The Art of Audio Editing

Please join me in a warm welcome for my good friend, Kelly Irvin. Kelly has a new book that we'll hear more about coming out later this year, but I'm here to tell you, it's fantastic. Just take a look at the cover, and story information.

No Child of Mine
Release: September 2011
Five Star Gale
$25.95


The day Daniel Martinez’s foster son Benny Garza is kidnapped at a wedding reception, Homicide Detectives Deborah Smith and Alex Luna find the bones of a little girl not far from Benny’s abduction site. Determined to save Benny and solve a five-year-old murder, the team of investigators travel from the seamy underside of San Antonio’s drug-dealing gang territory to the back roads of rural America where secrets fester in simple country homes. Their investigation rips off the Band-aid that covers the cracks in an overburdened, understaffed foster care system and reveals the painful reality that children are all too often battered, terrified victims of the people who should love them the most. Torn between salvaging his marriage and trying to save a child he’s grown to love, Daniel fears both are slipping beyond his grasp. Deborah struggles to hang on to her new found sobriety in the face of the pressure of her job and her past, while Alex fights to get a foothold in the life of a woman who refuses to trust him or any other man. As the two investigations become more and more entwined, Deborah, Alex, and Daniel risk everything—even their lives—to bring a little boy home and unmask a child’s murderer. This fast-paced follow-up to Irvin’s debut romantic suspense novel, A Deadly Wilderness, will keep readers turning the pages long after it’s time to turn out the lights.




A native of Kansas, Kelly Irvin moved to the Texas-Mexico border town of Laredo to work as a journalist after graduating from the University of Kansas. A stint in El Paso garnered her the love of her life—photographer Tim Irvin—and more border fodder for her fiction. They now make their home with their two children, three cats, and a tank full of fish, in San Antonio. In 2010, Kelly published her first novel, A Deadly Wilderness. To learn more about Kelly’s books, go to http://www.kellyirvin.com.



The Art of Audio Editing

Stuck in San Antonio traffic each day, I listens to audio books to pass the time in my car. Hearing the written words instead of seeing them on the page led me to reflect on the importance of reading manuscripts aloud before they make into print.

I read aloud to catch typos and to make sure the dialogue rings true. It also helps me hear repetitious wording and awkward phrasing. Audio books have made me realize this practice also has value for plotting. Recently, I enjoyed a book about a small town sheriff investigating a murder. A long passage describes his search of every room in the victim’s house. About halfway through, I posed this question to my imaginary passenger: what do we care what the dead man’s bathroom looks like? My interest waned further, and I found myself thinking about what cardboard meal I would microwave for supper when I arrived home.

Yes, setting is important. In my first novel, A Deadly Wilderness, the murderer deposits the victim’s body in a park ravine where Detective Ray Johnson then falls on it. The murderer and Johnson later play a cat-and-mouse game in another park. But my audio author never links the description of the victim’s house back to the crime. Or at least I don’t think she did. After all, I’d stopped listening. If I’d been reading the book, I would’ve skipped that part.





So the critical question we have to ask ourselves is this: do the words propel the plot forward? If they don’t, chop them out. Otherwise my growling stomach may drown them out.

Have you found yourself checking out of a story recently and why? How would you fix the problem?



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

An idyllic hike in a wilderness park turns deadly when Homicide Detective Ray Johnson tumbles into a ravine and lands on a corpse The victim’s ring finger has been severed, turning Ray’s misstep into a murder investigation. Ray’s determination to find the man’s killer leads him to the wealthiest enclaves in San Antonio. From there, it’s a surprisingly short trip to the city’s dark underbelly inhabited by drug cartel lieutenants and paid assassins and, ultimately, to death’s wide open doors.

The case becomes a political hot potato after the victim is identified as the son of one of the city’s wealthiest residents. Ray teams up with his partner Deborah Smith and their boss Sergeant Samuel Martinez in an attempt to solve the murder before political pressure forces city leaders to remove them from the case. The twins alcohol and lust combine to set up roadblocks that could end at least one cop’s career—and a marriage.

Susana Martinez-Acosta’s work at a crisis hotline center is the first step toward a new life for her and her son Marco. The death of her husband in a car accident still haunts her even as she tries to ignore her attraction to Ray Johnson. With a police officer for a brother, she knows how dangerous the job is and she’s had more than enough loss.

Then comes the frantic anonymous hotline call from a woman who’s positive her in-laws killed her missing husband.

A Deadly Wilderness is a romantic suspense novel that will take the reader along on a tumultuous journey as the consuming need for material wealth drives a deadly wedge among family members who haven’t learned when enough really is enough.

The journey ends where it began—in a deadly wilderness. Not everyone will survive the trip.



CR: Thrilled to Death by L.J. Sellers.

It's all better with friends.

Another Great Review for A DEADLY WILDERNESS

Join me in congratulating Kelly Irvin for her outstanding success with her debut novel.



A DEADLY WILDERNESS
by Kelly Irvin

RT Rating: * * * *
Category: INSPIRATIONAL
Publisher: FIVE STAR
Published: January 2010
Type: Romantic Suspense

Irvin imparts important lessons about putting your faith in God, and she has a subtle way of teaching them without being preachy. In the process Irvin never neglects the story, which combines a good mystery with strong interpersonal relationships.
Summary: Police officer Ray Johnson is enjoying a much-needed break from investigating murders when he stumbles onto a dead body while hiking. Unfortunately, he's with his girlfriend's 8-year-old son, and Susana is furious with him for endangering Marco's life.

Ray is caught between a job he finds rewarding and Susana, who wants him in a safer line of work. As Ray becomes immersed in trying to solve multiple murders, he prays that Susana will accept his job and give their relationship another chance. (FIVE STAR, Jan., 354 pp., $25.95)

—Barb Anderson







CR: The Siege by Stephen White

It's all better with friends.

Kelly Irvin's Television Interview

My good friend and and critique partner, Kelly Irvin, was recently interviewed on Fox 29 in San Antonio. You will see how amazing and together she is in this segment.

Here's how it came about:

Kelly's husband had worked at the station for more than ten years. Although he's been working somewhere else for the last two years, those connections were obviously not lost. He pitched the idea to the morning producer, and provided a press packet along with an ARC.

The intrigue (and you'll see it in the video) was how could a "Christian" novel possibly deal with murder?

It wasn't their normal choice for a segment because it wasn't visual. Even Kelly's striking good looks didn't sway them. (I think Kelly should've offered the trailer for a visual, don't you?)

Between the connections, the intriguing hook, the fact that Ms. Kelly is articulate in addition to being good looking, and a free book giveaway, the deal was struck. And who knows . . . the strong evangelical demographic in South Texas may have played a part.

If you can't have Kelly's husband (and you can't, I've already asked), you can figure out what sort of intriguing hook your novel might have to catch a producer's eye. What might surprise people?

Kelly's novel, A Deadly Wilderness, is now available. I'm bummed because I still don't have my copy. Must call the Indy I ordered it through and follow up.

CR: Heat Lightning by John Sandford. So far, it's not my favorite.

It's all better with friends.

Interior Monologue

We've reached the end of this series of posts by my good friend and debut novelist, Kelly Irvin. I'm hoping it's not the last.

Kelly's novel, A Deadly Wilderness, is available now for preorder, and will be widely available next month for immediate delivery through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your library.

If you're planning on ordering this book, it can mean a lot to an author to get some preorders.

Just in case you're hestitating . . .

I'm proud to point out again that Publisher's Weekly gave her a wonderful review, and within the last few days two more fabulous reviews have surfaced. Check them out at Bruce Judisch and Genre Go Round Reviews.

Interior Monologue—the tool writers love to hate

I used to think I hated doing interior monologue. I mean all that stumbling around inside a character’s head. It’s hard enough figuring out what the people you know and love think. Now they want us to know what cold-blooded assassins are thinking or the guy who cheated on his wife (I think we’ve pretty much got that one figured out) or the mother who just lost a child.

With more than a half-dozen manuscripts under my belt, I’ve come to realize that interior monologue is a writer’s goldmine. We are fortunate as novelists to have at our disposal a weapon that filmmakers and TV script writers can’t use. We can usher our readers into the minds of our characters and let them eavesdrop.

Why is that so important? Because it develops our characters. We can show their motivations and their internal conflict. We want our characters to be realistic and people don’t go around baring their souls aloud to just anyone—especially men. I’ve been guilty of making my guys do a lot of talking. Wishful thinking, I guess. Just because they don’t say it, however, doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking it. Being able to show their angst is a gift for a writer trying to make readers understand and care about their characters.

It’s also a very cool plot tool. The readers gets to drop in just as a character realizes something new, puts clues together, reacts to a situation, all of which could lead to the character doing something different, altering his strategy.

That doesn’t mean you want pages and pages of oozing emotion to the detriment of moving the story along. That’s the part readers skip. And readers are smart. They get it the first time, so don’t repeat four-hundred-fifty times the fact that your heroine loves the hero but she can never be with him because she thinks he loves someone else. We get it and I’ll be very tempted to put the book down or throw it against a wall.

My other pet peeve is when writers use their characters to espouse their real world personal opinions. If your character is a Texan who drives a monster truck, hunts deer, and has a gun collection that fills his living room, then yeah, he can argue in favor of concealed guns being allowed on college campuses while drinking a beer from a mason jar in a bar where you throw the peanut shells on the floor. The former cheerleader soccer mom from Massachusetts—not so much.

If you want to experience great use of interior monologue, read Julia Spencer-Fleming’s I Shall Not Want. (It’s also a great study in multiple points of view). Another good one is Earlene Fowler’s Steps to the Altar.

One more thing. I hate to state the obvious, but just in case: Don’t put interior monologue in quote marks. It’s thought, not spoken.

Bottom line on interior monologue, if it doesn’t contribute to the plot or your character’s development, hit the delete key. Done right, it gives the reader a deeper, richer experience that makes them remember characters long after they shut the book. And they’ll be much more likely to pick up the next one they see with your name on it. Happy emoting!

Did I mention you could pre-order your very own copy of A Deadly Wilderness? Did you read those reviews?

CR: I finished Breathless by Dean Koontz this afternoon. It was not a disappointment.

It's all better with friends.

Voice Voce Expressar Vocale

Interesting. The Afrikaans translation for "voice" is "stem."

Where do your words stem from?

Kelly Irvin tackles the difficult subject of voice in this post.

Kelly's debut novel, A Deadly Wilderness will be on the shelves next month, but is available through preorders right now at Amazon.

Voice: Just listen. You’ll know it when you read it.

At the last meeting of my local writing group, we talked about voice. One of the members looked around, her face puzzled, and said, “Can I ask a stupid question?” Being assured that there are no stupid questions among friends, she asked, “What’s the difference between voice and point of view. Character, in other words.”

It’s a tough question. I know voice exists because I know it when I see it. I would know Janet Evanovich’s work even if her name wasn’t on it. Same with James Lee Burke with his rich rolling thunderous passages of narrative that pick me up and slap me down right in the middle of New Iberia, Louisiana, or the filthy, ugly back streets of New Orleans. No one writes alcoholic binges or criminal intent like he does. Each one of his characters is distinct and gorgeously drawn. Every time I read one of his books I say to myself, I want to write like that.

Those of us at the table who have written published novels all agreed that we have distinctive, if still developing, voices. One author says she has a rather masculine voice, and her editor is always asking her what her characters are thinking and feeling because it rarely shows up on the page. I’m the opposite. My characters emote all over the place. But that’s really not my voice. My voice is in the words I choose to use. For example, in A Deadly Wilderness, there’s a time when a hung-over alcoholic cop takes a drink from a water bottle “like there isn’t enough water in the great state of Texas to slake her thirst.” Now others wouldn’t have said it quite like that. Some might have said she sucked it down greedily or gulped it like she couldn’t get enough. Or any number of other ways. Yes, I had to think about whether my POV character, the protagonist, would think like that. Now Ray is a vociferous reader, a theologian, and a bit of philosopher. So, yeah, I can get away with having him think the word slake.

The important thing to note here, is I didn’t sit down and try to come up with this particular phrase. It just came in the throes of the writing, as do the metaphors, like Ray watching Deborah work as a cop and thinking she was like a ballerina driving a bulldozer. You would’ve said it differently. Because your voice is different.

The bottom line, I think, is that you cannot teach voice. A writer’s voice is her own. In Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Rennie Brown and Dave King conceded that a strong, distinctive, authoritative writing voice is something most fiction writers want—and something no editor or teacher can impart. It is . . . something any writer can bring out in himself or herself. But oddly enough, you can’t bring out your writer’s voice by concentrating on it.”

Members of our group struggled with that. They wanted to make lists of phrases used by other authors and use them in their WIPs. They wanted exercises they could do that would bring out their voice. The best way, Brown and King agree, to bring out your voice, is to write. And listen. Listen to your words, the rhythm of your sentences, the vividness of your verbs, the colorful way you bring that fictional word to life. Without impeding the story, mind you. The story is paramount. If you’re really pleased with a particular turn of phrase but it brings the reader out of the story, strike the phrase. And remember, when you’re in a particular character’s head, whatever he’s saying or thinking has to be in character. Stay in character. Don’t worry about your voice, it will come.

CR: The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass. For some reason, since I'm on the stretch just before the home stretch of my novel, and the books in my TBR pile beg for hours curled up with them and only them, I can't get my head around reading a novel. Weird, but true.

It's all better with friends.

Writing Winner

This is the second in a series of guest posts by novelist Kelly Irvin. Kelly's first novel will hit the stands next month.

A Deadly Wilderness garnered a review by Publishers Weekly who called it a "solid romantic suspense debut" with an antagonist who is "all too chillingly real."

Today she shares a little of the process.

Writing—What I Learned Along the Way

The closer I get to having a published copy of A Deadly Wilderness in my hands, the more I seem to reflect on how it happened. One minute, like the refrain goes, I’m wishing and hoping and dreaming, the next I’m looking at an advance review copy that has my name on it and my words in it. An overnight success? Hardly. So I’m looking back at the circuitous road that brought me here and sharing with those of you who are still jogging out there some thoughts on how to get across the finish line.

It started with six years of butt-in-chair in front of a laptop, tears, rejections, rewrites of rewrites, and more than one attempt to quit. I discovered I couldn’t quit. No matter how low I got, I still kept writing. And that’s where I start my advice to other writers still looking to be published. Don’t quit. Unless you can. If you can, stop torturing yourself. If you keep writing, allow yourself the joy of writing for itself. Yes, most of us want to get published, but we shouldn’t let that rob us of the sheer joy of getting the story on paper.

The next stumbling block in the road for many of us is time—the time to write. Not many of us can quit our day jobs. I’m a public relations professional which means I work 40-plus hours a week. I also do contract proofreading for two district court reporters. And I have a husband, two teenage children, two cats and a tank full of gold fish. When do I write? At six in the morning before work, for an hour at lunch (as I’m doing now), and whenever I can on nights and weekends. I’ve learned to sit down at the laptop, put fingers on the keys and simply go. Take advantage of whatever time you have. Do this every day until you have a finished manuscript.

I thought once I finished my first manuscript, I was ready to hit the big time. After a few rejections, reality set in. Just because I could put words on paper, didn’t mean they were good. I had to learn to embrace the rewriting process and seek ways to improve my work. A critique group is an absolute necessity. Without Peg and Susan and Angela, I would still be waiting for a contract. Writing conferences are helpful. Contests can be helpful. Anything you can do to improve your writing, do it. Finish the book and then polish it. Lovingly and thoughtfully and carefully.

The next step is to seek an agent. Today few publishers are accepting unsolicited manuscripts. I found my agent through on-line research. I queried her, she asked for fifty pages and a synopsis (have one ready to go), then she asked for a full manuscript. A few months later I had a contract. An agent gets your work in front of publishers. That’s the bottom line. The only time you can do that is at conferences when you get a fifteen minute pitching slot. Agents can do it year around.

Now I have a publisher. All done? Nope. It’s a one-book deal. Yes, I’m thrilled that A Deadly Wilderness has been reviewed favorably by Publisher’s Weekly. That bodes well for sales and has even resulted in film rights being sought in some cases. It’s all very exciting, but in the meantime, I’m still sitting down at my laptop everyday and writing. Because that’s where the real joy is. So enjoy the journey. See you at the finish line!

* * *

In September, Kelly and I attended a conference together. While we were there, Kelly learned that another of her manuscripts had been turned down by a publisher.

We stood in a bathroom in the Marriott and the tears rolled. The tears expressed her passion for the story she'd written, and the vulnerability we all have in this business.

When the tears dried, they'd left her skin a little thicker and her determination a little deeper.

When I asked Kelly if it was okay to share this with you, she replied:

Feel free. I’ve spilled a lot of tears over the last six years over rejections and I know it won’t be the last time. Lot of other writers probably experienced the same heartbreak at the conference. We’re all in it together.

Kelly Irvin

www (dot) kellyirvin (dot) com

A Deadly Wilderness, January 2010

from Five Star / Gale / Cengage

CR: Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger

It's all better with friends.

The Killer Gene

My good friend and critique partner, author Kelly Irvin, is questioning whether she has what it takes to kill off a character she hadn't planned on killing.

Do you?

Kelly's first published novel, A Deadly Wilderness will be released in January through Five Star Gale. You can find out more about Kelly and her novel by reading a previous post here, or visiting her website.

Kelly is my guest today as she explores her own inner killer.

The killer gene

As a romantic suspense writer, I often contemplate the problem of the soggy middle in my work—and the work of others. The recommendation frequently tossed about for this ailment is to kill someone off. It works quite nicely if you can find a reason for the knife in the back or the bullet to the head that propels your plot forward. In my case, the victims are generally secondary or even tertiary characters in whom I’m not really invested or the reader hasn’t had time to really get to know so it’s not going to break their hearts or mine. A book I read recently made me ponder if I’ve been cheating readers out of a truly mind-blogging emotional, visceral experience by not allowing myself to consider the death of a major character.

I’ve written lots of murder scenes, but I wonder, do I lack the killer gene? I rarely read outside my chosen genre, but anytime Allison Pittman has a new book out, I rush to buy my fellow San Antonio novelist’s work. Her latest novel, Stealing Home, broke my heart—in a good way. I won’t say much because I refuse to be a spoiler, but suffice it to say, a tragedy occurs that I didn’t see coming until it hit me between the eyes. I found myself grieving over it even after I finished the book. As an author and writer, I was astounded by Allison’s fortitude in writing it. She says she agonized over the necessity of the death. She looked for ways to avoid doing it. But she realized it was necessary to allow the other characters to reach their destinies.

I searched my memory banks, but I could recall only a few other novels where the death of a character affected me so deeply. Karen Ball’s novel, Shattered Justice, comes to mind. Dan Justice suffers a tragedy that is unbearable for me to think about even years after having read the book. But it caused me to ask myself what I would do in Dan’s situation. Would I forsake the God I believe in? Would I seek revenge? Would I lay down and die from the sheer agony? In Dee Henderson’s O’Malley series, the death of a major character is from natural causes and not unexpected, but still devastating. Again, it forced me to consider whether I can continue to believe in God even if He doesn’t answer my prayers in the way that I think He should.

I wonder if I could kill off a character I love in order to allow a story to ring true and stands up for what it believes. It may be time to find out.

CR: I'm planning on starting a new Lisa Unger tonight.

It's all better with friends.

Kelly Irvin, Published Author

Kelly Irvin is both a good friend critique partner. Her debut "at your throat" novel will be published in January 2010 through Five Star Gale, and pre-orders are available online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I imagine if you go to your favorite independent bookstore, they will be happy to accommodate pre-orders as well. I had a little problem placing my pre-order with BN, but happily placed it this morning with Tattered Cover, the amazing Indie in Denver.

Be sure and check out her trailer as well. Ms. Irvin's a new author who is covering all the bases.

Proudly Presenting

A Deadly Wilderness

An idyllic wilderness hike turns deadly when homicide detective Ray Johnson tumbles into a ravine and lands on a corpse.

Not just any corpse, but the son of a prominent citizen that turns the case into a political hot potato.

Ray teams up with his troubled partner and their boss to solve the murder before city leaders bump them from the case and out of their jobs. And before the twin temptations of alcohol and lust can derail his colleagues.

Their determination to find the man’s killer leads them from the wealthiest enclaves in San Antonio to the city’s dark underbelly inhabited by a drug cartel and paid assassins.

At a crisis hotline center, a frantic anonymous call propels counselor Susana Martinez-Acosta smack into the center of the investigation and into Ray’s arms. Exactly where she doesn’t want to be. Following the tragic death of her husband, she’s struggled to build a safe haven for herself and her son. That new world doesn’t include hit men and persistent detectives with dangerous jobs.

As the pressure builds to solve the case, Ray finds himself with multiple missions: solve a murder . . . save a partner from career suicide and another from matrimonial destruction . . . and win a woman’s heart.

And stay alive to enjoy happily ever after.

A Deadly Wilderness is a romantic suspense novel that will take the reader along on a tumultuous journey as the consuming need for material wealth drives a deadly wedge among family members who haven’t learned when enough really is enough.

The journey ends where it began—in a deadly wilderness. Not everyone will survive the trip.

CR: Still working on the Joseph Finder.

It's all better with friends.