Summer Reads

I was surprised the first time I heard that book sales dropped in the summer.

Really?

I remembered that as a kid, I'd spend long afternoons transported to other places, introduced to other ideas, all summer long through library books. Summer, to me, was prime time for reading.

As an adult, it all kind of seemed the same. Who in the world would stop reading just because it was summer?

The rationale is that people spend more time doing other things in the summer. Gardening, golf, pool, beach, hiking, whatever. Really? Enough to make that big of a difference?

So I'm asking, what are you hoping to read this summer?

Opening my Kindle (which doesn't come close to completing the books on my TBR list) I find these intriguing titles:

THE BONE POLISHER by Timothy Hallinan ( I can't believe there's a Hallinan out there I haven't read);

A few Michael Connelly's (ditto what I said about Hallinan);

THE SHOP and ICON by J Carson Black;

WHOSE HAND? by Judith Yates Borger (I enjoyed WHERE'S BILLIE? so much I can't believe I haven't read this one yet);

Something from J.D. Rhoades, who I've truly enjoyed;

And OMG… just found a Lisa Gardner in my cloud!!!

Then there's the new Alafair Burke and Zoe Sharp and oh-so-many more.

So really, what's on your list for this summer? Are you reading less?



It's all better with friends.

Choose Your Beta Readers Carefully

When the St. Paul Pioneer Press refused to pay for her little red convertible that was fire bombed while she covered a riot, Judith Yates Borger decided it was time to get a new gig. She began writing fiction and hasn't looked back.

Borger draws on her 30 years experience as a journalist to chronicle the escapades of her protagonist Skeeter Hughes, wife, mom and reporter.
In real life, Borger is passionate about her work, her children, her grandchildren, and her marriage. In her reporting days she would never have taken the risks that come naturally to protagonist Skeeter. She lives with her husband, John, and her dog, Honey, in downtown Minneapolis on the Mississippi River, where she rows crew with the Minneapolis Rowing Club.



Her short story, Hunter's Lodge, is included in Resort to Murder, Thirteen More Tales of Mystery by Minnesota's Premier Writers. Where's Billie? is her first novel published by Nodin Press, which will publish The Skeeter Hughes sequel, Whose Hand? in fall 2011. Both are available on Kindle and Nook for under $3.








Judy's website




Website written by protagonist Skeeter Hughes






Please join me in welcoming Judith Yates Borger to Suspense Novelist.


Choose your beta readers carefully

Before I wrote my first book I asked Larry Millett, who had about a dozen Sherlock Holmes books to his credit, for advice. "Be careful whose advice you seek," he said. It was probably the best advice I've gotten so far. But choosing your advisors is difficult business. I've made a few mistakes along the way. Mistakes I'd like to spare you. So here's my advice when it come to choosing advisors.

1. Choose people who know your genre.
Everybody's got an opinion on how to write a book. You just sit down and type, right? Most people think they "have a book inside" just waiting to burst out when the moment is right like a chrysalis waiting to be a monarch butterfly. Eliminate from consideration people who say anything even remotely like this. They're clueless.

Instead, look for people who enjoy reading the type of book what you want to do, or something similar. Get to know them. Find out why they care about, what scares them, what makes them happy. If you're a mystery writer don't get a beta reader who only likes nonfiction.

2. Choose somebody who has time.
This is tricky. More than once I have given a manuscript to people who never got around to reading it. Very frustrating, and, frankly, a waste of paper. Choose somebody who really wants to read your work, not someone who thinks it's just cool to be able to say they did after it's published.

3. Get investment from your beta readers.
I find that the best way to do that is promise to include your beta readers in the acknowledgement, with some title, like Queen of Commas, or Forward Fashionista. Then chat them up after they're done. If they tell their friends about your book you've made some advanced sales.

4. Rotate beta readers.
This is probably the toughest part, especially after you've gone to all that trouble to choose the right readers, but I think it's important, especially if you're writing a series. You want someone with fresh eyes to comment on your work.

5. Apply a skin-thickener liberally.
Comments are made with the idea of improving your work. You're beta readers aren't going to circle the entire book and shout "Brilliant." Remember that in the end, it's your book. You don't have to change anything a beta reader recommends. I have an author friend who listens to the first comment about a particular passage, takes note when a second person mentions the same thing, then changes the suspect passage when she hears about it the third time. I think that's good advice.






CR: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.

It's all better with friends.

Left Coast Crime Spawns Creativity

After LCC, held in Santa Fe this year, I had a much needed visit with my sister in Tucson. This is an emotional time of year for us. Today, April 2nd, is my mom's birthday. I was with her to celebrate her 75th, three years ago. She died three days later. Pictures from LCC and Tucson are on my Facebook page.

But the LoML made this message for me, and when we pulled into our garage I knew I was in a good place. I particularly love the image of him cutting the letters out and putting them on the door.

But I digress.

In Santa Fe, strange things can happen. My hotel was haunted (and a Roman Catholic archbishop knew it). Let me tell you a bit about Sister George. She was rather fond of cigars when she was alive. I didn't know about any of this until I was on the shuttle for Albuquerque, but my roommate and I had spent some time trying to figure out where the smell of tobacco was coming from in our room.

But even more strange . . . a few of us got together and decided it would be fun to do a blog with several contributors. Of course, we did this pretty much in a bar over drinks.

And even more strange . . . we've followed through. I'll be announcing a new blog loud and clear, but you guys get a heads-up. It should be awesome. We have a name . . . Crime Fiction Collective.

LJ Sellers, who was my roommate at LCC and made the decision to become self-employed as an independent author even though she'd been traditionally published, is our headliner. (Other than me, of course. LOL). Judy Borger writes mysteries geared toward providing an escape for manic moms; Andrew Kaufman swears his current book is not horror, but since it began hitting the high notes among the horror fans he decided to go with it; Marlyn Beebe is a librarian and our resident reviewer; and Jodie Renner is LJ's editor and will fill that slot. In addition, we'll have guest bloggers with related topics. ie: technology; screenwriting; audio book production; cover design; formatting; etc.

We've targeted April 18th as Opening Day, and plan on having two weeks of giveaways to celebrate.

This could be a real hoot, and hopefully our fragile new friendships will be able to weather whatever comes down the pike.



CR: Top Suspense by Top Suspense Group, a truly wonderful collection of short stories. If you get this book, I'm sure you'll be introduced to at least one new author you'll enjoy.

It's all better with friends.