There are moments in life to remember.

I tend to
gather these moments like presents under a Christmas tree, opening
them, rejoicing in their glory, then mentally rewrapping them and
hiding them away in some recess of my brain to bring out and enjoy over
and over again.

I had one of these moments Monday night.

Monday was a
big day for us, to say the least. Let me extend a warm thank you to
everyone who has supported Killer Year – believe me, we couldn’t do any
of this without you.

So after a
long, happy day, I made a big pot of chili, cut up some jalapeno
cornbread and sat down with Hubby to watch Monday Night Football. I
wanted to bear witness — the Saints triumphant return to New Orleans.
(By the way, someone buy the Saints’ special teams a drink!)

The pre-show caught me off guard.

Music Rising,
the organization started by US’s The Edge to help bring music back to
New Orleans, sponsored the show. With a jubilant horn serenade, Green Day
took the stage. Now, here’s where we start with the memory moments.
Green Day is a personal talisman for me. Every time I hear their song Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), something good happens. Corny, but true.

They took the stage and opened strong, with The Edge playing guitar. Then Bono joined them. And I started thinking about that phone call.

“Hey, Billie
Joe. U2 wants you to fly to London, record some tunes, then go live on
Monday Night Football in New Orleans for the pre-game show.”

Uh, yeah.
Think they thought about that for more than a millisecond? I mean,
let’s face it. The Baby Boomers have the Rolling Stones, and The
Beatles, and well, Cat Stevens. My generation has U2. We win, hands down.

As the
melded bands played an original composition combining “House of New
Orleans” and “Beautiful Day”, I teared up, enjoyed the show and the
message. When my goose bumps finally packed suitcases and went on
vacation, I marked my mental moment. Then I started thinking about
mentors.

Now, I’m assuming here, but roll with me.

I’d be
willing to bet that Green Day views U2 as an iconic band. Perhaps now
they even view them as mentors in their musical careers. To have the
greatest of the great want to work with you is a humbling experience.
I’m sure they jumped at the chance. 

That’s how
we feel about our Killer Year mentors. We were overwhelmed at the
prospect – the best minds in our industry would mentor us? As Marcus
Sakey said, “I grew up on books these people wrote. I never dreamed they’d one day be helping with my own.”

He summed it
up perfectly. These are our heroes, these giants of the mystery and
thriller genres. And they’ve agreed to help us, show us the ropes,
share their considerable insight into the publishing game? Would
someone mind pinching me, please???

Thanking ITW
for this amazing opportunity isn’t enough. I’d like to take it one step
further. At the risk of sounding too much like a Girl Scout, a promise.

A promise to
pay attention. A promise to listen before we speak. A promise to take
the considerable time and attention being paid the Class of 2007 and
give back to the Class of 2008 and beyond, if they’d like it. A promise
that we’ll be the best mentees we can be, and always, always promise to
do our best.

And on a more personal note, I promise to stop waxing poetic in my blog posts.

Safe travels to all of you heading to Madison
today and tomorrow. I know you’re going to have a wonderful time, and
I’m bummed I won’t be there. And if you see your mentor, tell them
thank you.

Do you have a mentor story you’d like to share? We’d love to hear it!

by J.T. Ellison

It’s very hard to introduce a new character into a series.

Honestly, that’s not true. It’s easy to introduce a new character into a series. The difficulty lies in bringing said new character to life, giving them a purpose, a role, a reason. Doing it seamlessly is what’s so hard to pull off.

There. That’s better. Now that we’ve established the ground rules…

What if you’re an American writer, and somewhere deep in the recesses of your brain a character is born who isn’t going to be easy to write because he’s not anything you have any experience with. He’s not even from your own country. And you haven’t got the foggiest idea of how to make him come to life.

Meet James, the Viscount Highsmythe, officially called my Lord, but more commonly known (in my mind and his work) as Memphis.

What?

Exactly. This was what I saddled myself with. Don’t ask me where he came from, he simply appeared one day, cleft chin and all. And in the way of all stubborn characters, he simply refused to be anything but. James "Memphis" Highsmythe is the son of a Scottish Earl, works for the Metropolitan Police at New Scotland Yard, lost his wife (who looks eerily like Taylor) and his unborn child. He got the name Memphis because his mother was an Elvis fan. He’s got blue eyes, blond hair, a strong jaw and is exactly Taylor’s height. And he’s not subtle when it comes to wanting her.

Excellent. Wonderful. I know who this man is inside and out. But I haven’t the foggiest idea of what he sounds like. And herein lies the problem. Not only is my command of British vernacular limited to Bridget Jones’s Diary, I don’t have any idea about the written form. Despite a valiant attempt on Lee Child’s part to help —

Me: "Lee, just say "Please, do call me Memphis." 

Lee: "J.T.," shaking his head sadly, "Memphis sounds the same no matter how you want me to say it."

— I still had no idea what he sounded like. Sigh.

I’ve been writing this book (EDGE OF BLACK, 9/09) for months now, killing myself trying to get Memphis’s voice in my head, watching Oxford Blues (mistake #1) and interviews with Hugh Laurie (mistake #2), trying to get the wording right. You can’t write British phonetically, I found out, it just doesn’t work well. And no matter how faithfully you try to recreate the right sounds, it doesn’t work.

I went back to the drawing board a couple of times. What was important about Memphis was the parallels in his life to Taylor’s. Privileged upbringing, idealistic natures, a strong sense of right and wrong. He had to be someone who – despite the fact that she’s very much with Baldwin – she found attractive. Which meant humanizing him, making him real. I found all the universals for Memphis — family issues, career issues, woman troubles — everything that an American male would have common ground with. But then I stumbled across a real problem.

Memphis, who is coming to life on the page bit by excruciating bit, ahem, had an erection to deal with.

And I was in his point of view.

And I don’t know what the Brits call an erection.

And that’s not exactly the email you want to be sending to your few British male acquaintances: "’Scuse me, can you tell me what you Brits call a woodie?"

So I called upon our glorious

Zoë. I could see her arched eyebrows all the way here in Tennessee.

Zoë immediately jumped into the fray with me, pointing out that what a regular British male might call an erection is completely different from what an upper class British peer would call an erection. We spent a glorious afternoon trading slang terms across several time zones and a wide blue ocean, both of us cracking up on our respective computers. Her husband and my husband got quite a charge out of it too, I’ll tell you. Really, what’s two nice girls doing with the gutter talk anyway???

When we hit upon ‘sporting a stalk like a spotty youth,’ I knew I was in serious trouble. Zoë, in a kindness that was so far above and beyond the call of duty, offered to read the pages Memphis was on, and make sure I was hitting the mark with his terminology.

Suffice it to say I accepted, and got myself quite an education. I was so far off base, if Zoë hadn’t saved me, I would have made a real fool out of myself. I had a character named Penelope who went from uneducated British to Cockney to Irish and back all in a single sentence. Yikes. She was just a good British girl, and I mangled her to pieces.

Aside from the most egregious of my errors (and one rather massive generalization that I thought was completely obvious but was surprised to hear no longer mattered) what struck me was how by simply changing a word here and there, Memphis started to sound like an aristocrat. He came to life. He fulfilled his role, and his purpose. And I learned a very difficult lesson.

If you’re trying to be authentic, you must, must, must do your homework. I did mine, and it wasn’t right, because I didn’t realize just how complicated the class structure is in the UK, and how very different each segment of society sounds. We don’t have that here. There’s educated and uneducated, and regionalisms that are dead giveaways (hoagie, sandwich, grinder, sub, anyone?) But we don’t delineate our class structure by our accents.

This carries over into any kind of research you may be doing. If you’re writing about guns, you need to get the guns right. If you’re writing about medical terminology, you need to be accurate. Accuracy is what makes you a reliable author, one who the readers trust to give them the right information. As a writer, I am certainly not an expert. But I sure need to sound like one, because my characters ARE.

This is true of anything. Jews writing Christians. Blacks writing whites. Southerners writing New Yorkers. Knitting aficionados writing about murder. Anytime you write about something that you aren’t intimately familiar with, you have a chance. A chance to make it right, or a chance to screw it up. A little extra effort, and the good luck to have the right people to ask, can make the difference between a good book and a great book.

You know, I had a horrible time writing this book. For the first time, I honestly thought I might miss a deadline because it JUST WASN’T WORKING. When Zoë stepped in and bailed me out, all of the little pieces I was looking for fell into place. For the record, she also made a tiny little comment that blew up the entire end of the book, which I had to rewrite this week. And thank God she did, because the book is ten times better for it. I was able to turn it in yesterday, at 3:00 p.m., a full two weeks early.

When you step outside your comfort zone, you have an opportunity to shine. Or to fall flat on your face. You MUST be open to criticism, to hear that you got it wrong, in order to have a chance to make it right. You have to check your ego at the door and open your mind. Otherwise, why are we doing all of this? For our own edification? Naw. We want to create stories that the reader remembers long after they close the cover.

Writers, have you ever researched completely outside your comfort zone?

And readers, just how much are you willing to forgive a writer who makes mistakes in a book?

A small P.S. –

My new Taylor Jackson novel, 14, is set to release on Tuesday, August 25. Rumor has it (okay, it’s not a rumor) Amazon and B&N are already shipping copies, and it’s slipped into a couple of stores (Walmart in Maine? You gotta love that.) You can order your copy here or here, and please, don’t forget to support your independents. Here’s a link to Indiebound — you can find a local indie store that’s carrying 14 through them. We’ve also launched a brand new website, designed by my intrepid and patient husband, which still needs some content updating, but has information on my tour schedule, etc.

Next week I may talk about how surreal it is to have two books on the shelves, or I may just regale you with stories of my search for the perfect margarita during a much needed break at the beach. We’ll see what I’m up for : )

Wine of the Week: I have to do it. I’m not proud of myself for this, but I’ve always vowed to be honest here on the blog. I’ll admit it now: I drank "champagne" from a can. And liked it. It’s called Sofia Blanc de Blanc.

J.T. Ellison

I am honored to have Red Room founder Ivory Madison here today. If you’re not familiar with Red Room, click on this link and check it out. (After you read the interview, mind you.) I’ve been a Red Room author for many months now, and I’ve found it to be incredibly easy to use, and chock full of fascinating people. I love how I can upload my reviews, my media, my interviews, book covers, tour schedule, book synopses, blog entries… you get the idea. It’s a clearing house for some of the most influential and interesting authors of our time — Amy Tan, Salman Rushdie, Po Bronson, John Stewart and Peter Coyote are just a few of the contributing members. I was entranced by their idea of a writer’s society, a network of authors, readers, editors, publishers and agents who all come together in a single clearinghouse to share their lives, books and ideas. It’s taking the blog concept and turning it into a vital resource for the writing community. Red Room celebrates their authors, shows a new respect for the literary world, and manages to have a healthy sense of humor. All wonderful reasons to join the community.

Ivory Madison is the architect of this online world. She is an eclectic, fascinating woman with the drive and vision only seen in few people. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming the ultimate Renaissance woman, Ivory Madison, to Murderati. And now, on to the show!

Tell us a secret about Ivory Madison that no one knows.

I realized recently that most of my fiction is about ineffective female assassins.

What is Red Room all about?

We call redroom.com “the online home of the world’s greatest writers.” It’s an online community created by writers for writers, and it grew organically out of our real-life writers community, the Red Room Writers Society.

Redroom.com, as you know since you’re very active on the site, lets you quickly set up a free, elegant website even if you don’t know anything about computers, and once you’re in, you reach new readers, colleagues, and friends. Some writers are already getting more than a hundred times the traffic they got on their freestanding websites. We like to say, “You take care of the writing, we’ll take care of the technology.” We’re rolling out new features every day to help you manage your life, your writing, and your media. I want writers to have all the tools they need in one place.

Beyond the technology aspect, it’s a great place to share useful information and to learn, to get educated about the writing world, to make connections, to have fun. And most importantly, once the website has paid advertising, we’ll be giving a portion of the proceeds to the causes each and every author supports.

How does Red Room differ from the Red Room Writers Society?

I founded the Red Room Writers Society six years ago to help writers, including me, finish their books. I created what I called my “Writers Studio” program, where writers met at a beautiful mansion and sat quietly and finished their books. It was a supportive community and it was a practical framework for achieving your goals. But community support and a practical framework for writing and promoting your career should be free and easy for everyone in the world, not just a few lucky people in San Francisco.

Redroom.com is the natural extension of the Red Room Writers Society. It’s a beautiful mansion for writers, online, where we can provide all this to everyone, for free. We’re aiming to build an international cultural institution for writers and readers. The internet makes the concept scalable and the time is right.

Every time I look at the author listings on Red Room, they’ve grown exponentially. Are you looking for more authors to join, and what’s your criteria?

Yes, after just six months live, we’ve got over a thousand authors and ten thousand members, many of whom are readers, aspiring writers, and industry professionals including literary agents and editors.

We want everyone in our community to join as a member, and some can apply to become Red Room Authors. The criteria is more of an art than a science. In general, a book published by a reputable publisher will do it, but there are always exceptions, like an extraordinarily successful self-published author, a distinguished journalist with no book, or a prize-winning screenwriter. We’re planning to launch other designations to recognize all different kinds of writers, not just book authors.

Why invite-only?

Our community is for everyone, the aspiring writers, self-published writers, and published authors, but we only allow the published authors to have the designation “Red Room Author.” That part is invitation-only, that’s true. Here’s why: Finding an editor at a publishing house who supports your work by publishing it, rather than self-publishing, is a process that creates a filter. It’s not a perfect system, but it helps readers distinguish the level of quality of the work. When you look through the “Red Room Authors” in our community, you know you’re looking at writers who have achieved something. We go through a process evaluating every single author. You know we created a filter to help you find writers who have achieved something, either because of their writing talent, market success, or some other way that they contribute to the diversity or value of our community as a whole.

Red Room is staffed by an incredibly talented group of people, all of whom are twenty-nine. Something significant in that number? And do you fire them when they turn thirty?

Ah, you’ve read the “About Us” page. Well, there are a few reasons we say everyone on staff is twenty-nine. First of all, most writers hope to publish their first novel before they’re thirty…so I’ve told the entire staff they’re not allowed to turn thirty until they finish their first book. And another reason is that I’m a comic book writer, and in comics, superheroes never age beyond twenty-nine. I like everyone at Red Room to feel like a superhero. Also, I think I can still just barely pass for twenty-nine, so I am going to keep saying it until people make me stop.

You have an exceptionally eclectic background. What’s the favorite hat you wear – singer, entrepreneur, writing coach, graphic novelist, literati, screenwriter, lawyer, spirited teacher of billiards???

You have no idea how eclectic my background is, JT. But we don’t have time here to get into it. I love doing all the things you mentioned, and in one way it can hold you back to have too many interests, to be a dilettante, but in another way, everything I’ve ever done has prepared me for this job—building Red Room. But at heart, more than anything, I’m a writer. Gloria Steinem, one of my heroes, at the end of the day, says she’s “a writer.”

And where do you find the time to do all that you do? What’s your secret? Can we buy some?

Sure, send me a check and then I’ll call you with the secret.

Okay, it’s ruthless prioritizing and logical next action steps. Every day, every hour. I’ve put many things on hold in order to build my dream. The secret to success is focusing on the next immediate action step in the right direction, at all times. That’s all. What will give you the highest ROI [Return on Investment] on your next five minutes? Your next hour? Your next year? Your most ambitious dreams are possible if you take a pragmatic approach to making them happen, and if you’re willing to accept the trade-offs.

In the past two years, I had to give up two other businesses in order to make this one a success. I had to work a hundred hours a week for a year to get redroom.com off the ground. But I made the right decisions for me, and took small action steps every day towards the highest priority goals I had committed to achieving. I’ve achieved more in the last two years on my list of life goals than in the past twenty, so I know it’s under our control if we move like a snail or at the speed of light. There’s nothing holding us back.

What’s your typical day like?

This is going to be so boring. Okay, I get up at 6AM, work from home on email and phone (focusing on East Coast contacts), and sometimes catching up on business reading, until 9:30AM. Then I get dressed and I walk the five blocks to work, with my fiancé, Abe, stopping for a quick breakfast somewhere, and we’re usually in the office by 10AM. I’m there until 10PM or later probably six nights a week, working closely with every department. I only go to lunch or dinner if it’s business. Then once everyone else has gone home, I flip a switch on the bookcase and go down a secret passageway built underneath my office, and follow a secret staircase down to my compound, where I change into my costume, jump on my motorcycle, and fight crime all night.

You’re currently recording an album with pianist Richard Hall – a compilation of jazz standards. Do you think it’s easier to record an album or write a graphic novel?

Richard and I were almost ready to record the album, had done all the arrangements and rehearsals, and then I realized—due to my ruthless prioritizing—that it would have to wait until the graphic novel was finished. So I took a year off of singing. The graphic novel just got wrapped up, was released in serial comic book form, and the book version is slated for release in January 2009. I have one other personal project in line and then I’m going to get back to the album. To answer your question, I am going to assume recording an album is easier because I haven’t done it yet and don’t know any better.

What’s the literary scene like in San Francisco?

It’s amazing. Wonderful. Best in the world, I think, other than New York. I’m from here, so I’m biased in our favor, but I had been living in New Orleans for many years, and so the city’s literary scene was new to me when I returned ten years ago.

Several pillars of the local literary community here were crucial to the creation and success of redroom.com. When I founded the Red Room Writers Society back in 2002, I met many writers who wound up becoming friends and the inspiration for what was possible on a global scale for writers. Jane Ganahl, an author, friend, and the first person I hired to help me invite authors to redroom.com, cofounded Litquake, the city’s premier literary festival—through Litquake, I met hundreds of authors who eventually helped me build redroom.com. Also, my friend, Po Bronson, is not only a successful author, but also famous for his community-building in the writing world, helped me from day one with great advice about what writers wanted and needed online.

The downside of any literary “scene” is that it means readings and parties and events and classes, which means you’re at the party, not writing. Writers have to find time to finish what matters most to them, which for most writers means writing projects, not dinner party projects. Unless supporting other people’s writing is your top priority, your writing has to come first sometimes. I strongly believe you can write anywhere if you just do the writing and forget about the penumbra around writing. Moving to San Francisco or New York will not make you a novelist any more than moving to Hollywood automatically makes you a screenwriter. Marketing is different from writing.

Where do you see the future of the book heading?

Let me begin by saying that books are magical objects of art that change lives and aren’t getting phased out by any technology, ever. Take a subway ride in New York. Everyone from every walk of life has a book with them (and last month when I was in New York, half the books I noticed on the subway were written by Red Room Authors!).

I think most of the predictions I read regarding the trends, many driven by technology, of where publishing is headed are generally correct (we did one ourselves called The Future of the Book). But they are wrong if they say people are reading less—they aren’t—and when they say the physical book will be entirely replaced by ebooks—it won’t. Each market has micro-markets within it, too, so while new book sales might be down, used book sales are up, and while independent bookstore sales are down, online book sales are up. So the trends are complex and sometimes can both advantage and disadvantage a player at the same time.

What’s your favorite author story?

Bill Hayes, one of our authors, came over to our office with a signed book and a bottle of good French pink champagne to thank us for creating the website because he loved it and appreciated us so much. I don’t think that happens at Facebook or LinkedIn.

Outside of the writing world, what captures your interest?

Well, everything I love has to do with writing. My biggest loves are history and philosophy and feminism and lexicography and I discovered them all through books and authors, and I think of them in terms of books and authors. I’m very nostalgic, too, and for fun I love old music, film, and comic books, mostly from the forties. I like documentaries and weird antique books. I love old architecture—Abe and I have an 1887 Victorian. Our Red Room offices are in an old Victorian, too.

When you were a little girl, what did you think you’d be when you grew up?

Ivory Madison.

You want more details…okay. When I was about seven years old, I thought I would be the first female president and an architect and a film director and a lounge singer and Batman. I drew pictures of my headquarters, which was a large building with gargoyles on it. So, if I define those dreams very loosely I can say I sort of made it. I’m president of redroom.com, I designed the website architecture, I was the art director for my graphic novel, I did get to sing at the Plush Room, and I wrote Batman for DC Comics. I have some bookends that look like gargoyles reading books, perched up on top of the bookcases in my living room.

What books are on your nightstand?

Abe and I have towering stacks on each nightstand of at least forty interesting books and we should just admit we won’t have time to read them. The only books I wind up reading these days are business books. Books with titles like Structuring Mergers and Acquisitions, Execution, Wikinomics, Getting Things Done, Marketing Metrics, Traction. And when I get exhausted, I remember that “the antidote to exhaustion is whole-heartedness,” and I take an hour with a pop philosophy book, books on Toltec wisdom and Buddhist philosophy. The only fiction I make time to read these days is when my friends write books and I’ll get in a lot of trouble if I don’t read them. I don’t want to name names—we have a thousand authors!

What’s your favorite line that you’ve ever written? Read?

That I’ve ever written? Maybe this one from my short story, The Time I Tried to Kill the Poet Laureate of the United States:

On day seven of my trial, the judge said that he would put me away for life if I used the term Kafkaesque “even one more time!” (His anti-Semitism was transparent, so I took to wearing a gold felt star on my jacket to underscore it.)

The story is still unpublished, although I’ve read it at Litquake and other venues. The protagonist is a self-righteous pseudo-intellectual, kind of an Ignatius O’Reilly [from A Confederacy of Dunces] crossed with one of the more innocuous Edgar Allan Poe narrators. I keep thinking I should submit it to Story, but due to my ruthless prioritizing, I haven’t even found out yet if anyone thinks it’s publishable.

My favorite line I’ve ever read? Well, that’s an impossible thing to choose, but the first thing that comes to mind at this moment is the poem “Modern Declaration” by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The poem begins with, “I, having loved ever since I was a child a few things/Never having wavered in these affections,” she declares, “…that I shall love you always/No matter what party is in power/No matter what temporarily expedient combination of allied interests wins the war/Shall love you always.”

And finally, tell us honestly… Are you big in Japan?

No. But there were 564 visits to redroom.com from Japan last month. My goal is to help you find your readers, colleagues, and friends wherever they are in world, and so maybe next year I won’t be kidding when I say we’re “big in Japan.”

Founder and CEO Ivory Madison is a writer, editor, and entrepreneur living in her hometown of San Francisco. A former management consultant to startups and the Fortune 500, Madison has finally combined her love of writing with her business acumen. Before launching redroom.com, she founded the Red Room Writers Society in 2002, where she personally helped hundreds of aspiring and professional writers complete their books. As a result, Madison was named Best Writing Coach by San Francisco magazine. Trained as an attorney, Madison was Editor in Chief of her Law Review, interned at the California Supreme Court, and served as a Law Fellow at Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Her adventures have also included episodes as a New Orleans, restaurateur, radical feminist politico, and torch singer at the Plush Room. Her noir graphic novel, Huntress: Year One, will be published by DC Comics in January 2009, but is now available in its six-issue serialized form. It tells the origin story of a strong female superhero. Madison is twenty-nine.

The Story Behind the Photo – “Ivory Madison steals away from her duties as founder and CEO of redroom.com with fellow writer Robert Mailer Anderson. Actually, this photo by David Allen became the poster for The San Francisco Film Noir Festival in February 2007. Ivory and Robert have a platonic relationship, they are acting in this photo.”

J.T. Ellison

Home is where the heart is, right?

I’ve been thinking about what "home" means to me lately. The past few weeks on Facebook, I’ve had a run of luck reconnecting with some of my friends from high school and college, which has in turn overloaded my senses with a bevy of long-forgotten memories when the names and faces pop up. We’re all twenty years older, but that’s just few enough years that you can still readily recognize people.

You see, I don’t live where I went to school. I moved away from both my childhood home and my high school and college home. Which means that here in Nashville, there’s no one around from my childhood.

And in many ways, that’s a good thing. It’s funny, I thought I had changed dramatically, that I was this completely different person from the one I was back then. One quick inbox from a respected friend from high school shattered that illusion. I am the same person — a little smarter, a little more worldly, definitely a lot more in tune with my heart — but I’m still the geeky girl who didn’t feel like she fit in. Not all the way. The one who listened to the fears and hopes of people from every clique, and never got into any of them. Still the same woman who encouraged her friends, believed in them, knew they could be whatever they wanted to be, yet never, ever discovered exactly what she wanted. Who never got completely comfortable in her skin.

I mentioned this to hubby the other night. We were eating in a fine Nashville establishment called Rhumba, and I was watching a woman out the window. She was sitting at an outside table, smoking, tattoos parading up her left arm, her hair died auburn and cut in a nifty bob, her white tank top skimming her muscled and tanned back as she rested her tattooed arm on the seat next to her. I saw a glint of metal near her mouth, a lip ring, most likely. Hubby said, "That’s a lot of ink." And I spilled out with,"Yes, but she knows exactly who she is and is completely aware of herself. I respect the hell out of that. I wish I did. I’ll be forty next year, and I’m still not there."

I’ve met women like the one I was admiring along the way: the self-assured, the glamorous, the perfect ones, the quirky. Their lives seem effortless. Their hair is always perfect, or perfectly rocked out, they never pay for a drink, they have fascinating stories. I watch and wonder how they do that. When did they hit the moment when they said "This is ME. This is my identity. This is who I was meant to be. Screw what other people think."

I’ve always been fascinated with the counter culture mystique, felt more of an affinity with them that the Junior League crowd I used to was run with. The goths, the wiccans, the punk rockers, the role-players. I can’t help myself, I admire them. I love that they live off the grid, in worlds of their own making. That’s probably the important part of that — worlds of their own making. These women choose to pierce, or tattoo, or paint their face white. It’s a statement about who they are.

Yes, I’ve flirted with the edges — have a couple of tattoos and a piercing or two, thought I was damn cool. But I never had the guts to make it happen for real. I never fully embraced the alternative lifestyle. I couldn’t dress right, I didn’t have the guts to have people stare at me. The feelings of coolness fluttered away and left me feeling like a poseur. Honestly, I can’t even loosen up enough to dress up for Halloween, how could I do that on a daily basis?

I never fully embraced ANY lifestyle, really, outside of the desire to be the best wife I could be. I was quite the little Suzy homemaker for a while there, once I learned how to boil water. I took to marriage like a duck to water, feeding and growing on love. That, at least, hasn’t changed.

But in the little ways that count, I have changed. I may not be an anti-establishment alternative lifestyle girl, wearing my Dr. Martens with a short skirt and ripped leggings, but I do know my own mind. I am probably too opinionated now. Show me your problem and I can find sixteen equally amenable solutions for you. Become my friend, worm your way past my defenses and into my heart, and I’ll be there for you for the rest of your life.

So what does any of this have to do with writing?

My mom asks me all the time why I don’t write a political thriller. And
while I’ll admit to having a corker of an idea for one, I’m reluctant
to set a book in D.C. Check that. I’ve been hyper-resistant to even considering the idea. I’ve never been able to put my finger on the reason why. The journey back through time on Facebook brought it all to the forefront.

There’s too much of ME there. Firsts, lasts, good and bad. Joys, regrets. I lived in D.C. for 15 years, most of them formative. All my big "First
Times": Friendships, boyfriends, jobs. I’ve never been one to dwell on
my past, instead prefer to look forward. I guess I feel like setting a
book in D.C. would be akin to revisiting a ghost of myself. It’s not me
any more. And instead of writing the story, I’d be mourning the loss of the girl who did wear the combat boots and ripped leggings, who wanted to dye a pink streak in her hair, who somehow ended up working in the White House, wore blue suits with white hose, carried a Coach briefcase and was a categorical bow-head. Yikes.

Nashville was a much easier set up for me. There is no history for me here, no background. No people who knew me,
who’d seen my mistakes, watched me grow up. I guess, in a way, I had
nothing to lose. I could recreate myself through my setting. Since I was new to the area, I experienced it through fresh eyes. I’m still discovering parts of my adopted hometown that surprise me.

Hemingway
said:

"All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had
really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel
that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the
good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse, and sorrow, the people and
the places and how the weather was."*

That’s what I’ve been trying to do with my books.

I think if you can tap into that, your books will be a success. If you can make a reader FEEL your setting, to experience it as fully as they would watching it on the screen, you’ve succeeded. Do you have to know yourself to be a good writer? Of course not. I’ve come to believe that life is a journey, made up of bits and pieces of experiences that shape us into who we become, yet never stop us from evolving into what we can be. But you must give your reader the proper setting for the story. To build a world for them.

Will I ever go home, write a book where my invisible footprints still linger? I don’t know. Writing has become that journey for me, my very own road to discovery. But I will continue to strive to realize the settings I do pick, to make sure that I give them every ounce of me that I have to give. This is what I’ve been realizing over the past few months.
There’s really no way to go home again. But would you want to?

What I finally figured out is that home is truly where
the heart is. It’s not a place, it’s a state of mind.

Where do you call home? Do you write about your hometown? Readers, do you prefer books set in places you know well or don’t know at all?

Wine of the Week: 2003 Campe della Spinette Barolo

*Ernest Hemingway, "Old Newsman Writes," Esquire, December 1934, pg. 26 (courtesy of my good friend Peggy Peden)

——

On a lighter note, huge, MEGA-congratulations to Last Comic Standing Iliza Shlesinger!!!! Way to go, girl!!!!  Thanks for all the laughs.

by J.T. Ellison

Navigating writer’s organizations can be frustrating and expensive. At press time, I belong to an alphabet soup of parent organizations — International Thriller Writers (ITW), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Sisters in Crime (SinC), Romance Writers of America (RWA), International Association of Crime Writers (IACW), The Authors Guild and Women’s National Book Association (WNBA). I have an application in for one more, a group I’m very excited about.

But that’s not all. Then we have the paid subgroups – Sisters in Crime Middle Tennessee Chapter, Music City Romance Writers (MCRW), RWA-PASIC, and the non-charging RWA-PAN. Whew. That’s a chunk of change every year. I thought it would be helpful to break down the expenses and have a frank discussion about just what writer’s organizations do, how they can help your career, and whether they’re worth the money.

First, the cost. It’s a tough nut to swallow, these fees. But organizations have to run, and you get your money’s worth.

ITW — was $95 annually, now it’s free if you meet the publishing criteria, a bold and brilliant move that will definitely make a difference when it comes down to weighing your options.

MWA – $95

RWA – $100 first year, $75 after that

• PASIC – $35

• Music City Romance Writers – $25

Sisters in Crime – $40

• Sisters in Crime Middle Tennessee Chapter – $10

IACW – $60

WNBA – $25

Authors Guild – $90 first year (sliding scale after that, but most continue to pay $90)

Unnamed Organization – $110

So for the 2008 fiscal year, I spent nearly $700 for the privilege of belonging to these writer’s organizations. Gulp.

Some of that money I feel is very well spent, some of it I don’t feel like I’m getting my money’s worth and will let lapse after this year. That’s becoming increasingly true for the subgroups, only because I can’t seem to find the time to hit local meetings (in the case of one group, I literally have not been in town the third Saturday of the month, their regular meeting date, since I joined the group six months ago. Now that’s sad.)

Lots of cash spent, and for what? Outside of the financial burden, what do writer’s organizations do? Why in the world would anyone spend $700 a year to be involved?

There’s an easy answer to the latter. Camaraderie. Most groups have free list serves where you can get to know your fellow authors, ask advice, find sources for research, make invaluable networking connections, and in general learn the industry. Some encourage volunteerism (ITW in particular) and that’s a brilliant way to meet your compatriots, especially the higher echelons. (Last year at Thrillerfest I escorted Vince Flynn. Now that’s was cool.) Most of these organizations are purely volunteer driven (MWA & RWA aside, they do have paid staff, though MWA’s is minimal) and rely on their membership to run things. If you’re the kind of person who likes to get their hands dirty, who likes to lead, to set programming, to mix and mingle with the big dogs, volunteering with an organization can be an incredibly fulfilling experience.

It’s also a massive time suck. Massive.You see how many groups I belong to. It’s too much. You can’t be an effective active participant if you’re spread too thin. And much more importantly, I found I couldn’t keep the level of my writing in tip top shape if I spent my time organizing and volunteering, and as such have stepped back. I’ll be honest, that kind of stuff isn’t my cuppa anyway. I’ve never wanted to be the head of an organization, hold leadership positions. I want to be a writer, first and foremost. It’s taken me quite a while to stop being an apologist about that.

Even if you don’t volunteer, there are still many ways to help your chosen group. Spread the word about your favorite organization, encourage new writers to join up, link to them on your website, plug the organizations at signings and events. Attending the conferences and events they put on is vital too — MWA has the Edgars, ITW has Thrillerfest, RWA has RWA National and Romantic Times… you get the idea. Even if you’re not the type to run for an office, there are plenty of ways to be involved. Even something as simple as offering to moderate a panel, judging a contest or hosting a breakfast with the booksellers can make a huge difference to the organizers.

To answer the former question though, that’s where I’m a bit murky. What do writer’s organizations do?

Some, like Sisters in Crime, have a clear mandate — to help level the playing field between female and male writers. Author’s Guild is the gold standard, fighting to keep contracts fair, giving legal advice, and being an all around resource, plus offering health insurance, (which I wish could be expanded, but hey, it’s a start!) There would be nothing more valuable in my mind than an organization finding a way to provide real and affordable health insurance to their members. There are a lot of writers who keep day jobs for health insurance. Think of the productivity levels if health insurance was offered across the board.

ITW and MWA are more geared to promotion of their members, (ITW in particular is reaching thousands of people, readers and writers alike through their website and newsletter,) and RWA has been a strong voice in the romance world for decades.These organizations seek to educate their members, and that’s the invaluable part of all of this, especially for new writers.They also give awards – RWA has a slew of them, but the Rita is their biggie, MWA has the Edgars (I had the honor of serving as a judge last year, and though it took an incredible amount of time, it was one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done to date.) ITW has the Thriller Awards.

All of the above organizations have a newsletter, though ITWs is always online. It’s a great way to get updated on your peers, their goings-on, and news from the head office. And many, many subgroups have individual conferences. (What conferences to attend is a whole different post, as is the discussion of earned media, ie: free media exposure — the social networking sites and free list serves.)

Here’s the beautiful thing. If you’re not yet published, you can still join these organizations – ITW, MWA and RWA have associate memberships for as yet unpublished members, Sisters in Crime doesn’t have a published requirement for membership at all. I joined MWA long before I had a book deal, and will always remember Margery Flax, the budda guru executive manager of MWA, sharing in my joy when I called to upgrade from associate to active.

I was a part of Sisters in Crime well before I had an agent — and I belonged to four facets of that organization — the Guppies (the soon to be published group that was an invaluable resource for me) the Internet Chapter, the Middle Tennessee Chapter and National. Sisters in Crime got me where I am today, no doubt. I learned more about the industry on those list serves and through the meetings in town than anything else I’ve done, and I’ve made friendships that will last a lifetime.

Now that’s what a writer’s organization should be, in my mind. A place to be educated, to make friendships, to be surrounded by like-minded people who celebrate your successes and pick you up after your defeats. It’s a delicate balance, and one that not every organization is capable of fostering. And the support should be dynamic, altering along with the times, helping you grow as a writer.

So who do you join if you only have room in your budget for one organization? I say pay attention to your genre. If you write thrillers, join ITW. If you’re more traditional mystery, look to MWA. Sisters in Crime isn’t just for cozies, (nor just for women, obviously) but there are a lot of writers who write them there. Romance your forte? RWA is your home, and possibly the most well-established of them all. Need all-around advice on writing and the industry? Join the Author’s Guild.

And remember, there’s always next year if you want to try something different, or branch out into additional groups.

There are so many options, you should be able to find a niche. Writing in a vacuum is possible, but it’s much more fun to connect at the virtual water cooler, then cement those friendships in person.

I know there are many more organizations I’ve missed — Horror Writers of America in particular, simply because I’ve had no experience with them to date. I’d love to hear from other writers on this one.

What organization gives you the best bang for your buck? Which gives the most camaraderie, the best feeling of inclusiveness? What should a writer’s organization give to their membership? When do you walk away from an organization that isn’t giving you what you’re looking for?

And readers, do you belong to any of the writer’s organizations? Do you have a specific reader centric organization that you participate in?

Wine of the Week: A fine bottle of Four Sisters Shiraz, from Southeastern Australia, shared with hubby for his birthday, served by the lovely James at one of Nashville’s best kept secrets — Jimmy Kelly’s Steakhouse.

What would happen if the book world openly reported the money a book grossed on it’s opening weekend?

by J.T. Ellison

As many of you well know, we had Thrillerfest in New York this past weekend. It was a lot of fun reconnecting with old friends, meeting new, and in general, a pretty good time. The rumors are true, Thrillerfest will be in New York again next summer, which is good and bad news. The bad news is the cost of the weekend easily pushes into the $3000 range, once you add up airfare, hotel, registration, food, and of course, books. That’s
a pretty penny — fine if you’re only doing one con a year, but if
you’re anywhere near the circuit… well, you do the math.

The good news of Thrillerfest in New York has a razor’s edge too — it’s impossible not to take advantage of the fact that you’re in New York to do business while you’re there. Which means time away from the conference, no matter how well you schedule. This was my biggest problem this weekend, I had meetings galore and didn’t get to spend much physical time in the Hyatt. And I left early because I’m on a wicked close deadline and needed to get back to work.

I did have an opportunity to sign at the Borders Park Avenue, with seven dear friends (Michelle Gagnon, Tim Maleeny, Alexandra Sokoloff, Mario Acevedo, Laura Caldwell, Laura Benedict and Shane Gericke) with Lee Child as our master of ceremonies. It was a packed house, a wonderful, fun crowd, and we gave away snakes! Well worth the entire trip.

So. That said, there are some great round-ups of Thrillerfest here and here, so instead of repeating everything ad nauseum, I thought I’d talk about my panel, Blood Sweat and Tears: The First Year As A Published Author.
Moderated by Laura Benedict, the panel consisted of Rob Gregory Browne, Heather Terrell, Jason Pinter, D.L. Wilson, S.L. Linnea and me. It was fascinating to hear some of the stories, and I think we heard a great deal of what not to do, though the audience needed to sort that out for themselves.

But with that many people on the panel, we didn’t really get to cover much ground. Laura had prepared some great questions, so I thought I’d interview myself, answer them, and hope that a few other folks will jump in with their first year answers as well.

• Did you make personal appearances or do a tour for the novel? What’s your most horrific tour story?

I did tour, extensively, though I hadn’t planned on doing so. I had several great opportunities that sprang up, and I couldn’t say no. Will I do that again? Probably not — there’s much less writing time when you’re on the road. But I had a chance to do one of every kind of event my first year, and it was great training for my future. And I don’t have a horrific tour story. It’s all been a joy. I’ve had a couple of awkward moments, but nothing that mattered.

• How was writing number 2 (or 3 or 4) different from writing the first novel you published?

The first book I did, I had all the time in the world. I was pushing myself, but there was no deadline, no edits, no page proofs, no promotion. Book two wasn’t so bad either, I was halfway through it when books 1-3 sold. Book 3, that’s where the demands started catching up. Book 4, which I’m six weeks from deadline on now, has by far been the most difficult. I’ve been writing EDGE OF BLACK while page proofing 14, editing JUDAS KISS, promoting ATPG and 14. It’s been grueling, and I keep threatening that I’m not doing any cons next year. I may do one or two, but if it’s not local, I’m probably out, because it’s just too much. Now that I’m in my groove, it’s easier. I know what to expect, what to budget for time wise on a book. It’s all a learning process.

• What is the one thing you wish that a more experienced writer had told you before you sold that first book? Is there anything that you’re reluctant to tell new authors?

I’ve been blessed with great writer friends who have helped educate me on the business. I wish all new writers, regardless of format, house size, or promotional budget, would learn the industry. What I’m reluctant to tell new authors is not everyone makes it. That’s just a fact, and it’s a disturbing one. You never know who is going to make it, and who isn’t. I did get some incredibly great words of encouragement this weekend. A writer with 40 books under her belt said "There are one book wonders. There are three book wonders. Once you publish that fourth, you’re really a professional writer." I felt a load off when she said that, for sure. 

• Many publishers ask their writers to submit a marketing plan with either a proposal or after the book has been accepted. If you submitted a plan, did it have anything to do with reality?

No, Mira did not ask me to submit a marketing plan. I know this answer varies from house to house, but Mira has an exceptionally brilliant marketing team, and they so didn’t need me telling them what I thought we should be doing. This also ties in with the most important element of your career — communication with your people.

• How involved were you with the publisher’s marketing of your book? Did you have any interaction with the publisher’s sales team?

I had a great deal of interaction with the sales team at Mira. Jason Pinter, Michelle Gagnon and I all got to sign at BEA out first time out, meet the sales staff, schmooze with the company executives. It was very helpful. I’m still interacting with them weekly. My publicist talks with them regularly. It’s been a true joy to work with the publicity and marketing folks. I think the key is listening, learning the industry, then knowing what to pitch to them and when to stay out of their way. And that’s not something you learn your first year, I think it’s an on-going process. No one will fire you for asking questions…

• What was your most successful promotion? Which promotional efforts will you keep and which will you drop next time around?

I didn’t do anything promotion wise outside of personal appearances and guest blogs for writer sites. I had some postcards, but I never made bookmarks or keychains or any other kind of swag. There’s an old joke in politics: "Yardsigns. Yardsigns will win you an election." Swag in publishing is the same. I think a bookmark or postcard is fine, and if you want to do something cool (or your house does) then go for it. But it’s not going to be the tipping point for your career. I think the best money I spent was on just plain old business cards. I’ve reordered them at least six times since I’ve started, and hand them out everywhere. This is a business, and if you act like a businessman/woman, you’ll be treated as such.

• What is one illusion that you held about the business that was completely destroyed by your experience? Conversely, what was the most pleasant surprise?

Shattered illusions? That everyone wants you to succeed. It just ain’t so, unfortunately. There are people who would be just as happy to see you fall on your face than get a decent sell-through. The trick is to recognize these Januses quickly. Here’s a bit of advice. Don’t jump into any relationships, ease your way in. If people you trust are telling you someone is trouble, LISTEN. And don’t let people treat you like you’re an errant child just because you’re a debut. You should always, always be treated with respect, and you should treat people with respect in return. Even if you don’t like them.

And on the other end of that spectrum, I have been absolutely stunned by the outpouring of friendship, love, support and general goodwill in the mystery community. I have made some of the closest friendships of my life since I became a writer. People who support you no matter what, who cheer for your successes and gripe about your failures. Amazing, wonderful friends.

• Do you track your sales? If so, how? And how often did you/do you look at those puzzling Amazon numbers?

I do to the extent that I watch the trends. If I have a radio interview, or an ad runs, I watch to see if the numbers move. You don’t really know anything until your editor gives you your numbers, because Amazon, Ingram, and the like are only reporting fractions of your sales. If we knew what fraction, we could all rest easier.

• Were you told the numbers of copies of your book that would be published, and did you editor or agent tell you what sell through numbers they’d be happy with?

Yes, and yes. If you aren’t being told that, you need to jump up and down and yell and scream. Talk to your agent, talk to your editor. Tell them you want to be involved in the process, that you want to work hard and make a success out of your book. You should always know where you stand and what your goals are.

Wine of the Week: 2003 Attilio Ghisolfi Barolo

by J.T. Ellison

For the two hundred and thirty-second time, we celebrate our independence today. Independence from tyranny, from oppression, from religious persecution. We celebrate our rights to free speech, revel in the joys of living in a nation that encourages diversity of thought, faith and action. We are the United States of America, and we are mighty because of our tolerance.

So can we get real for a second?

I had two events this week that left me infuriated, frustrated, and ultimately pumped full of righteous indignation. Once I was done seeing red, the strong feelings trickled down into actual courage. Please forgive my rant, but as a writer, it would be disingenuous not to talk about it.

I read a spectacular book this week called THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE, by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi. Many of you recall the situation two years ago, when Spezi was arrested in Italy and Doug launched a campaign in the press to get him released. The book details not just the botched investigation into the sixteen murders in the hills surrounding Florence, but goes into detail about how close Doug came to being imprisoned along with Spezi. Doug was taken into custody, interrogated and indicted (under Italian law the term is indagato, which means you have been formally named as an official suspect of the crime.) He was damn lucky to get out of the situation without being thrown in prison, and he was forced to leave Italy.

His writing partner, Mario Spezi, wasn’t so lucky. Spezi was the lead journalist who covered the Monster of Florence for twenty years for La Nazione, an Italian newspaper. When the official investigation got mired in ridiculousness, he did what any good journalist does — he questioned the heads of the investigation and their single-minded pursuit of anything but the real truth. What happened next was the most specious display of judicial malfeasance I’ve ever seen. He was charged with the murders, accused of being Il Mostro. For a journalist and a thriller writer to be indicted and jailed because they question the actions of the government is beyond frightening.

I won’t ruin the book for you by revealing more, but I highly, highly recommend this incredible story. The Monster of Florence has been on my radar for quite some time, and I was fascinated by the behind the scenes story Doug presents in this book.

The second incident that upset me this week was finding out another fellow thriller writer, Brad Thor, has received death threats from the Muslim community because of his new book, THE LAST PATRIOT. It smacks of the fatwa placed on the head of Sir Salman Rushdie by the Ayatolla Khomeini in 1988. Brad has been on television this week talking about the book and the measures he’s had to go to to protect himself and his family. It’s absolutely unreal to think that you could write a book and people would want to kill you.

Forgive my strong language, but this is utter bullshit. As Brad so eloquently put it, there are no laws that cover being offended. These are fiction writers, thriller writers, being threatened because they MADE UP A STORY. We’ve moved well past censorship, my friends. This is called fascism. And it has no place in our modern society.

So today, this beautiful, fine day where we Americans celebrate our independence from fascism and tyranny, I urge you to buy both of these books and send a statement to the very people who think that they are within their rights to call for the death of a writer. To imprison journalists. To infringe on our very freedom because of their fears. No more. We need to stand up as a community and shout these people down.

Buy Doug Preston’s THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE here.

Buy Brad Thor’s THE LAST PATRIOT here.

God Bless America.

Wine of the Week: An American wine with an Italian name: 2005 Francis Ford Coppola Rosso

by J.T. Ellison

There’s just nothing like being a mystery writer. We see things in a completely different perspective. Our rose-colored glasses are tinted with shadows. The nightly news is a source of grist for the mill. An argument between strangers takes on a sinister cast. Dusty’s post on Wednesday illustrated just how devious our minds can be when it comes to twisting straightforward events into pretzels of mystery.

I forget that others don’t see the attraction.

I had a somewhat humorous (for me) and horrifying (for her) situation this week. Let me state, for the record, that I am sometimes a bit excited when I find I need to do a spot of research. I love research. Research is a blast. It can be scary, upsetting, or just plain interesting, but regardless, I tend to plunge into it wholeheartedly. And when I get excited, I talk fast, and sometimes don’t give as much information as I need to. In MY head, it’s all perfectly logical and my motives are pure. On the other end… well, suffice it to say, sometimes people aren’t as thrilled by my ideas as I am.

I was writing a scene that concerns a lake in my area, and I needed to know if they had security cameras. So I looked up the number and called. A very nice woman answered, I told her I’m a local mystery author, went through my spiel, and told her what I needed. She paused a bit, then said I should probably talk to the head guy. Fine, no worries. Then she took my info and referred back to the questions. "Why do you need to know about security?" (Cue stupid move on my part…) I answered, rather gleefully, "Oh, well, unfortunately, I’m dropping a body in your lake!"

The moment that ensued gave new meaning to dead silence. Then she said, "Literally?"

I started laughing. She didn’t. She didn’t find it all that funny. And I realized that not everyone is as excited about mischief and mayhem as I am.

Research involves many facets, from Internet combing to old-fashioned library work to physical, get dirty, experience it first-hand kind of research. I prefer the hands on, am always willing to take that ride along or make that phone call. First-hand is the best way to go.

But there’s always a chance that you might mislead someone about your intentions, albeit on accident. I know people who’ve done research on bomb-making materials, on terrorism, on all kinds of things that might make the powers that be sit up and take notice. There are some kinds of research questions no one can afford to take lightly. Especially in this post-9/11 world, when we need to be careful just who we give out security information to.

At every conference, panel and signing event, I’m asked how I do my research. What I mentioned above is pretty much my MO — I have a question, I check the Internet, get as much information as possible, then contact the appropriate person and ask if I have it right. A solid ninety percent of the time, they are more than happy to talk to me, to give me what I need. I’ve found that especially in law enforcement, they WANT you to get it right. I’ve always been of the mind that the more fiction "fictionalizes" law enforcement, the less the real world understands what they sacrifice every day to keep us safe. I try to avoid that if at all possible.

Every once in a while, I get turned down. My local medical examiner’s office can’t talk to laypeople anymore — they were sued after an unfortunate event during the filming of a television reality series. That creates a serious issue for me, since one of my main secondary characters is the Medical Examiner for the state of Tennessee. Happily, (or unhappily) forensic pathology is a relatively standard field. So now I have a brilliant, wonderful doctor in the Manhattan Medical Examiner’s Office who has truly made all the difference in my work.

I needed to know about forensic odontology (identifying people through the unique characteristics in their teeth through dental x-rays) for my first book, and a local dentist, Michael Tabor, is the forensic odontologist for the state of Tennessee. Dr. Tabor is esteemed in his field, was actually called in during 9/11 to help. Dr. Tabor sat down with me over lunch and answered a million questions, then invited me to meet with him and the forensic anthropologist attached to our M.E.’s office to do an examination of a skull found in a local field. It was a fascinating evening, and I learned so much. My homicide detective was in on that one too.

Note I said MY homicide detective. He’s mine. No one else can have him. : ) Seriously, Detective David Achord of Metro Nashville homicide is the only reason Taylor has any credibility as a cop, period. From ten codes to guns to homicide investigation to the bingo lingo, David has been there from the beginning. I couldn’t be more grateful. (All mistakes are mine!)

I needed to talk to the FBI about this newest book, and they graciously granted me an interview with the Unit Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. He’s Baldwin, and he’s amazing. Now, I didn’t just call the FBI and say hey, I need to speak to your head profiler. I went through the proper channels, submitted a written request to their Public Relations Department. And it took a good four months to get the appropriate clearances and get everyone’s schedules aligned. So think about your source before you start contacting them. It can take a while to get to the right person.

Other writers are a great resource — Lee Lofland writes an exceptional blog (and congrats on that Macavity nom, Lee). Robin Burcell used to be a cop, Jim Born still is. Christine Kling is a sailor, and thank goodness for her! I also use a site called PoliceOne, which really gets in-depth about everything from ammunition to negotiations with gang leaders. (And thanks to everyone above…)

I just looked at my bookmark folder for the research on this new book. There’s everything from the Peerage of England to MI-5 and Scotland Yard to federal prisons to twins studies to the Vatican to the history of Renaissance art to selecting a handgun to the Globe and Laurel to fishing line to the carabinieri to the music from ‘Jaws’ to eye movement when lying to paper manufacturers to DNA fingerprinting to Taschen Books to Medline to Picasso and Millais. I’ve used all of it.

It’s crazy, actually, how many little itty bitty details go into writing a book. I might read forty articles to assimilate one detail. Every item listed above (and this is only a representative sample, the folder for EDGE OF BLACK alone has hundreds of entries) has been printed, gleaned and categorized into the major areas I need for the research on this book. My research portfolio is overstuffed.

The trick is for me to synthesize all of the random information into a cohesive narrative. And sometimes, that isn’t so easy.

But what is easy is thanking everyone who physically helps with my research. You’ll see my acknowledgment pages run on and on and on….

So have you ever freaked someone out with your questions? What’s your favorite resource for research? And readers, do you like more or less details with your stories?

Wine of the Week: 2004 Juan Gill Jumilla Red

P.S. I did an interview for the latest issue of NVF Magazine, alongside some exceptionally cool writers, including ‘Rati alum Simon Wood. Stop by and take a look!

by J.T. Ellison

I’ve had one of those strange weeks, when good things shower down from the sky like raindrops, and I sit back and ask myself when the other shoe is going to drop.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m as optimistic as they come. But sometimes, I worry that things are too good. Have you ever had that feeling?

And it’s funny, because that’s not how my week started. On Saturday, after reading Alex’s wonderful post, I was super bummed. I’ve been having an incredibly difficult time with this new book. The subject matter is hard to digest — one of those where I wonder what in the world I was thinking when I started it, no one is going to want to read about this… all the usual doubts creeping around. And those doubts can derail a writer pretty damn quick. As I’ve just experienced.

It’s not happened like this before. I’ve had moments of concern, worry that I wasn’t doing the right thing, but the story has always been paramount, and I knew deep down that it would be okay. This time… not so much. So I’ve been pouting, words trickling onto the screen. Not meeting my daily goals, fretting all the time. It’s just not ME.

So I read Alex’s post. Then I watched the U.S. Open.

I don’t know how many of you follow golf, but the Open this past weekend was unreal. Historic. Full of grace and power, hardships and triumphs. It was a battle, mano e mano, between two of my all time favorites – Tiger Woods and the "Walking Smile" Rocco Mediate. I’m a golfer, so I usually plant myself on weekends during the season to watch my guys shoot it out on the links.

Both of them, Tiger and Rocco, gave me inspiration this week.Thursday was the first time Tiger had walked more than nine holes since his most recent knee surgery. He hurt. He was in pain. So much pain that word came out Tuesday that he is done for the season, needing another surgery on his poor knee. You knew it hurt, could tell by the shortened stride, the grimaces and grunts when he took his shots. I am telling you, that took some serious
guts to finish the tournament.

And here comes Rocco, Mr. Smiley, jittery, jumpy guy who can’t settle
in his stance, giving the best golfer in the world a massive run for
his money.The lovely thing is I haven’t heard anyone grumbling about
this. All I’ve heard is pure, unadulterated pleasure at seeing two
athletes, who are good friends in real life, quiet and full of
concentration, battling it out on the links, forcing each other to new
heights of skill. Rocco pushed Tiger, Tiger pushed Rocco, and they gave
us 91 holes of pure joy. I honestly didn’t know who I wanted to win
more. I didn’t want either of them to lose. How often does that happen?

I saw an interview with Tiger Sunday night. They asked about the pain. He said:

"Pain. It’s just pain. It is what it is. You just work through it."

And I thought to myself:

"Block. It’s just writer’s block. It is what it is. You just work through it."

Because that’s what professionals do — they work through it. They Just. Do. It. No excuses. No BS. They work hard, even when it hurts, because that’s their job.

When I finished watching on Monday, I realized my anxiety was gone. I talked with my editor and she likes the premise for the book. I cut away some things that I realized were going to hold the story back. The story got too big, and it needs to be tamed a bit. We also had to do an excerpt for the back of JUDAS KISS, and what I sent wasn’t right for it. It’s the bane of the two books a year — you’re sending draft material that’s not ready for public consumption. I got worried all over again, but just as quickly we realized that I’d buried my lead (AGAIN. This is the third time I’ve had to move my third of fourth chapter to the forefront. I find it amusing, and heartening, to know that it’s just my way of doing it.)

Suddenly, everything clicked. I barreled through the halfway point. I’ve written over fifty pages of actual, usable story this week so far. HUGE sighs of relief. I haven’t forgotten how to do it after all. And I’m reminded again that writer’s block is your story telling you you’re going in the wrong direction.

Now we’ll see if I can actually type THE END on this sucker. My new mantra: JUST DO IT!

So between a historic golf match and a well-timed kick in the pants from Ms. Sokoloff, I’m feeling a little more optimistic at the end of this week than I did in the beginning.

I’d love to hear about your inspirations — those little bits of grace that fall unexpectedly and turn things around for you.

Wine of the Week: To fit with our grace and inspiration theme — a 2002 St. Francis Merlot from Sonoma