Jaden E. Terrell's RACING THE DEVIL

This isn't a book review. I don't do those any longer. Well, mostly.


I met the author of Racing the Devil in September at Lee Lofland's Writer's Police Academy in North Carolina, and came home with an autographed book that, frankly, appeared on the surface to be closer to amateur than promising. Know what I mean? I placed it on my TBR pile and looking at it over the past few weeks, was pretty much guilted into reading it. Although I enjoyed meeting the author, someone I believe will be a friend beyond that one little conference, I was concerned about not liking Terrell's words and finding myself kind of stuck for a response.


Turns out, that isn't a problem. (Phew!)


Terrell straps us on to a ride from the first page, and doesn't let us get off until the last. Racing the Devil is quite simply a fast-paced, well-written, character infused, plot-driven, gorgeous read. I literally gave myself the gift of time to read on when I should have been attending to other things. 


Part of Suspense Novelist's reason for existence is, in its own small way, to showcase talent. Jaden E. Terrell has it, and this first novel is Exhibit A.






CR: Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain.


It's all better with friends.

From My Writer's Police Academy Notes: On Firefighters

A group of student firefighters raised the flag our first morning on the campus of Guilford Technical Community College in Greensboro, North Carolina. We were attending Lee Lofland's (The Graveyard Shift) Writer's Police Academy.

When the students placed their hands over their hearts and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, most of the attendees (who were paying attention) followed suit. It was a nice moment.

Then, one of the students broke rank and walked over to a bell. He rang it five times, pause, five times, pause and five more times.

In the days before cell phones and 9-1-1, call boxes used to be scattered throughout towns and cities across America. The communication device in the old ones was a bell. Each call box was numbered. If someone spotted a fire, and the closest call box was 762, they would ring 7-6-2 so people would know the approximate site of the fire.

5-5-5 is the code for a downed firefighter.



CR: Breathing Water by Timothy Hallinan on my Kindle.

It's all better with friends.

Stakes, not Steak, for your Hero (unless it's for a black eye)

Becky Levine was happily going about her life when, in a moment of "liquid time", she turned around to discover she had been volunteered to Suspense Novelist as a guest blogger by Lee Lofland. To Becky's credit, she didn't miss a beat and stepped up to the plate.

To continue with the clichés (me, not Becky) . . . drumroll, please . . .



Becky Levine is a writer living in California’s Santa Cruz mountains with her husband and son. She has finished her first middle-grade mystery for kids and is currently looking for an agent. She is the co-author (with Lee Lofland ) of The Everything Kids I Want to be A Police Officer Book, forthcoming from Adams Media. Becky also does freelance manuscript editing, helping other writers take their books to the next level. Visit Becky’s blog and her website.



What’s at Stake for your Hero? by Becky Levine

The other day, on my own blog, I was talking about the first scene. The very first scene of a book. You know, the one that’s sooooo easy? Yeah, right!

Jeannine Atkins, author of Anne Hutchinson’s Way, commented about how this first scene goes for her. She talked about how it’s always hard to write, how she has to go back and revise it a gazillion times, trying to get it just right. Then she mentioned the first scene of her current WIP. She has to get her main character, a young girl, ready to help rule a city.

Holy Moly!

That’s some job—for the writer and for the character. When I saw Jeannine’s comment, I instantly wanted to read her book. Why? Because she’s creating a character with something to lose.

Just think about it. This girl has to help govern a city. What if she can’t? What if she doesn’t want to? What if some other horrible person is lurking in the wings, waiting for a chance to take over? Can you just feel the tension mounting in your brain? Your stomach churning?

This is what we, as writers, have to do. We have to make sure that our heroes have a reason to succeed. A big reason.

A lot of writing teachers talk about identifying with the hero. You can do this by making your character have some familiar traits—maybe he’s a little bit shy, or she’s kind of clumsy. You can give your hero a goal. Maybe he really wants to make the best gumbo west of the Mississippi; maybe she wants to sing as beautifully as Joan Baez. This is good. Most readers have their own dreams and will recognize desire as a familiar emotion. Letting them see a bit of themselves in your character will catch their interest.

You won’t have them completely, though. A mild character flaw can make the reader like your hero, and a goal can get them interested. Neither of these is enough, though, to keep the reader hooked and turning pages. Neither is enough to keep the reader in suspense.

To do that, you have to ask a question.

And that question is...what will happen to the character if he doesn’t succeed? What if, when the hero is at the grocery store, his shyness won’t let him ask for the freshest okra? What if your clumsy hero knocks over the vocal instructor’s favorite vase, and he refuses to give her any more lessons.

Yes, I’m being silly. The question, though, and the answer, are serious. When you start out thinking about your hero, you usually know what he or she wants. Do you know, though, what failure will mean? What disaster—physical and emotional—will hit the story if your hero doesn’t get what he wants? If your detective can’t stop the murderer, someone else will die. Okay. Go further. What will that second death do to your hero? Will he lose his job? Will she have to ask her slimy ex-husband for more child support? Will he sink back into the deep depression he’s been fighting all along?

What is at stake?

It’s your job, as a writer, to figure it out and to put it on the page. You owe it to your hero...and to your readers.

******

I think that's why being a suspense novelist is so cool—our brains are automatically wired to make bad things happen. And we have so much to choose from! (Makes my husband wonder about me at times.)

Becky, my sincere thanks for taking the time to prepare something for Suspense Novelist.

It's all better with friends.

Cop Talk with Lee Lofland

I asked Lee Lofland if he'd have time to write a guest post for Suspense Novelist. He really didn't, but he made the time anyway. That's just the kind of guy he is. (Plus, he says nice things about my all-time favorite cop, Sheriff Andy Taylor. Of Mayberry. Gotta love it.)

I'm putting his bio up-front, just in case you haven't heard of this guy. Oh. You'll probably also want to buy his book. I got mine through Amazon.


Lee Lofland is the author of Police Procedure and Investigation, A Guide For Writers and the co-author of the forthcoming children’s book Everything Kids: I Want To Be A Police Officer. He is a nationally acclaimed expert on police procedure and crime-scene investigation, a popular conference and workshop speaker, and he writes freelance articles for publications, such as The Writer magazine.

Lee is also a consultant for many bestselling authors and television and film writers and he recently appeared as an expert on a BBC television documentary called How To Commit The Perfect Murder. He’s a member of Sisters in Crime and he’s on the board of directors for the New England chapter of Mystery Writers of America.

You can learn more about Lee at www.leelofland.com.

Writing About Cops – It’s Not That Difficult by Lee Lofland

How important is it for writers to be accurate about the cops in their stories? The answer to that question is simple. Be accurate, but don’t go overboard trying to feed unnecessary facts to your readers. They’re not buying your book as a study guide for the police academy.

A good way to judge how much fact is enough is to consider your own profession, writing. How much would you tell your fans about the equipment you use to produce a manuscript? Would you bore them with the details of the inner workings of your laptop? How about the dye lot of the ink in your pens? No, of course not, but that’s what many writers think they need to do to bring their detectives to life.

We, as readers of fiction and suspense, don’t always need to know that a Beretta 9mm is manufactured in Italy, but it is nice to read that the pistol is large and heavy – bigger than the LadySmith your female detective is used to firing—a fact that could be important. If a pistol is too large for her hands it could make her pull the weapon to one side, causing an inaccurate shot.

Fans want to experience the action, the rollercoaster ride of your hero’s struggle to make it to the final page. They want to feel what it’s like to step into a crime scene and smell death. Touching cold, firm flesh and hearing the yelps and wails of approaching sirens in the reader’s mind rings much truer than reading about 147grain plus P ammunition.

Cops are real people with real emotions and real families. They go to the grocery store and they go to their kid’s softball games. They’re not all drunks with poor eating habits, and it gets a bit tiresome reading that they are in nearly every police procedural. I say this as I complete the final pages of a novel featuring a troubled detective. However; there’s quite a bit of realism in this story. Still, I promise, my next protagonist is quite different.

It’s such an easy thing for writers to get their police facts straight. The first rule is to never, ever use television as a research tool. I can’t stress this point enough. Also, don’t use another work of fiction as a reference. The author may have used TV CSI as their main source of information, a double whammy.

The best thing a writer can do when conducting research about cops is to contact a local police department. They’re usually more than willing to help us out. Next, try using use online assistance, like my new blog The Graveyard Shift. But always verify the source of your online help. Ask fellow writers if they know the expert. Have you heard them speak at writer’s conferences, etc? There are many, many people out there who are offering advice and information and they’ve never set foot in a crime scene.

And for goodness sake, lay off the donut puns. Cops today are very health conscious. They eat well, exercise regularly, and drink bottled water.

Enough ranting and raving, it’s time to watch The Andy Griffith Show, the only realistic cop show on television. That’s why I named the last chapter in my book on police procedure CS I Don’t Think So.

Lee, my personal thanks to you for being such a stand-up guy and getting me this column.

For you suspense novelists out there, his book needs to be on your reference shelf.

Lee invites you to send him any of your questions to lee@leelofland.com.

It's all better with friends.

Interview with KELLY IRVIN

I'm pleased to bring my friend and writing buddy, Kelly Irvin to you "live" today.

SN: Kelly, welcome! You've written a number of manuscripts. Tell us about them.

KI: If you don't count the two I've written and put in a drawer, I've completed five manuscripts and I've two partials that are still twirling around in my brain, waiting to be finished. All are romantic suspense/suspense.

SN: I know you've finaled in writing contests. What are your thoughts about those?

KI: I have a love-hate relationship with contests. They can be incredibly helpful in getting feedback on your manuscripts, but that feedback can be very painful sometimes. Once in a while, when you see your name on a list of finalists, they offer a great sense of affirmation that you're on the right track. Of course, they also offer unpublished authors the opportunity to get their work in front of editors and that's important.

SN: Are critique groups important?

KI: I would not still be writing after five years if it were not for the encouragement and kick-in-the-rear get-going support of my critique group. It's important to find the right critique partners, the ones who give you loving criticism. My critique group is my sounding board and they reel me in when I get carried away so they don't just critique my words, they help me keep my manuscripts on track.

SN: When did you decide to get an agent and how did you find one?

KI: I went to conferences to pitch and the pressure was so intense when I realized that was my only opportunity to get my work in front of houses that don't take unsolicited manuscripts. I can't afford to go to several conferences a year. I needed an agent to shop my work year-around. I sent proposals to agents the same way I did to publishing houses. Several turned me down, but I kept trying until the right one came along.

I found Mary Sue Seymour, of the Seymour Literary Agency, on a web site that listed reputable agents. She represented mainstream authors, primarily, but she was looking to focus her client list more toward the CBA. I sent her an email query, she asked for a proposal, and then a full manuscript. And then offered me a contract.

SN: Is there a character in one of your manuscripts who you can most closely relate to? Did that character impact you in some way?

KI: I would have to say Piper Martinez. She's the main character in the manuscript that's in the drawer and she appears as a secondary character in several others. She's a working mother and wife whose spouse is her polar opposite. She struggles between a calling to ministry and a husband who'd rather have her safe at home. She lost her first baby to a miscarriage. She's independent, yet she still longs for approval. The thing I learned from Piper's ongoing story is to never underestimate the power of love--earthly or Fatherly.

SN: What's the number one thing you've learned about writing?

KI: It's easy for someone like me, being a former newspaper reporter by trade, to put a bunch of words on paper. That doesn't make it good literature. I didn't start seriously writing fiction until I turned 45. In two months, I'll be 50. Many times I've wanted to quit. I can't. The sheer joy I feel when I'm "in the zone" and the story is rolling from my fingertips is too intoxicating. Like every fiction author I know, I want to be published. Whether that happens or not, I will always be a writer. God wired me that way.

SN: What do you know now that you wish you'd known before you started sending manuscripts to publishing houses?

KI: How important the marketing component is. I'm in public relations. You'd think that would have been first on my mind. Now I realize how critical it is to brand myself and my work in order to make sure I stand out from the crowd. My position line is Salsa Suspense . . . San Antonio Style, a reflection of the multicultural diversity and regional color found in most of my work. Having a hook is so important in today's crowded publishing world. Showing the editor that you're ready, willing and able to market yourself earns you additional points. You've got to write a good novel first, but don't stop there. Show your willingness to help sell it.

SN: Wow, Kelly. I love that position line. What are you working on now?

KI: I'm editing "The Dead Parent Society", which recently placed second in The Molly Contest sponsored by the Heart of Denver Romance Writers. It's a mainstream suspense novel I want to enter in the Minotaur Crime Writing Contest, which has a December deadline. I'm also trying to finish "High Note", which is a sequel to "False Note", currently under consideration by a CBA publisher. If it sells, I'd like to have "High Note" ready to offer.

SN: Congratulations on being so close. I hope we have something to celebrate soon! What are your future plans?

KI: To keep writing. To start a new series with a new slate of characters I've yet to meet. To sell the half dozen short stories I never seem to have time to market. I have two teenagers on the brink of starting college. When they've finished I want to go back for a masters in creative writing. (Shh! That's a secret my husband doesn't know!)

SN: Don't worry, Kelly. I won't tell anyone. *grin* Do you have any favorite resources that might help other writers?

KI: I love reading writing magazines because they make me feel connected to other writers. I also highly recommend ACFW to any newbie writers out there. A sense of community is so important. My favorite new resource is for suspense/crime writers. It's called Police Procedure & Investigation, A Guide for Writers by Lee Lofland.

SN: Great leads there. Thanks, Kelly. How about research?

KI: Since I write crime-based fiction, a lot of my details come from being a contract proofreader for four court reporters who work felony courts here in San Antonio. I've read capital murder trials, sexual assaults, etc., which means medical examiners, ballistics experts, DNA experts, police officers, homicide detectives, gang members, etc., testify and I get so much of my technically correct details from that. Having been a reporter and having a TV news photographer as a spouse also help in that regard. I'm a fanatic about reading the newspaper and clipping anything that has to do with crime investigation, police procedures, or crime itself, so I can springboard story ideas from these real-life issues.

SN: What's your personal writing process?

KI: Since I work full time in public relations, I have very little free time for writing. I have to make every second count. There's not a lot of time for outlining or storyboarding. I get an idea. I put my behind in the chair and I write. Makes my critique partners a little crazy. Sometimes I write out of order. Makes them a lot crazy. The price I pay for this free-flowing style is that I spend a great deal of time editing and rewriting. But when a character is in my head and he's telling me what's happening, I have to go with it or I lose that spark. It's almost like having hallucinations. It's bright, it's vivid, and the characters are alive--sometimes characters I didn't even know were in my story. I try to at least know what's coming two, three or four chapters ahead so I don't get stuck and I always know who did it and why. Just not always how.

SN: Kelly, thank you for chatting with us over your Thanksgiving break. And continued successes and growth in your writing!

It's all better with friends.