Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger: April Featured Authors
April 7, 2019 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as A Skylar Drake Mystery, Featured Author of the Month, Janet Elizabeth Lynn, Partners in Crime, Will Zeilinger
Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Lynn wrote individually until they got together and created the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1956-57. Janet has published seven mystery novels and Will has three plus a couple of short stories. Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. This creative couple is married and live in Southern California.
The next Skylar Drake Mystery, fifth in the series,GAME TOWN is available now and yes . . . they’re are still married!
In addition to Janet’s and Will’s monthly column, Partners in Crime, each week in April they will share with us some of the research they used to write GAME TOWN.
The Academy Awards
1957
We started researching our new book GAME TOWN, in Hollywood, on Hollywood Blvd. Since we are keeping the story in Hollywood, we decided to include the Award Ceremonies of 1957. The Academy Awards were at the RKO Pantages. Since ceremonies were only ten days apart and we couldn’t decide which one to use—we decided to include both! So, the book begins with the Emmy Awards and ends with the Academy Awards
The 29th Academy Awards-Oscars was held on March 27, 1957 at RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony was hosted by Jerry Lewis and Celeste Holms.
To enjoy the humor of that night, go to (Lewis’ monologue begins at 7:25)
The winners were:
Best picture – Around the World in 80 Days
Best actor – Yul Brenner for King and I
Best actress – Ingrid Bergman for Anastasia
Best Song- Que Ser Sera in from the movie The Man Who Knew Too Much
Best Short Cartoon -Mr. Magoo-Puddle Jumper
For A Good Paws by Linda O. Johnston
April 6, 2019 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Barkery & Biscuits Mystery, Cozy mystery, For a Good Paws, Linda O Johnston
May will be a good month for me. It’ll see the publication of For A Good Paws, my fifth Barkery & Biscuits Mystery. It will also be a difficult month, since For A Good Paws is the last mystery in the series. The series has been published by Midnight Ink, which is going out of the publication business.
I’ve enjoyed writing the Barkery & Biscuits series and have also enjoyed promoting the books. As I mentioned last month, I’ll soon be attending a couple of mystery-oriented conferences, Malice Domestic and California Crime Writers. I’ll also be signing at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. And I’ll be doing whatever online promotion seems appropriate.
But all the time, knowledge that there won’t be any further Barkery books remains in my mind. At least I’m not planning any, since I can self-publish, or perhaps find another publisher to pick them up, but don’t have any plans for either at the moment.
And—hey! Here I am at A Slice of Orange. Maybe you’d be interested in picking up a copy my last book in the series. It’s a fun series, after all—about Carrie Kennersly, a veterinary technician who buys a bakery and turns half of it into a barkery to sell the very healthy dog treats she’s created. Oh, and did I mention that it’s a cozy mystery series? Carrie and her friends keep tripping over dead bodies, and she has to figure out whodunit to save herself and them.
Okay, I know A Slice of Orange also features romance novels. Which is fine with me. I’m currently writing four new novels for Harlequin Romantic Suspense.
More mysteries in my future, too? I hope so. But meanwhile, help me say goodbye to my Barkery series, will you? Any suggestions?
In any case, it’s been fun.
Linda
Rebranding…First Quarter Recap
April 5, 2019 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy ReedIt’s hard to believe we are five days into the second quarter. I don’t know about you, but the first quarter didn’t quite go as I planned. However, I think if I didn’t have a production schedule and new daily agenda, I would not be as far along as I am in my rebranding journey.
Yes, I missed the deadline I set to release my book, but I had a very good reason. I didn’t like the ending. Let me back up. I like my book. I even feel secure in saying I love the story. However, in the back of my mind it felt like there was something missing. I sent it to a beta reader and she loved it. It’s one thing for a reader to say they like or even love your work. But if you get that gnawing feeling, then you need to address it.
The other reason I changed the ending, was because I asked an established romance writer and a reader how they felt about cliffhangers. Both had the same answer, “Don’t like them.” I’ve been called out via review by readers not liking my cliffhangers. One of them was my cousin. I didn’t know she was reading my books until she’d read quite a few and posted her dislike of the cliffhanger.
I thought using a cliffhanger at the end of a book was a clever marketing tool to get the reader to buy the next book. Apparently, I missed the mark and pissed off a few readers.
So on the eve or a few weeks before sharing my book, I decided to make a pretty drastic decision to re-write the ending.
I had written what I thought was a nice little cliff hanger, but even I had to admit it was lacking something. know what’s going to happen in the next book and wrote the end based on that. But I forgot, the reader isn’t in my head. Those words and plots are all mine.
Now I’m starting out the second quarter with a minor re-write. If I don’t call it major, it won’t overwhelm me. I think the ending is better and still sets up another book if I choose to continue with these characters or pick another pair from the story.
Let’s do a quick recap.
First quarter goals:
Release updated covers…6 out of 7 released [Cover seven ties into the new website and my upcoming release.]
Update website….Tweaking…launching this month
Update newsletter…Done
Bonus goals…format ebook interiors with paired down back matter [I sort of over did it on the excerpts.}
I also reformatted the ebook lay out pushing the acknowledgements, dedication and a few other things to the back. This gives the reader more story to sample.]
New Tagline and color theme
Graphics for new book…done
Did you make your goals last quarter? If not, ask yourself why and what can you do to complete them this quarter.
Next month, I’ll share the new website. It’s different, but very me.
To everyone attending Cal Dreamin’ enjoy this time hanging with your friends. I hope you get everything out of it you were hoping for.
See you next month.
Vintage 1950s Cocktail Parties
April 3, 2019 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger, Writing tagged as 1950s Research, Janet Elizabeth Lynn, The Skylar Drake Murder Mystery Series, Vintage Cocktail Parties, Will Zeilinger
My husband Will Zeilinger and I co-write the Skylar Drake Murder Mysteries. A hardboiled detective series that takes the reader to 1950s Los Angeles and other areas of the west. Our next book, GAME TOWN, the fifth of the Skylar Drake Murder Mystery series, is available now!
Cocktail Parties were all the rage in the 1950s and into the 60s. It was a chance to get dressed up, relax with friends, socialize, impress others and gossip. What would the 1950 have been without Cocktail Parties?
Private cocktail parties were held at people’s homes. They would invite the neighbors, friends, business associates, their boss, or co-workers. There were all kinds of reasons for a get together. We call it networking today, but on a much smaller scale.
For the host, the food and drinks served were very important. The beverages and the canapés complimented each other. The rule of thumb was tart and salty blended best with gin, while heartier foods went with whiskey and beer.
Below are suggestions for the hostess:
Champagne: caviar, chicken l’orange, hearts of palm salad
Highballs: liver paté, stuffed eggs, cheese balls,
Whiskey Cocktail: cheese tarts, curried peanut butter rolls
Gin Cocktail: marinated vegetables, asparagus tips in ham rolls
Beer: stuffed olives, cheese balls, turnovers
Sherry: Apple, raisin and cream cheese balls, bacon balls, chipped beef rolls with mushrooms, stuffed mushrooms, peanut rolls, peanut butter rolls, peanut butter tarts, nut and stem ginger tarts, ham tidbits, chicken, lobster or liver paste puffs, turnovers, cheese straws, sausage tidbits and smoked hickory cheese balls.
Whiskey cocktails: guacamole, anchovy fillet tidbits, bacon and curried peanut butter rolls, East Indian beef balls, clam spread tidbit, pizzas–miniature, smoked oysters in blankets, Camembert cheese and ham tarts, chicken livers and bacon, roast beef snacks, kippered herring and bacon rolls and meat balls (beef in blankets).
Gin cocktails: guacamole, anchovy ham rolls, artichoke hearts, asparagus tips in ham rolls, onion and cheese snacks, onion egg snacks, stuffed olives, codfish balls with cheese, sardine onion snacks, sausage in blankets, sardine macaroni snacks, stuffed dill pickles and marinated vegetables.
Beer: Anchovy fillet tidbits, stuffed olives, cheese straws, turnovers, cocktail frankfurters and sauerkraut, garlic popcorn, cheese balls, chipped beef and sardine rolls, kippered herring and bacon rolls, and tongue rolls or pinwheels.”
A full-size bar would offer all cocktails. But smaller bars in individual homes usually had only a sampling to offer. Thus, making tidbits easier to manage.
Of course, a fruit and cheese plate was a good finish for all cocktail parties
How to Write a Zillion Books An Interview with Jacqueline Diamond by Jann Ryan
April 2, 2019 by Jann Ryan in category Jann says . . .
Joining us today is USA Today bestselling author Jacqueline Diamond.
Jacqueline Diamond has sold romantic comedies, medical romances, Regency romances and mysteries—more than 100 titles. A former Associated Press reporter and TV columnist, Jackie is best known for her Safe Harbor Medical romance series, beginning with The Would-Be Mommy. She currently writes a spin-off series, the Safe Harbor Medical Mysteries. Jackie has been honored with a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and is a two-time Rita Award finalist. You can sign up for her free monthly newsletter at www.jacquelinediamond.net.
Jann: More than 100 titles!! How did you do it?
Jacqueline: One step at a time! I didn’t set out to write a zillion books; this has happened over the course of about forty years. When I was writing for Harlequin, I had to work on multiple books at once but at different points in the process. One book might be a short proposal waiting for a contract (or rejection); another book, already contracted, might be in the writing stages, while a third, completed book might require revisions at the editor’s request.
Frankly, I wish I had had more time per book, and am delighted to be self-publishing my mystery series (Safe Harbor Medical) at my own pace. When I regain rights to earlier books and prepare them for new editions, I rewrite and polish. It’s mostly minor stuff but I just didn’t have the time for it due to contracts (and need for money!).
Jann: Your Safe Harbor Medical romance series is a great success. Why switch to a medical mystery series?
Jacqueline: Three reasons. I basically felt that, in seventeen books, I’d completed the romantic storylines that felt natural for me in this setting. The second is that I’d been longing to return to mysteries (such as Danger Music, which had been published years earlier, and His Secret Son, a romantic intrigue). Third, I wanted to write and self-publish these mysteries to suit myself not some publisher’s requirements for length or subject matter.
Yet the setting and supporting characters of my fictional Safe Harbor Medical Center still resonate with me. I’ve enjoyed bringing them back to life while creating new major series characters—Dr. Eric Darcy, his PI sister-in-law Tory Golden, and a couple of frenemies, including a homicide detective and a schizophrenic doctor (sympathetic, contrary to stereotypes).
Jann: You have written Regency Romance, romantic comedies and romantic mysteries. Have you ever thought about a women’s fiction or another genre?
Jacqueline: I have also written fantasy (Shadowlight), s.f. (Out of Her Universe) and of course straight mysteries. Some of my romances border on women’s fiction (e.g. The Family Next Door, which is the first book in my Harmony Circle series).
Jann: Throughout your writing career, what changes have you seen in the romance genre?
Jacqueline: The biggest change is that the whole field has opened up. This is largely due to the freedom provided by self-publishing as well as to changes in society. Authors are no longer restricted by whatever publishers believe is selling today or subject to the whims of editors. Of course, there’s a downside as well, because we’re required (whether traditionally or self-published) to promote, promote, promote.
Jann: You have published 3 Safe Harbor Medical Mysteries, The case of the Surly Surrogate, The Case of the Questionable Quadruplet and The Case of the Desperate Doctor. Tell us about this series.
Jacqueline: My protagonist, Dr. Eric Darcy, is an obstetrician in a small town who cares deeply about his patients, family and colleagues. He’s a young widower whose closest friend is a homicide detective and whose crusty sister-in-law is a private investigator. He becomes involved in cases that affect his patients, their families and his own circle of acquaintances.
I’m sometimes put off by mysteries in which the amateur detective has no real reason to be snooping around and, frankly, would get in the way of the police. However, doctors have access to private information as well as the trust of their longtime patients, who might be reluctant to speak to authorities. In The Case of the Questionable Quadruplet, the mother of grown triplets stuns him by claiming there was a fourth baby, a quadruplet stolen from her at birth, many years ago. Was there really a lost child? If she’s still alive, where is she? When someone murders his patient, Eric believes the police are dismissing a vital clue, and feels a responsibility to the victim to discover the truth, aided by his sister-in-law. Night Owl Reviews called it “a very clever mystery where emotions and feelings ran deep.”
Jann: Is there a book 4 in the works? What can you tell about the characters and story?
Jacqueline: Currently, I’m about two-thirds of the way through the fourth mystery, The Case of the Long-Lost Lover. Eric learns that an old flame is missing and might have been trying to reach him when she disappeared. Even more stunning is the discovery that she had a baby that might have been his. When her body is discovered in an unmarked grave, he’s thrust into a quest for the truth, including the whereabouts of a girl who could be his daughter.
Look for Long-Lost Lover this fall! To make sure of being notified, you can sign up on my website, www.jacquelinediamond.net, for my free monthly newsletter. Also, you can follow me on Amazon or Bookbub.
Jann: What kind of writer are you?
Jacqueline: I jot a lot of notes before I start writing, and organize (and reorganize) them as I go. To me, it’s vital to incorporate both structure based on turning points, so that the pace never lags, and springing-to-life characters that I and the reader care about. I also place a lot of emphasis on accurate research in the medical field and in police work. My Beta readers include a retired sheriff’s investigator and an obstetrical nurse. I also consult other experts and do research online.
Jann: How do you stay motivated? What drives you to keep writing?
Jacqueline: Honestly, I knew from the age of four that I was meant to be a writer. Something inside drives me, which is fortunate, because there’ve been a lot of rejections and other setbacks along the way. If this were just a hobby, I’d have quit long ago!
Thank you, Jacqueline, for answering our questions.
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