tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post8337793593749780495..comments2023-10-15T03:16:44.927-06:00Comments on Suspense Novelist: Cop Talk with Lee LoflandPeg Brantleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04906858123466177508noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-42665606224138527352008-03-06T09:45:00.000-07:002008-03-06T09:45:00.000-07:00Wilfred - You're correct. It's the right touch tha...Wilfred - You're correct. It's the right touch that keeps me turning pages and going back to the book stores for more.<BR/><BR/>Mary - I wouldn't take anything for the experience I gained as a police officer. It was a wonderful career, with many good memories and great friendships. However, there's no way I'd ever do it again. I really feel as if I've lived three lifetimes - one good one and two filled with brain-twisting, gut-wrenching nightmares.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-57635573541359255002008-03-06T08:13:00.000-07:002008-03-06T08:13:00.000-07:00Interesting post. I especially liked the part abou...Interesting post. I especially liked the part about, "They’re not all drunks with poor eating habits."<BR/><BR/>Honestly from watching TV sometimes you wonder. Or even sober, they're 'at work' even when they're home. It would be a shame if being a policeman was that hard on a person's life.Mary Connealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09598386111251769803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-66735673129829389902008-03-05T22:00:00.000-07:002008-03-05T22:00:00.000-07:00Hey, Lee. Great stuff. I've noticed that many au...Hey, Lee. Great stuff. I've noticed that many authors try to put too many details or too much of that research into their work. The right touch brings a familiar realism to the work, but it's easy to overload the work.Wilfred Bereswillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03019217952304685255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-34341175114236228562008-03-05T20:52:00.000-07:002008-03-05T20:52:00.000-07:00Hi Hank. Thanks for comparing my book to reading a...Hi Hank. Thanks for comparing my book to reading a boring encyclopedia! Could have been worse, I suppose. You could have compared it to the phone book. :) <BR/><BR/>Good to see you, again.<BR/><BR/>Hey, you guys know that Hank's book was just nominated for an Agatha Award, right. Talk about good reading!<BR/><BR/>Chris - I'm really glad you're enjoying my blog.<BR/><BR/>C.J. - Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I'll be happy to help, if I can.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-19463131043987843942008-03-05T18:41:00.000-07:002008-03-05T18:41:00.000-07:00LOL! Yes, I read the entire World Book, too. We ...LOL! Yes, I read the entire World Book, too. We had the red edition. What about you?Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-36524014801501033782008-03-05T16:31:00.000-07:002008-03-05T16:31:00.000-07:00This is incredibly encouraging info. One of my mai...This is incredibly encouraging info. One of my main characters in my WIP is a cop (though for most of the book she's off duty). It's really beneficial for me to read this info that it is possible for non-cops to write about them. :) I'm off to check out your blog, Lee. And I've added your book to my Wish List at Amazon!C.J. Darlingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16541599888177703695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-42680536018325584782008-03-05T16:19:00.000-07:002008-03-05T16:19:00.000-07:00Lee is very generous with his knowledge. His blog...Lee is very generous with his knowledge. His blog is a must-read!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-48224364572536007432008-03-05T14:56:00.000-07:002008-03-05T14:56:00.000-07:00Great choice of guest blogger, Peg! Lee's book has...Great choice of guest blogger, Peg! Lee's book has now become one of the absolute necessities of writing...and he's such a wealth of amazing info.<BR/><BR/>Another great thing about the book--or, a great distraction, if you are trying to get something done--it's just fun to read, like a novel. <BR/><BR/>(On the other hand, when I was a kid, I read the entire World Book, aardvarks to gosh, whatever is after zebra. Zygote?)<BR/><BR/>Did any of you?Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-10830240104699418782008-03-05T13:54:00.000-07:002008-03-05T13:54:00.000-07:00Sounds good. My wife and I have blueberry pancakes...Sounds good. My wife and I have blueberry pancakes every Sunday morning. It's a fun tradition we started years ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-56789451417019571992008-03-05T12:50:00.000-07:002008-03-05T12:50:00.000-07:00LOL, Lee -- yes, that option was considered, but t...LOL, Lee -- yes, that option was considered, but the heroine hadn't bought pancake mix, either (and the fact that my hero could manage pancakes from scratch without baking powder was a great show of his character. :-) <BR/><BR/>The absolute BEST mix, although very tough to get, is New Hope Mills from central New York. It's still a functioning stone mill, as a matter of fact.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-47358180948660300112008-03-05T12:47:00.000-07:002008-03-05T12:47:00.000-07:00Well, Terry, all I can say is Aunt Jamima Buttermi...Well, Terry, all I can say is Aunt Jamima Buttermilk Pancake Mix. Just add water.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-7738693014457784322008-03-05T12:09:00.000-07:002008-03-05T12:09:00.000-07:00Lee, I'm not sure we're really disagreeing at all....Lee, I'm not sure we're really disagreeing at all. Just making the same points from different directions. <BR/><BR/>The point is making the story a good one, but believability is important. If procedures are important to the story, then they should be right. But they shouldn't <I>be</I> the story (unless it's a story about 'how I used forensics and solve the case' kind of thing. <BR/><BR/>Michael Connelly does a great job of showing a cop at work and the cop stuff doesn't intrude; it's part of the story. <BR/><BR/>Writing is getting readers into the heads of the characters. What can be even harder is having to explain something to a reader that a cop wouldn't think twice about because it's second nature. My editors will say I should explain jargon the first time it's used, but honestly -- is there a cop anywhere who wouldn't simply say "CODIS" when talking to another cop? <BR/><BR/>Readers are funny. I wrote a scene where my character cooked pancakes for the heroine. Only she'd just moved into town and hadn't really stocked her pantry, so she didn't have baking powder, a key ingredient in pancakes. Crit partners called me to task on that, and I had to devise a baking-powder free recipe. Luckily, my brother is a chef, so he bailed me out,a nd the book was published with that detail correctly in place.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-26452748675760756522008-03-05T11:47:00.000-07:002008-03-05T11:47:00.000-07:00Terry. I have to slightly, but respectfully, disag...Terry. I have to slightly, but respectfully, disagree with your comment (we're still friends, right?).<BR/><BR/>Actually, you've kind of reinforced my point. Too many writers try to make their works of fiction a police procedure manual.<BR/><BR/>Really, if a book is well-written, the police facts shouldn't stand out like sore thumbs. That's where I have the problem, not because I'm a former detective and see so much information that's wrong.<BR/><BR/>I just don't get why writers find it so necessary to over-write the police and forensic stuff. They don't do it when they write about any other profession.<BR/><BR/>Ed McBain's books are great examples of how not to over-write the police stuff. It's there, and it's very believable, but it just seems to flow along with the rest of the story.Lee Loflandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11784463794385210688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-42022143838559836202008-03-05T10:36:00.000-07:002008-03-05T10:36:00.000-07:00Peg, to answer your question about being nit-picke...Peg, to answer your question about being nit-picked. Honesty, no. But more honestly, I don't get a lot of feedback, and since I don't usually give it to authors when I catch errors, that doesn't mean I don't have 'wrong' stuff in my books. I try like crazy not to, but sometimes it's a matter of not knowing what you don't know. I was unaware my local sheriff's office has a chaplain program where an officer would never make a death notification without a chaplain present, or that there would always be someone with him in the hospital. Or that Highlander SUVs don't come with manual transmissions. Sometimes these things get caught before the book is publisher, but some of them slide right by. <BR/><BR/>I can't tell you how many 'big name' authors have characters thumbing the safety off their Glocks. <BR/><BR/>I get irked when I read something wrong, so I hate to do it myself. <BR/><BR/>But yeah, I'll suspend a lot of disbelief if it's a good story. Or I'll snicker to myself that I know more than the author. That can be fun, too.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-3200513033242154732008-03-05T10:26:00.000-07:002008-03-05T10:26:00.000-07:00Here's where I come down on the accuracy issue:I d...Here's where I come down on the accuracy issue:<BR/><BR/>I don't want anyone, ever, to throw my book against the wall in frustration because I didn't do my research.<BR/><BR/>As far as the public perceptions are concerned, I think most people are starting to get the drift (that CSI-type shows are a fantasy world), but that's almost beside the point.<BR/><BR/>It's up to me to write a compelling and exciting story. The entertainment factor doesn't need to match the entertainment they can get on television. I think it needs to be better.<BR/><BR/>Terry, you're published. Have you been "nit-picked" by readers?Peg Brantleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906858123466177508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-81489478426627935962008-03-05T10:07:00.000-07:002008-03-05T10:07:00.000-07:00I highly recommend Lee's blog, The Graveyard Shift...I highly recommend Lee's blog, The Graveyard Shift. Friendly and informative. And he's always around to answer posted questions--I don't know where he finds the time. <BR/><BR/>I agree that using fiction and television as research won't add accuracy to a novel--BUT--what happens when that's where your readers get all their information and assume if they do it on CSI, it's got to be true? Similar to the CSI Effect in court. <BR/><BR/>If you're accurate, cops reading the book will know it, but "lay" readers will think you got it all wrong, or wonder why the cop can't get a picture of the suspect when they submit his prints -- heck, not just a picture, but everything about him, including what he ate for breakfast.<BR/><BR/>Having to deal with reality and reader perception is a definite challenge to a writer whose audience might fall outside the LEO circles.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878752953637981313.post-75233648167705889942008-03-05T09:47:00.000-07:002008-03-05T09:47:00.000-07:00Thanks for having Lee as a guest blogger, Peg. His...Thanks for having Lee as a guest blogger, Peg. His new site will come in real handy and I can't wait to get my hands on his book.<BR/><BR/>Great stuff here!<BR/>jessJessica Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18320362797117599955noreply@blogger.com