My neurologist prescribed a cream, but the pharmacy said there was a problem with the prescription.

I'll say. A 90-day supply was $3,600! If I used that, I'd have a busted bank account.

"Neigh," I e-mailed my neurologist. "That's way overpriced."

His office called and said, "This is going to sound weird, but the doctor says if you don't want the cream you should try horse liniment."

Horse liniment? I thought my ears were stuffed with horse feathers. But the cheery woman said, "It works. I use it, too. He recommends Finish Line Feeds in Dania Beach."

 
Turns out lots of people use horse liniment. The prices are way better and names are interesting. I could buy Hamilton Care Equi-Block Horse Leg Tightener & Liniment for $19.29.

I wondered if that worked on cellulite.

There was also Absorbine Horse Muscle Relief Veterinary Liniment Gel for $14.95 and Farnam Horse Joint Pain Swelling Relief Thermaflex Liniment Gel for $9.95.

 My personal favorite was Chapman's Premium Equine Liniment – "For Man or Beast" – which boldly explained "How to Use Horse Liniment for People."

"Horse liniments have been used for decades to treat aches and pains in humans, and have been thought to be superior to human liniments," its Website said. "Chapman's has always used only human-grade ingredients for its formula, and initially was tested on Andrea Chapman (the originator) before ever using it on her horses."

There it was, straight from the horse's mouth. Here's how to get rid of those nagging aches:

"Make sure the area is clean and free of any moisturizers (creams and lotions). The reason for this is that moisturizers (lotions, creams) have an emulsifier in them and put a block on your skin, preventing it from absorbing what you want and need to be absorbed – the pain relievers. Apply and gently massage the horse liniment into your skin to relieve the pain of arthritis, sore muscles and joints. Avoid getting the horse liniment in mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth)."

There was also this enthusiastic, if slightly confused endorsement from Jean D, who has a stable in California:

"Very Impressed With Your Product," Jean wrote Andrea Chapman.

"My husband, Todd, came home from the barn and said to me, 'You should see Temptations' legs!' (He has ankle/suspensory problems)."

I assume that's the horse, not the husband.

Todd told her, "'You need to order more of that liniment!' Seriously, he is bewildered on how great they look. He raced last night and finished 2nd. Paced that fastest he's ever gone:) We have used just about everything out on the market, and are very impressed with your product. We have a stable full of race horses, here in Sacramento."

That convinced me. I'm off to the tack and feed store, friends. I expect to feel like a filly – and have legs like a Thoroughbred.

**************************************************************************

Fire and Ashes, the second Angela Richman Death Investigator mystery, will be published July 25. Pre-order the  ebook for $3.99 here.  

Femmes Flashback: Spring 2004

by Leigh Perry / Toni L.P. Kelner

It's graduation season in our family. Last week, my younger daughter graduated from high school and this coming Saturday we're heading to my older daughter's graduation from the Atlanta campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design. Since I'm not really thinking there's a wide audience for a list of the certificates and medals Valerie won at her school's Awards Night or her prom photo, and we don't have any pictures of Maggie in her cap and gown yet, I thought I'd pull an old issue of the Femmes, back from Spring of 2004 when the Femmes produced a newsletter to mail rather than our regular blog.

Mary Saums was our editor then, and the late Femme Marlys Milhiser wrote the issue's introduction. Julie Wray Herman, Charlaine Harris, and the late Meg Chittenden were Femmes then, too. (Donna, Elaine, Kris, and I are still hanging around!)

Mystery in the Details?

by Marlys Millhiser

Do my sister Femmes find the details and accuracy in scientific forensics and suspect profiling critical to their stories? I have textbooks on crime scene investigations that are outdated and inaccurate. I’ve watched reruns of TV crime-scene shows that spout facts or investigative methods that have been highly questioned since. The internet is also rife with nonsense that must be sifted for nuggets of useful fact.

I find this topic of interest since I've lived in Boulder, Colorado for over forty years and thought the profiling of the Ramseys and subsequent misuse or dismissal of crime scene evidence in the Jon Benet murder a shocking misjudgment. I said so while touring out of state with some other Femmes a few months after the murder, for a Charlie Greene book set in Boulder, and was met with open hostility by people who came to hear us. I had two writer friends who were also social workers in different states tell me that if the parents were in the house when the child was murdered, one of them did it. That’s the way it always is. Well, no it isn’t.

Can we as writers trust the glut of often dated information constantly rerun on “fact” TV or on the web? My books border on the silly, but I hate to think I’m contributing to an already misinformed world that profiles infinitely complex people and circumstance with simple and arbitrary rules. That may make things easier, but doesn’t make them right. How do the famous Femmes handle this?

 

Donna Andrews

She's a sneaky one, that Marlys. She’s actually asking us to justify our existence—given today’s technological marvels, can anyone still write amateur sleuth mysteries?

I think so, if you either learn enough to use technology or find clever ways to sidestep it. I do both—whatever works at the time.

In my Meg Langslow series, I sidestep by having a short timespan and giving my heroine a reason to solve the murder ASAP. In Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon, she's rescuing a key employee of her brother's company—someone they urgently need on the job, not in jail. In We’ll Always Have Parrots, Meg fears that the publicity of a long investigation will damage her boyfriend’s chances for tenure at his stodgy university.

In my Turing Hopper series, technology plays a key role, and I have to do the research. Fortunately, I can call on my tech–savvy friends Dave and Paul—my tech review board. After reading the first draft of You’ve Got Murder, they remarked, “You didn't make nearly as many mistakes as most books and movies—and we can fix those.” Though even with their help it’s tough devising a mystery that will interest both technophobes and technophiles.

So yes—you can still write about amateur sleuths; it’s just a lot tougher these days. But maybe that's what makes it so much fun.ƒƒ

Elaine Viets

“Can you kill someone with a wine bottle?” I asked my friend Katie. “Full or empty?” she said. Every mystery writer needs a friend like Katie. She’s a pathologist, and helps keep my new Dead–End Job series dead–on accurate.

My novels are funny, but my forensic research is serious. Books and articles date quickly. For the latest forensic information, I get by with a little help from my friends. I consult homicide detectives, pathologists, and federal agents. Of course, I need to know what they’re saying. That’s why I took the death investigators course at St. Louis University. My goal was not to barf when I looked at autopsy photos for a week.

Each Dead–End Job novel brings a new forensic problem. For Shop till You Drop, I solved a murder using feline DNA. I learned how to get a DNA sample from a six–toed cat with an extra complement of claws. You need a Q–Tip and a peacock feather, but you have to read the book to see how it’s done. For Murder Between the Covers, Katie gave me the gory details about bleeding after death. For Dying to Call You, due out in October, I researched the lethal side of household products. Now I’m too scared to clean house. (OK, it’s a good excuse.)ƒƒ

Kris Neri

Facts? Scientific facts? We don’t need no stinkin’ facts!

Well, I wouldn’t go that far. Actually, forensic elements have sometimes played vital roles in my writings. But rather than sift through all the truths, near–truths and nowhere–near–truths out there on the web, I go straight to reliable sources. When I needed accurate information on a sniper shooting for Revenge of the Gypsy Queen, a friend’s police officer husband came through for me.

Sometimes, though, the source comes to me and ends up shaping my plot. Once I heard a criminalist speak, and while I found her talk interesting, little related to my writing. Until she made an off–the–cuff remark about killers only cleaning up the obvious places and leaving loads of evidence where they didn’t happen to look. That became an important clue in Dem Bones’ Revenge.

But while the scientific elements sometimes function as more critical turning points in my urban cozies than readers might believe, profiling will never have a place. My goal is to make every character—from the leads, to the suspects, to the walk–ons—unique and unrepeatable. The characters populating my writings are lively creatures who defy every attempt to categorize them, and who simply refuse to fit any pattern or further any stereotype. They surprise everyone, including me.

Profiles? We don't need no stinkin’ profiles!ƒƒ

Meg Chittenden

I spend hours, days, weeks, tracking down information in books, magazines, newspapers. I also talk to librarians, police officers, judges, medical examiners, crime lab specialists. I’ve taken a citizens’ police academy course, gone on ride–alongs with cops, and I’ve learned to shoot. A friendly forensic anthropologist advised me on what happens to dead bodies. I travel to the places I write about, photographing, checking out the scenery, the flora and fauna, the restaurants—buying postcards and maps, figuring out mileage. When my Charlie Plato series focused on a country western tavern, I took line dancing lessons and wore a cowboy hat. For my Pacific Northwest mysteries, I had help from an FBI agent and my local police department, and I walked the Seattle setting for More Than You Know. Same for the Port Townsend setting that my fictional Port Findlay is based on in Snap Shot.

I e–mail my doctor with medical questions. I’ve called up the local vet. I even took a self–defense course so I could write about one. I broke five ribs finding out what it was like to ski. I travel the internet looking for information I can’t find elsewhere, but then I check it out with any expert I can find. I probably still make mistakes, but I don’t worry about them!ƒƒ

Toni L.P. Kelner

I'm a professional liar. That’s what a fiction writer is, somebody who tells stories that didn't happen. But don’t think I get off easy. Lying is hard work. You can’t just tell any crazy tale, not if you want people to believe you. You want something that could have happened, and the best way to make sure nobody calls you out on pesky facts and physical laws is to keep your lies simple. So that's how I write my mysteries.

When I wrote about killing somebody with a blunt instrument in Down Home Murder, I didn’t describe the depth of the wound or how much blood there was or what part of the skull was impacted. I just said he was hit on the head. And when I have somebody shot dead in Wed and Buried, I don’t say exactly where the bullet hit or what the caliber of the weapon was or detail the angle of the wound. When the details don’t matter to my stories, I emulate all good liars and leave them out.

The fewer details I put in, the fewer chances there are for me to make mistakes, which makes it that much more likely that people will believe in the story. After all, what’s the point of being a professional liar if nobody believes me?ƒƒ

Julie Wray Herman

Way back when, in my Senior History class, I was singled out for an unexpected contribution to our discussion of a historical crime. I was not really that knowledgeable, nor did I sit in the library and research the subject for days on end in order to make this marvelous contribution. I just happened to have finished a well-written mystery novel that contained details about the crime.

Fortunately for me, the author had done her research. Had she not, I would have had egg on my face instead of a check– plus on my grade for the day.

Enter Three Dirty Women Landscaping, Inc., an endeavor in which two of my dreams came true. In one book I became a published author and the ‘owner’ of a successful landscaping business, all without even having to pick up a shovel. Perfect!

Except—the publisher wanted the book set in the southeast. I am a Texas Master Gardener. How do you landscape (even pretend–landscape) an area in which you’ve never gardened?

Research of course—which forced me to use a ‘shovel’ after all, turning over information gathered over the telephone, from the library, and pulled off the internet. I have been fortunate indeed to find police officers, forensic experts, medical personnel, as well as gardeners who generously shared their knowledge to help a writer get it right.ƒƒ

Charlaine Harris

I have two separate reactions to Marlys’ question.

(1) The overwhelming publicity surrounding high–profile crimes convicts the suspect before the trial is even held. What happened to presumption of innocence? At the same time, it’s statistically true that a victim is most often killed by the person closest to her. (Incidentally, the selectiveness of the media attention makes me ill. For every Laci Peterson, there are probably twenty pregnant women of color who vanish with no fanfare whatsoever. There’s no huge search effort on their behalf, no media coverage. I’m glad poor Laci is so widely mourned; I’m sorry every murdered woman doesn’t get the same attention. Enough of my personal soapbox.)

(2) In my books, I don’t use a lot of forensics, but I do use the modern fascination with forensics. For example, Sookie Stackhouse often thinks of details she’s learned from The Discovery Channel when she is trying to decipher a crime scene. I don’t use profiling at all; but the identity of the murderer has to make sense to me, and I try to plant fair clues through the book about the state of mind of the person who turns out to be the killer. I do believe you have to psychologically justify the crime, and also make sure it’s physically possible for your fictional suspect to have committed the murder.ƒƒ

Mary Saums

I don’t do police procedurals. My stomach gets too fluttery to write autopsies, so coroner books are out. I don’t have a clue about courtrooms, spies, or the latest ways the military can toast somebody. Mine are traditional mysteries, with emphasis on characters and a puzzle’s solution, using a minimum of blood, guts, or Clancy–esque factoid tutorials.

So I shouldn’t have to research anything, right? Nope. Like Willi Taft, my series protagonist, I’m female, Southern, and worked in the music business, so writing those aspects of her stories are a cinch. It’s that other stuff that causes problems.

In The Valley of Jewels, a Civil War professor is murdered, and there’s a back story set during the War, related through fictional diaries. That required extensive library stints. As Willi goes from recording sessions to private eye work, she has to know what PIs can do. Her business partner is a retired policeman, so she relies on him for procedural information. Which means I have to make occasional phone calls to local pros in the field. I do search the Web, mostly for weird details, like do they have Putt–Putt in the UK? Otherwise, police procedure and CSI techniques happen off-stage, with a minimum of discussion. Willi’s investigations move around the murder, a circuit that leads her to the killer without benefit of forensic evidence.ƒƒ

 

What's On?

Hank Phillippi Ryan: How are you feeling about TV? Yeah, I've working in TV for forty years. Actually more, and it's part of my life.

Luckily, my husband likes TV too. The Americans, and Madam Secretary, and Masterpiece, and whatever's on Acorn TV.We make sure we watch Meet the Press, and Jane Pauley (an old pal) is doing brilliantly as Charles Osgood's heir on CBS. (Can you even imagine?) And I can tell you she's just as lovely and intelligent as she seems.

Two things today. One--Just to remind you again of our dear Dana Cameron's movie SITE UNSEEN (based on her series about the intrepid archaeologist) that will be on Lifetime TV this coming Sunday. Her heroine Emma Fielding comes to life via the exquisite Courtney Thorne-Smith--how cool is that?

 

Here's a clip--and I know you'll be watching with the rest of us. Dana is the real deal, and it's such a joy that her smart and determined heroine is coming to life on TV. 

(When we were watching Madam Secretary the other night, Jonathan asked me if iI had contacted Tea Leoni to play the lead in my new standalone. Why didn't I think of that?)

So--let's talk about TV. Everyone watched The Wire, best ever. The Good Wife. House of Cards. Downton. Sherlock. Morse, my fave. Game of Thrones, let's discuss. Happy Valley. The Fall.  

On Sunday, June 4 -- you'll be watching Dana's Emma Fielding come to life, won't you?

But what are you watching these days? It's  summer, and we all need some suggestions. I do, for sure.

Give us your recommendations..and you could win ANY Hank book you want!  

 

And there's more: the fab Charlaine Harris's MIDNIGHT TEXAS premieres in July! But I am predicting we'll tell you a lot more about that soon! Go Femmes!

 

A Memorial Day story

by Donna Andrews of the Femmes Fatales.

The following was written by my father on Memorial Day, sometime between 1993 and 1998. I've condensed it slightly for clarity.

I have been watching two hours of the history of World War II on this Memorial Day. I was a lucky soldier despite my assignment to an infantry division throughout my service. I will describe my military experience, and my attitude toward it. As a foot soldier in the U.S. Army, I survived by being selected as a personnel officer before my foreign service began. The 149th Infantry Regiment in the 38th Division was a National Guard unit from Kentucky with Kentucky officers. After a three-month period of training at Little Rock, AR, I was assigned directly to the 38th Division in Camp Shelby, LA, and remained in [the 38th Division] for the duration of the war.

I have rarely discussed my army service or told stories of my experiences, consequently, I have forgotten many details and names of officers and enlisted friends. I have not attended any reunions.

(Background: how Dad ended up in the reserves—ROTC!)

When I arrived at Manhattan, KS, in September 1934, I came with $100 borrowed by Dad from a bank in Dodge City. . . By mid-September, books and registration fees had about used up my money. I signed up for military courses which paid $15 a month, and I had a job at the 4H Club state officer, typing and mailing materials to clubs. This job paid 25 cents an hour with a limit of 40 hours a month. The total cost of my college education at Manhattan was about $400 a year. After returning home during the summer of 1935 to help Dad in farming, and keeping a record of my hours as I did in Manhattan, he had no crop, and no money to pay me. With an excellent academic record my first year, I was able to borrow from the college to continue my education for the last three years.

The next summer, I stayed at Manhattan where I worked at the agricultural experiment fields west of the stadium. Wheat varieties were being tested for disease resistance and yield, and for a month when the professor was on vacation, I picked and delivered tomatoes and other vegetables to a grocery store. During winters, I worked at the Botany Department processing data on disease experiments with wheat varieties. I also did garden and yard work for professors, beginning with the dean of Agriculture on the first Saturday of my first year.

I continued with the military studies all four years. In the summer of 1937, I spent a month at Ft. Leavenworth to become a second lieutenant in the Army Reserves.

(After graduating from Kansas State, Dad went to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, where he continued to participate in ROTC)

About 1941, I received a notice from the Army offering to promote me to 1st lieutenant. I turned it down, fearing that early recruitment for active duty would follow. It was evident that the war was coming. It took me two years on duty to become a 1st lieutenant after I was called to duty in January 1942. Fortunately, I had passed my preliminary oral examination for a PhD that winter which meant that only my thesis remained to be written after the war.

My first military assignment was at Ft. Robinson at Little Rock, AR. We were young officers being updated, evaluated, and processed for future assignments. We took 10 tests, and with a score of 149, I was soon given the task of teaching military sanitation by lectures and demonstrations. This was first aid training for large groups of solidiers. The senior officer at the camp was a biologist, which I considered fortunate for me, although I never got to know him in my 90 days there. No one in reserves was being allowed to become a medic, and I made no effort to leave the infantry. Several friends who were biologists did get into the medics.

I was sent to Biloxi, MS for assignment to a National Guard division. The following summer, I was sent to Ft. Benning for 90 days of lectures, demonstrations, identification of airplanes, and shooting machine guns and mortars. At Benning, I learned that I did not know how to ride a horse properly when I applied for use of military horses. After this the 28th Division moved to Pensacola Florida for maneuver training. We failed a landing trial off the Florida coast, in my opinion, about the time troops were being sent to North Africa. I got sea-sick in the cold and oily smell of the engines, and vomited. From there we were sent to western Texas for maneuvers and lived in tents. I was chosen by the Colonel 2nd in command to go on the advance party for this move. I got well acquainted with him during the trip, and probably this resulted in my appointment as Personnel Officer for the regiment with some 25 clerks to manage.

In January 1943, the 38th Division boarded ships which passed through the Panama Canal headed for Hawaii. We spent 6 months in Hawaii. I thoroughly enjoyed the tropical plants and the mountainous sites. I was driven over the mountain once a month to obtain the cash for payment of the troops. We were camping on the eastern side of Hawaii in a valley close to the sea. At first, we officers were billeted in a deserted Japanese temple in Honolulu which allowed me to explore the city and beach.

In July 1943 we boarded vessels for transport to New Guinea. Our ship ran upon a coral reef off shore one night. We climbed down the ropes to rescue boats for a landing. The ship was tiled about 30 degrees and the lights were turned on, making a good target for submarines. We were in this tropical area with natives chewing betel fruits and roaming through the camp of quickly constructed lumber houses. There were a few Japs in the mountains as confirmed by a native man parading through our camp with a Jap head on a spear.

When the invasion of the Philippines occurred, we were loaded on ships again heading for Leyte, a southern island. The Japs had air control over this island, and our convoy was attacked by torpedoes and kamikaze planes. One plane dived into our front hold killing dozens of men, some of which I helped carry out—scalded dead bodies. Some officers stayed on deck to watch the torpedo attack and were hit by machine gun fire and sent home. After we landed and set up pup tents, Jap planes dropped bombs near us. The first night on Leyte, I was with the Service Co., but some 20 company clerks were grouped near me with a guard walking the perimeter. During the night a soldier headed for the latrine and bumped into the guard, who shot him, and he died an hour or two later. This shooting happened right beside my pup tent, and the guard began calling my name. It was a sad night for me.

When the assault of Manila and Luzon was made, we service groups were left on the shore of Leyte for a month or more before being moved to a tent camp north of Manila. Later, after the cleanup of the Japs in the mountains, we were moved close to Manila and I had a chance to see some of the city. We were preparing for the invasion of the south island of Japan when the atomic bombs were dropped.

I came home by ship to Los Angeles, then by train to Dodge City. I had been promoted to major, but I never considered staying in the military, and I never wore that insignia. Late in the war, I was offered the job of adjutant for regimental headquarters, but it was a difficult job in a period of confusion as every one tried to get home, so I declined.

I was very thankful to get home safely and uninjured (except for bouts of malaria). One has to rely on luck during wars. I have watched films of the European war, and I saw the horror of war. It was bad enough to be responsible for closing out records of dead soldiers and disposing of their effects. Sadly, those most frequently to die were the most recent recruits.

Jay D. Andrews

After Dad died in 2004, Mom and I at the funeral home to make the arrangements.  Not a whole lot of arranging to do, since he and Mom had done most of it beforehand.

"And he's a veteran, so you'll want a flag," the lady from the funeral home said.

"No," Mom said. "No flag.  I think you'll find that's specified in the plan."

The funeral home lady looked a little shocked, and frankly so did I. Dad was a patriotic American--not just a veteran, but a war veteran. 

"He felt that should be for those who earned it," Mom said. Pretty sure she was quoting. Those earned it--by which I assume he meant those who lost their lives, or dedicated them to a career in the military. Dad, in his view, just did his bit and was lucky enough to come home.

Sorry, Dad, but I disagree.  We honored your wishes.  No flag on the coffin.  But you earned it.

Dana Goes Hollywood!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I am typing and jumping up and down at the same time! (Very high degree of difficulty.) Because our very own dear and brilliant Dana Cameron had another of her dreams come true. (She has a very fun life—she works SO hard and is such an authentically wonderful person and friend and scholar and author and…well—this is great.)

Her first series of mystery novels—about archaeologist Emma Fielding—is being made into movies for the Hallmark Channel. I mean, hurray, right? Awesome, fabulous, perfect.

So of course, we want to know the entire scoop!

HANK: Hurray! How did you hear about this movie? What was the first moment?

DANA CAMERON: The first moment was in early February of this year. Muse Entertainment in Canada had made inquiries about the availability of the books for option in the late last summer (2016), and we were able announce the option deal in early November.

But I did what everyone tells you to do: I celebrated, then got back to work, because it’s usually such a long shot for a movie to be made.

But in early February, I had a call from the president of Muse Entertainment, USA, Joel Rice, to let me know that the project based on Site Unseen was in development. By the end of March, the project had been greenlit, and I was visiting the set on April 9 and 10! Whew!

HANK: You're such an inspiration--because this did not happen overnight. Had the possibility of an Emma movie vanished from your consciousness?

DANA: It really was a surprise! The sixth book in the series, Ashes and Bones came out in 2006, and while the series is available as e-books, most of the them are no longer available in print. Even with a short story featuring Emma (“Mischief in Mesopotamia”) in Ellery Queen in 2012, I thought the window for something else to happen with Emma had long closed. I’d moved on to publish my three Fangborn UF novels, and finish the historical novel based on my Anna Hoyt short stories. But it’s like you always say, Hank: You just never know.

HANK: True!  Did they tell you what the story would be? Did you have a hand in writing? Did you see a script? How did that work?

DANA: While the folks at Muse said the script generally would follow the plot of Site Unseen, I had no part in writing the story. The screenplay was written by Suzette Couture. I haven’t seen a script, but I know there will be differences from the book. And that only makes sense, because a book is such a different medium from a movie.

HANK: And casting? What did they tell you? Do you approve?

DANA: When they told me that Courtney Thorne-Smith was attached, I was so thrilled! I knew she’d convey Emma’s brains, dedication, and wry sense of humor very well. She’s absolutely lovely. We chatted for a while, about how we both approach writing.

HANK: SO you step off the plane in...Canada? What were you thinking?

DANA: At that point, April 9, things still felt very unreal. In fact, my husband, James Goodwin, and I been in Chicago just the two days before to see a concert and visit friends Lori Rader-Day,   Susanna Calkins, and Erica Ruth Neubauer.

James rather brilliantly figured out how to change our tickets so we could leave from Chicago and fly to Victoria, without having to come home to Boston first. I was very nervous, and had no idea what to expect, but everything became wonderfully real when we pulled up to the first set in a small town in Victoria—and it had the Maine state flag and U.S. flag flying over it!

The town hall had been made into Sheriff Stannard’s office. That’s when it got real for me: a Maine flag in British Columbia! That set visit was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced.

Everyone was incredibly welcoming and generous with their time. We got to sit in video village, and the director, Doug Barr, explained how everything worked, from planning the covering shots to continuity to his discussions with the director of photography. I got to meet Courtney and James Tupper (who plays the FBI agent in this version of story), Lorne Cardinal (Sheriff Stannard), and Martin Cummings (Tony Markham).

The crew was amazing, working so smoothly and so quickly—and they encouraged me to ask questions when they weren’t busy! It was fascinating.

HANK: You are on the set of YOUR BOOK. Did you burst out laughing?

DANA: I may have done a little dance when no one was looking... The first day, at the Sheriff’s office, I was still very much wide-eyed and taking it all in. The next day was on location for the archaeological site. That was amazing; it looked exactly as I’d imagined, and even had tents that looked like the ones we used on real digs (they were great for hiding cameras and crew!).

And best of all, the crew had worked so hard to make the field look like an excavation. The smell of freshly-dug dirt and sea air really took me back!

At one point, it started to rain, and my archaeological reflexes kicked in: I almost got up to help cover the units get the notes out of the weather. Luckily, before I could, James shot me a look to remind me that it wasn’t my project to worry about!

HANK: Did you get to hear them actually perform? Was it strange to hear your characters talking out loud?

DANA: I did! Both days, I got a chair, head-phones, and sides—the portion of the script that is being shot that day. I heard Courtney say an introductory speech about how historical archaeology connects you with people long ago, and it was just magical. I remembered making similar speeches to my students. Those lines, with her delivery, really caught what I hoped to convey with the books.

HANK: Were there any big changes to your book?

DANA: There are, but the thing I most care about is that Emma’s passion for archaeology, science, and justice comes through. That’s what makes her a believable amateur detective, and someone you trust enough to take you on an adventure.

HANK: Have you seen the finished product?

DANA: I haven’t so far—I’m hoping to soon! The premiere is coming right up, June 4, at 9-11pm on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. 

HANK: And I know it's gilding the lily--but will there be more?

DANA: I’m hoping so, and I think everyone involved would like to make that happen. We’ll know more after the premiere, so fingers crossed! Thanks so much for hosting me, Hank and Femmes Fatales!

HANK: Oh, we are thrilled! And we will all be in front of our televisions, cheering and champagneing, on June 4 at 9 PM on the Hallmark Channel!

Wow--and here's a CLIP!  What do you all think?  Hurray!

What I've Been Reading

When I'm working on a book I don't usually read mysteries. What I read during the period of completing a manuscript varies, depending on whatever my mood might be. At present, during my downtime (usually a little while before bedtime), I'm reading non-fiction. It's good to read something completely different, and since I have a background in history, I usually choose history when I want non-fiction.

Penguin in the UK has published a number of volumes in a new "History of Britain" series, and I recently read Britain After Rome: The Fall and Rise, 400 to 1070 by Robin Fleming. Unlike previous such volumes which focused more on political history and the deeds of kings and queens and lords, this book focuses on the material culture of the period. By taking this approach, Fleming offers a fascinating look at the lives of ordinary people. Britain has seen a vast amount of archaeological work over the past century and more, and Fleming provides an astonishing synthesis. There are of course references to kings and queens and so on, but the focus is on the way people lived their lives. This is not a fast read, but I think it's a rewarding one for anyone interesting in the time and place.

Besides medieval history, one of my interests is paleoarchaeology. I'm fascinated by the discoveries that have been mapping this story of human evolution. This past weekend I finished a brand new book by Lee Berger and John Hawks, Almost Human, published by National Geographic. In the past decade Berger, an American who is a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, has been involved in the discovery of two previously unknown hominin (or hominid) species, Homo naledi and Australopithecus sediba. In some ways the book reads almost like a thriller; I found it hard to put down. Berger also makes it easy to understand for those who might not be familiar with the search for, and the study of, ancient hominin species. The exciting thing is there are even more discoveries awaiting. South Africa is turning out to be a virtual treasure trove of ancient hominin remains.

Currently I'm working my way through the first volume in the "History of Britain" series, An Imperial Possession by David Mattingly. This one focuses mostly on the Roman invasion and occupation of Britain. I'm learning much about the Roman army than I ever expected to. It's interesting, but slow going as I try to absorb the details.

Reading non-fiction while I'm writing fiction helps me stimulate the brain cells, I think, plus the subjects are vastly different from what I'm writing. I can't completely give up reading while I'm working on a book, and this is a compromise that's actually helpful.

 

Related articles

'Small-brained' humanoid species lived at same time as early humans, scientists say

Odd Ancient South African Human "Ancestor" Is Young [Greg Laden's Blog]

Scientists in South Africa reveal more on human-like species

A Conversation between Three Femmes

Believe it or not, even multi-published, award-winning, best-selling authors struggle with getting better at the craft of writing. We (mostly) don't wrestle with the same things we did when we first started, but none of us would say we have perfected our craft, so we still strive to get better. We recently discussed the areas we are struggling with currently, and our methods for improving. If you're a writer, join the discussion by commenting!

What do you struggle with most in your writing right now? (Actual writing, not promo and marketing, or time management or something peripheral like that.) What did you struggle with when you first started?

Catriona: These days I struggle most with endings. I either thrash them to death or I end with a thump. When I thrash an ending to death I can usually tell and I fix it in the second or third draft – i.e. before the ms leaves my house – but when I’ve shut the door with a bang I often don’t realise until my editor begs me to write some more.

WOW! I’ve just realised something. I was picturing the editor’s emails and it struck me that it’s always Francine, who edits Dandy Gilver, who sends them. I end novels in the Dandy Gilver series too abruptly and I drag on too long in the standalones. Huh. I wonder if that’s because I know when I finish a standalone I’m never going to see these people again.

 When I first started, I found action scenes the toughest. I’ve always been comfortable with dialogue and if I dug deep I could do description (even though I usually cut it in the edits) but action stumped me. I hugely admire sports writers, who can give you every sight, smell and sound of – say – a boxing match or a steeplechase without the writing ending up slower than the event. 

Hank: But remember, Cx, Lee Child says: write fast things slow and slow things fast. Sometimes that even makes sense to me.

Catriona: I've never heard that before. It makes sound sense.

Hank: Yeah, I think about it, too. As for me, I have to remember to remember--who was my heroine before the book started? In the early stages, I begin to realize that she only exists in the book, and as part of the new story I'm telling. But of course, her actions and reactions are a result of something--her past, and her history, and her experiences.  A silly example--if there are candlesticks on the dining room table, fine. Silver candlesticks or wood? But then--are they heirlooms from her grandmother? Bestowed lovingly in the will? Or wrenched from the clutches of her annoying sister? Not that I have to say that in the text, but I have to understand that.  And, arising from that, her motivations and voice take shape. How did my heroine get to where she is? And why? And how does she feel about that? So I constantly remind myself that even though the story is a slice of life, there are many other slices.

Laura: Right now, I'm struggling with differentiating the voices of my viewpoint characters. When I write in first person, or have a single narrator, this isn't a problem, but with four equal narrators in the book I'm writing, The Empty Nesters Club, and a new genre (women's fiction), as well, I've been going over and over my manuscript, trying to ensure that a reader could figure out which character is narrating a given scene or chapter, even if it didn't have names in it.

When I first started, I had trouble structuring scenes. (I said when I first started!) I'd start them too soon and then drag them on forever. In revision, I was always chipping away a bit at the top and a bit at the bottom of each scene until they were only half as long as they started out being. Now, I do that automatically--starting in media res, as it were--and sometimes have to go back in establish the setting and POV a bit more clearly. 

Hank: Yes! I am always asking myself--where the heck ARE they?

Laura:  I know! I get more invested in what's happening with the character than in where they are. And yet, where they are is also important.
  
How do you go about getting better at a craft element? Do you take classes (online or in person)? Ask for hints from other writers (critique groups, maybe)? Read up on it? (Where?) Analyze other authors' books? Something else? Enquiring minds want to know!

Hank: Donald Maass talks about taking a situation and making it worse, and then worse, and then even worse for the character. I love that, and I do the opposite when it comes to my naggy craft elements. How can I make it better, and better, and then even better? The first hurdle is to realize the need, right? And when I do, I examine my writing for where it falls short. Word by word, sentence by sentence. Is this the most active word, the most deeply descriptive?I ask myself--what am I trying to do here? When am I going with this? What do I want the meaning to be, and the subtext, and how can I make it richer? Writers Digest has great articles--sometimes total immersion on one topic  
Laura: Hank, I actually have a stickie over my computer that says WCBW? It stands for What Could Be Worse? I live by that!

I analyze books by authors I think do particularly well with the aspect of writing I'm trying to improve. And when I say "analyze," I mean get out my highlights and go to town. When I decided to do standalones written in third person instead of the first person cozies I'd been writing, I got out Nancy Pickard's The Virgin of Small Plains and took her first couple of chapters apart, highlighting setting in one color, characterization in another, action in a third, etc. I found it immensely useful! I do that kind of analysis casually every time I read a book, but it really helps to do it on purpose sometimes. Like Hank, I'm fond of Writer's Digest--they have such good articles focused on a specific craft element.

Catriona: I suppose you could say I analyze other writers’ work. But I just think of it as reading. I read a lot and so, inevitably, if I’m struggling with something, I’m going to read a novel where that thing is done well and be inspired. The whole book doesn't need to perfect in every way. Reading imperfect books is strangely helpful. I think it’s sometimes good to see someone just a bit better than you are. Some writers are so far above me that I can’t translate what they do into my own writing. Same with yoga teachers. I can’t map what her body does onto my body’s capabilities, so I’m better looking at the others in the class. 

In your opinion, who's the best in the writing biz at these elements: plot, character, setting, pacing? Try to stick with someone relatively modern--no Dickens or Wharton--because tastes and styles change. Feel free to add other craft elements, if there's one you're thinking about and you think a particular author does an amazing job with it. 

Laura: I think James Lee Burke is one of the best with setting. His books plunk me down in the middle of Louisiana. For pacing, I like Robert Crais and Dick Francis. For characterization, Laura Lippman, Elizabeth George, Debs Crombie, John Green. I just noticed that both my examples for pacing are guys and for characterization they're mostly women. Hmm.

Hank: Hmmm is right! But I think plot is so difficult--especially because some authors take a perfectly good story, and then add too many elements when spare and simpler would have been better. I am in love with Shari Lapena and Mary Kubica--fast fast fast suspense, but believable and realistic. I study Lisa Gardner to see how she moves her story along so relentlessly. Val McDermid, and oh, Mo Hayder. I'm a big fan of it-could-happen and here's how. And each of those writes so clean (ly?) and  seamlessly, without losing voice.  I am always trying to take words out, and they have it down pat.

Catriona: Without a doubt, I’d say the best at tension and pacing is Michael Frayn. He’s written a whole pile of stuff but Headlong, a caper about the discovery of a missing Brueghel painting, is him at his pulse-pounding best. You can give yourself a headache reading it. I admire Joy Fielding plots enormously. And she writes a great passive-aggressive baddie too. The settings in Terry Shames’ books – rural Texas – roll off the page so you can taste the dust in your mouth. And Anne Tyler’s characters are so real, I feel convinced I’ve met them. And yet it’s all so lightly done, you can’t catch her at it. Anne Tyler is one of my yoga instructor writers. I just marvel.

What about you, readers? What authors do you think are particularly good at one aspect of craft or another? Chime in so I can add lots of books to my TBR pile!

I Killed a Python and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt

By Elaine Viets

Dear Friends,

It's tough being a novelist in south Florida. The place is surreal. I write fiction for a living. But how can I make up things when my state has a python hunting program?

You read that right – Florida is overrun with pythons. Gigantic snakes that can squeeze a grown man to death are slithering around the state, eating the native species and terrorizing innocent suburbanites, who like to sit out in the backyard, enjoy a few brews and barbecue without stumbling over a hundred-pound, 15-foot-long snake.

Our state has instituted a new python hunting program. That's because the old one failed.

And what do you get if you kill -– excuse me -– "humanely euthanize" -– a monster snake?

A T-shirt.

Yes, you can risk your life for a T-shirt.

This is straight out off the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation program Webpage. Let me repeat: I AM NOT MAKING IT UP. Check it out. 

"You can win prizes by helping the FWC remove pythons!" the Web page says.

"The FWC’s Python Pickup Program is an incentive program designed to encourage the public to remove Burmese pythons from the Everglades ecosystem and report locations to the FWC. People who submit proof of python with location of removal will be entered into the monthly prize drawing, as well as a grand prize drawing in 2018. Monthly prizes include snake hooks, custom engraved Yeti tumblers, Plano sportsman’s trunks, GoPro cameras and Badlands backpacks, and the grand prize is a Lifetime Sportsman’s License. Anyone can get involved!"

Right. And anyone can win a snake hook and other cool stuff.

The FWC lists the places where you can remove  pythons -– that's "remove" as in permanent -– but you have to do it right.

The Web page says, "Pythons may be captured by any legal and humane means, but you must comply with state and local regulations. The use of poisons, remote controlled firearms, or gasoline or other chemical or gaseous substances to drive wildlife including pythons from burrows or retreats is prohibited on any property (68A-4.001, Florida Administrative Code). For detailed information, please refer to our Webpage on methods of removal."

Also, check out the photos of those sneaky snakes. They can hide in plain sight. There's one lurking in this grass.

In case your daddy never took you python hunting, you can be trained. And it's free!

"Some methods of removal and humane euthanasia require pythons to be hand-captured first," the FWC said. "Need some basic instructions on safely and humanely capturing pythons? The FWC offers no-cost Python Patrol training across south and southwest Florida. These hands-on training classes, which last 2-3 hours, teach participants safe capture using live pythons. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. A no-cost online training course is available on the FWC’s eLearning site that anyone can take (first time users will need to create a free account first). An educational video on capturing pythons safely is also available for viewing online."

So there you are trained, rested and ready for humane combat with a snake twice –- maybe three times -– bigger than you. But you've taken the free class and seen the online training video, so you're going to kill that snake.

"How do I submit proof of python so I can be eligible for prizes?" the FWC Webpage asks. Easy-peasy.

"After humanely euthanizing a python, take at least two photos that show:

"++The snake has been humanely euthanized and can be identified as a Burmese python

"++ The snake and a GPS unit that clearly shows the date and location of capture.

"How do I win prizes?" the FWC asks.

"You will receive a T-shirt after your first proof of python submission has been accepted. . . . And for each proof of python submitted, you will gain one entry into the current monthly prize drawing as well as the grand prize drawing. On the last Friday of each month, 2-3 raffle tickets will be drawn for the monthly prizes."

So what are you waiting for, folks? Why have another humdrum vacation sitting on the beach or puttering around the house fixing leaky faucets and painting the garage? Come on down to Florida for some good ol' humane python removal. Get yourself a nifty T-shirt. Win valuable prizes. Have a wild time!

_________________________________________________

Fire and Ashes, my new Angela Richman Death Investigator mystery, debuts July 25. Pre-order the  ebook for $3.99 here. 

 

Femmes on Film

by Leigh Perry

Technically this should be former Femmes on Film, but just go with it. The point is that two or our Femmes Emeritus have continuing and forthcoming TV events, which makes me so very happy.

First up, the series of Hallmark Channel TV movies based on Charlaine Harris's Aurora Teagarden Mysteries continues with A Bundle of Trouble, debuting on May 21.

If you haven't caught the previous movies in the series, here's a preview:

 

Also on Hallmark is Site Unseen, the first movie based on Dana Cameron's Emma Fielding series about an intrepid archeologist. This one is coming out on June 4.

 

And finally, another Charlaine-centric event. NBC is releasing Midnight, Texas, based on Charlaine's Midnight Crossroads series. Vampires, shapeshifters, witches, angels, psychics, and psychics. And a cat. It's coming on July 25.

 

So mark these on your calendar, stock up on popcorn, and beat the spring and summer heat watching some exciting TV!

On the Road Again

by Laura DiSilverio

Our family is embarking on an exciting trip this summer. Very soon now we're heading for England, Scotland and Iceland. The trip is both a celebration of my youngest's high school graduation, and what may be our last trip together as a nuclear family. No one's dying--don't worry! I'm just aware that as the girls embrace their independence, they might not be coming home in the summers. Daughter One is already looking at summer stock opportunities or internships for the summer of 2018, and Daughter Two's passion is international travel, so I don't know if or when we'll get to have a "family vacation" again.

The Grand Tour

So, we're doing it in grand style with six nights in London, and a couple nights each in Harrogate, Edinburgh, a castle near Glasgow, the Lake District and Cambridge before we jump over to Iceland and base out of Reykjavik for four nights. We lived in England for two years when I was in the Air Force, so we've been to a lot of the common tourist hotspots. What I'd like to know from those of you who've traveled or lived in the UK (Catriona, I'm looking at you!) is what are some of the off-the-beaten-path attractions we should visit, or things we should do. Do you have a favorite hike or scenic drive? A castle, museum, church or grand house worth visiting? A shopping area or distillery we shouldn't miss?

Land of Fire and Ice

We've never set foot in Iceland, so please comment with your suggestions of what we should see or do that's within a day's out-and-back from Reykjavik. We'll have a rental car, but we've booked an apartment in the city, so we won't be spending the night anywhere else. Hints about restaurants and such are also welcome.

I won't be doing the social media thing while we're gone, but I promise to post photos when we come back!