Blogstipation

Definition: When you have a handful of wishful blog topics, but every time you start, you feel like you have to force it out and the only thing that is really happening sort of stinks...

So instead of blogging about these topics, I'm going to blog about blogging about these topics. Howzat?


INTP What?

Ever hear of the Myers-Briggs? It is a personality test of sorts about PREFERENCES. And I really thought about sharing my SHOCK that my TYPE had changed. In 1992 I was an INTJ. Briefly when my kids were little I was an INFJ (thinker becomes a feeler in presence of small people). But Now I am an INTP... And you care WHY? Exactly.

The Tyranny of Shoes.

Seriously. This is on my list. I listen to women and these shoe fetishes and frankly find them INSANE. Know how they used to bind feet in China? Shoes are just a lesser form of this torture. There. I said it. But for the life of me I can't think of anything more to say on the matter.

Ugly to Cool Scale.

You want to know about this, but I'm not ready to write about it yet. Things that are so ugly they come all the way back around to being cool again... And that's all I have to say about that.



NaNoWriMo is in 19 Days!!!

I'm sure this will come up again.


But there IS a Brief NEWS Piece!!!

Elizabeth Spann Craig ROCKS!

I'm sure you knew that, but she is helping me out huge... What Ales Me FINALLY had its big edit completed, but I have worked myself to major insecurity over it and really wanted a PRO to give it a read before I send it back to Ellen. I think it's because I believe this COULD be a great series, but I fear I am only a decent writer, not a great one. I have really good ideas, but somehow my ability to execute them falls short every time.

So advice on where I am falling short, or reassurance I'm not the dunderhead I feel like I am is SO appreciated...

Elephants, Entendre and Elizabeth

Los Elefantes son Fantasticos!

*cough* My Spanish is mostly all mangly, so pardon, but I do love elephants. They are the FAVORITE of one of my twins (Thursday twin, Natasha) They are the biggest land animal in the world, but are still SO DARNED CUTE!

This little darling is the latest baby girl elephant at the Portland zoo, and of all the things, I remember when her mama, Rose-tu was born. Portland's zoo has the most successful elephant husbandry program in the country and this may be part of my love for them—when I lived there, every few years there was a new baby elephant to fall in love with and watch grow.


Entendré Entendré...

erm... or double entendré... Not sure that a single entendré means anything but 'meaning'... I LOVE words... and I love when the SAME words can take on double meaning. I find this a clever device in writing, and I ADORE it in humor... especially if one of the word uses in dirty... cuz you know... my friends and I really like the gutter best.

I try to always have my book titles have double meanings. In fact I am nearly never happy with them if they don't. My current WiP Is ENDANGERED (see, that's an e-word), and the double meaning is that it is teens in the midst of civil war (so they're in danger) and they decide to become Mountain Guerillas (guerilla being the Spanish word for warrior, and Mountain Gorillas are endangered)--It's probably too clever by half and nobody will get it without me explaining, which really takes away the point, but there you have it.


Exquisite Elizabeth (Spann Craig)

I haven't waxed poetic about Elizabeth in a while, but really she deserves it. When I first began blogging, I decided to find somebody doing it right and try to emulate THEM. I stumble upon Elizabeth, and shamelessly began stalking her and she totally WAS doing everything right. She is STILL doing everything right.

She ALSO is the person who led me into cozy mystery and gave me TONS of tips and links for writing the things (which led to my contract. She's had a few traditionally published series that have done really well, but her first series had gone out of print, and through re-obtaining her rights and self-publishing those, then continuing the series, she learned that she could do THAT well, too, so she has a couple of each... here is one just released.

And one coming this summer under the pen name Riley Adams:

There are oodles more listed at her website, so you should check her out.

Or visit her blog.

Crazy Cozy Blogfest and Book Release!!!

I guess a girl only gets one FIRST book release and this is my big day. I'm so excited to be sharing it with Elizabeth Spann Craig, who launches a new series today, and who some of you may know (or will, if you read my book dedication) I credit with helping me a TON through this cozy mystery learning curve!

We wanted our launch to be really FUN, so that's what we hope we've managed. We asked people to sign up to pitch a zany cozy mystery idea—it seemed a nice mix of involvement and entertainment. The link to all the participants is at the bottom and I encourage all of you to check out everyone—it isn't a huge list, so you ought to be able to get through them.


Crazy Cozy Entry

Zelda Zambini is the Human Pretzel in the StarTarts Traveling Circus. They roam from town to town, and each place they land, some new, horrible malady (or murder!) awaits them, and it seems they ALWAYS get blamed. Zelda has long been in love with the Strong Man and relies on the support of Madam Estrea, the Fortune Teller (who is notoriously BAD at reading Zelda's fortune, but nevermind) to help her prove her Circus-mates are not the culprits to these crimes.

First Installments include:

Lying with Lions in Laramie
Mirror Mayhem in Minneapolis and
No Net in Nebraska


So go check out everyone else's entries!

Prizes: (yes, I said prizes! erm...not extravagant, but we wanted to give you something) Each Elizabeth and I will choose our favorite and BOTH winners will get BOTH books (signed).

We'd love help promoting the blogfest, as well. Feel free to take the button and banner and/or share the Linky Tool below. And I'm sure you will be hearing more about this over the next two months.

Quilt or Innocence
Beatrice has a lot of gossip to catch up on—especially with the Patchwork Cottage quilt shop about to close. It seems that Judith, the landlord everyone loves to hate, wants to raise the rent, despite being a quilter herself… But when Judith is found dead, the harmless gossip becomes an intricate patchwork of mischievous motives. And it’s up to Beatrice’s expert eye to decipher the pattern and catch the killer, before her life gets sewn up for good.

Elizabeth Spann Craig: Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series for Penguin/Berkley (as Riley Adams), the Southern Quilting mysteries (2012) for Penguin/NAL, and the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink. She blogs daily at Mystery Writing is Murder, which was named by Writer's Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers for 2010 and 2011.

As the mother of two, Elizabeth writes on the run as she juggles duties as Girl Scout leader, referees play dates, drives carpools, and is dragged along as a hostage/chaperone on field trips.

Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Indie Bound
Mystery Writing is Murder

The Azalea Assault
Cam Harris loves her job as public relations manager for the Roanoke Garden Society. It allows her to combine her three loves, spinning the press, showing off her favorite town, and promoting her favorite activity. She's just achieved a huge coup by enlisting Garden Delights, the country's premiere gardening magazine, to feature the exquisite garden of RGS founder, Neil Patrick. She's even managed to enlist world-famous photographer Jean-Jacques Georges. Unfortunately, Jean-Jacques is a first-rate cad—insulting the RGS members and gardening, goosing every woman in the room, and drinking like a lush. It is hardly a surprise when he turns up dead. But when Cam's brother-in-law is accused and her sister begs her to solve the crime, that is when things really get prickly.

Alyse Carlson: Alyse Carlson is the pen name for Hart Johnson who writes books from her bathtub. By day she is an academic researcher at a large midwestern university. She lives with her husband, two teenage children and two fur balls. The dust bunnies don't count. This will be her first published book.


Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Indie Bound
Confessions of a Watery Tart

Crazy Cozy Blogfest

Four weeks from tomorrow!!!

[Blogging A to Z Reflections coming Wednesday because I can't seem to keep track of what I'm supposed to do when]

So some of you may have seen this. I posted it last month for C day, but the fact of the matter is this. When we are blogging A to Z, we don't always go the places we normally go, so I figure MANY of you may have missed this. And now that it is less than a month away, I am here to BEG YOU to participate and help spread the word...

The rest of this particular blog is a reshare from earlier--so if you DID see that one, my apologies... but I figure it is all the same info, and I am running behind, so I thought I'd borrow...

Hurry! Tell all your friends!

Special thanks to my buddy Joris Ammerlaan for our buttons

Wait. It's possible I should tell YOU first.

See... I have my first ever book release June 5th of this year. And on the SAME day, my friend and mentor, Elizabeth Spann Craig is releasing the first in a new series of hers... Both Cozy Mysteries... both tons of fun! So we thought we'd share the fun with you.


First: What the Heck IS a Cozy Mystery?

Cozy Mysteries are like Mystery-Lite—there is still a dead body (or two), still a mystery to solve, and still lots of twists and turns. But they are low on gore (murder happens off the page), low on violence (happens off the page), low on sex (though not necessarily anti-innuendo or ogling—again, just not on the page) -- the whole thing is kept very PG-- and because the sleuth is an amateur, they are also low on technical forensic or police procedural language, making them very approachable. (and far easier for a non-cop to write)

But in ADDITION, they also tend to have a lot of humor, some quirky characters, a recurring cast, and frequently there is a THEME (Elizabeth's is quilting, mine is gardening).

Now of COURSE we want to promote our new books, but because cozies are so fun, we thought we'd SHARE the fun!


Crazy Cozy Blogfest

The idea is to think of the craziest, zaniest set-up for a cozy mystery you can—this is strictly for entertainment value—we don't plan to take these ideas and actually write series (though if you think YOU want to, go for it!). But we are asking you to come up with a wacky theme, a zany sleuth, a crazy setting for your OWN Crazy Cozy Mystery idea.

Include:
1)  Sleuth (age, occupation, maybe a little family info)
2)  Sidekick (either friend or foil, but someone who always seems to be around)
3)  Setting (town, city, or other sort of place)
4)  Theme (go nuts)
5)  Twist (be as creative as you like)

Write it up in 150-250 words (so short)--for the blogfest portion anyway—we want people to be able to read a bunch of these without too much burden. Keep the traditions in mind, but we are judging on entertainment value--which we enjoy most, not how realistic it is to make a best seller. We want people to laugh.  WE want to laugh. (so consider those rules more like guidelines, really)


And then please include either our book brief descriptions, a brief word of promo, or a link for people to FIND more if they want to (all related info below).

Prizes: (yes, I said prizes! erm...not extravagant, but we wanted to give you something) Each Elizabeth and I will choose our favorite and BOTH winners will get BOTH books (signed).

We'd love help promoting the blogfest, as well. Feel free to take the button and banner and/or share the Linky Tool below. And I'm sure you will be hearing more about this over the next two months.

Quilt or Innocence
Beatrice has a lot of gossip to catch up on—especially with the Patchwork Cottage quilt shop about to close. It seems that Judith, the landlord everyone loves to hate, wants to raise the rent, despite being a quilter herself… But when Judith is found dead, the harmless gossip becomes an intricate patchwork of mischievous motives. And it’s up to Beatrice’s expert eye to decipher the pattern and catch the killer, before her life gets sewn up for good.

Elizabeth Spann Craig: Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series for Penguin/Berkley (as Riley Adams), the Southern Quilting mysteries (2012) for Penguin/NAL, and the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink. She blogs daily at Mystery Writing is Murder, which was named by Writer's Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers for 2010 and 2011.

As the mother of two, Elizabeth writes on the run as she juggles duties as Girl Scout leader, referees play dates, drives carpools, and is dragged along as a hostage/chaperone on field trips.

Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Indie Bound
Mystery Writing is Murder

The Azalea Assault
Cam Harris loves her job as public relations manager for the Roanoke Garden Society. It allows her to combine her three loves, spinning the press, showing off her favorite town, and promoting her favorite activity. She's just achieved a huge coup by enlisting Garden Delights, the country's premiere gardening magazine, to feature the exquisite garden of RGS founder, Neil Patrick. She's even managed to enlist world-famous photographer Jean-Jacques Georges. Unfortunately, Jean-Jacques is a first-rate cad—insulting the RGS members and gardening, goosing every woman in the room, and drinking like a lush. It is hardly a surprise when he turns up dead. But when Cam's brother-in-law is accused and her sister begs her to solve the crime, that is when things really get prickly.

Alyse Carlson: Alyse Carlson is the pen name for Hart Johnson who writes books from her bathtub. By day she is an academic researcher at a large midwestern university. She lives with her husband, two teenage children and two fur balls. The dust bunnies don't count. This will be her first published book.


Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Indie Bound
Confessions of a Watery Tart

E-ppreciation (Elizabeth, Ellen and Emily)

So I finished my first book in October 2008. It was almost a three year effort—finally mastering that demon of 'how do you finish one of these bloody things?' (for me, the trick is knowing the ending from the beginning—if I have a destination, it is much easier to keep going—no pants for me).

I started editing, but really approached it much more like proofreading—I had no clue. The following spring/summer I started blogging and met some AMAZING people and found some wonderful resources. One of the earliest of these new friends (one FULL of resources) was Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Elizabeth

Most of you know her. I was a bit of a crazed fangirl in those early days. It seemed she was doing everything right, so I followed her around and tried to emulate what she did. (I still recommend this as a strategy to master the blogosphere—find someone like this, who is SUBLIME in how they do it, and to the degree you can, do what they do). Now I'm not as organized as Elizabeth, but because one of her strongest features is how GRACIOUS she is, we became friends.

And more than once I heard from her: 'you know, your voice would really be perfect for Cozy Mysteries'. (I'd never HEARD of cozy mysteries--I was writing suspense).  My interpretation of this, since that time, is I am usually funny, but still manage to hold a logical train of thought—to make my point.

But mysteries scared the heck out of me. They were so... TOGETHER! All the stuff had to come in the right order. All the clues had to be there. They had to be paced right. But the seed was planted.

And then the opportunity arose...

I almost clutched, but Elizabeth sent me a ton of links and a few samples of cozies and encouraged me like crazy.

You see...

Ellen Pepus, at Signature Literary Agency...

Had an opportunity for an audition for a cozy mystery series... (two, actually—she let me read both—I bypassed books and chocolate, if you can believe that, but the details of the other one spoke to me more.) Specifically, they wanted a series where the sleuth did public relations for a garden society, and was dating a reporter.

You see... my first degree was journalism. I KNEW these people from the moment I read their (very brief) set of details. I knew the differences in personalities... the drive of each—one for spin, the other for truth... And from the very beginning, the relationship between my sleuth and her BFF was crystal clear. Yin and yang. Calculated versus impulsive, but desperately needing each other to pull toward the middle. Serious versus funny. Rule follower versus rebel. But they FIT. This pairing really drove that first book.

And because you might be lost... These audition gigs come about this way:

Emily Rapoport, a FABULOUS editor at Penguin

had done her research on the market and discovered a THEME, and LOCATION likely to sell, and had suggested some characters—the MC, the sidekick (by name and occupation--baker--only), in this case, the boyfriend, a few members of the Roanoke Garden Society, and a few family members. And she asked for the first three chapters (or 50 pages)


The BIG deal here is that Ellen and Emily were both so WONDERFUL as to look at my novice audition. Emily liked what I'd done, requested a few changes, and THAT is how I got my cozy mystery contract.

And they have ALL THREE been wonderful since—Elizabeth has answered hundreds of questions, pointed me at still more resources, read drafts... and Ellen and Emily have been patient and kind, even when I REALLY goof (which I have—that is probably a good theme for G)

And that is why, in the book coming out in June, the three Es are the primary people I thank. (though I DO try to thank several more) But without these specific three, this dream would not have come true...

The Azalea Assault... coming in June...

Anyone else have a team who got you somewhere important?

Crazy Cozy Blogfest!!!

Hurry! Tell all your friends!

Special thanks to my buddy Joris Ammerlaan for our buttons

Wait. It's possible I should tell YOU first.

See... I have my first ever book release June 5th of this year. And on the SAME day, my friend and mentor, Elizabeth Spann Craig is releasing the first in a new series of hers... Both Cozy Mysteries... both tons of fun! So we thought we'd share the fun with you.


First: What the Heck IS a Cozy Mystery?

Cozy Mysteries are like Mystery-Lite—there is still a dead body (or two), still a mystery to solve, and still lots of twists and turns. But they are low on gore (murder happens off the page), low on violence (happens off the page), low on sex (though not necessarily anti-innuendo or ogling—again, just not on the page) -- the whole thing is kept very PG-- and because the sleuth is an amateur, they are also low on technical forensic or police procedural language, making them very approachable. (and far easier for a non-cop to write)

But in ADDITION, they also tend to have a lot of humor, some quirky characters, a recurring cast, and frequently there is a THEME (Elizabeth's is quilting, mine is gardening).

Now of COURSE we want to promote our new books, but because cozies are so fun, we thought we'd SHARE the fun!


Crazy Cozy Blogfest

The idea is to think of the craziest, zaniest set-up for a cozy mystery you can—this is strictly for entertainment value—we don't plan to take these ideas and actually write series (though if you think YOU want to, go for it!). But we are asking you to come up with a wacky theme, a zany sleuth, a crazy setting for your OWN Crazy Cozy Mystery idea.

Include:
1)  Sleuth (age, occupation, maybe a little family info)
2)  Sidekick (either friend or foil, but someone who always seems to be around)
3)  Setting (town, city, or other sort of place)
4)  Theme (go nuts)
5)  Twist (be as creative as you like)

Write it up in 150-250 words (so short)--for the blogfest portion anyway—we want people to be able to read a bunch of these without too much burden. Keep the traditions in mind, but we are judging on entertainment value--which we enjoy most, not how realistic it is to make a best seller. We want people to laugh.  WE want to laugh. (so consider those rules more like guidelines, really)


And then please include either our book brief descriptions, a brief word of promo, or a link for people to FIND more if they want to (all related info below).

Prizes: (yes, I said prizes! erm...not extravagant, but we wanted to give you something) Each Elizabeth and I will choose our favorite and BOTH winners will get BOTH books (signed).

We'd love help promoting the blogfest, as well. Feel free to take the button and banner and/or share the Linky Tool below. And I'm sure you will be hearing more about this over the next two months.

Quilt or Innocence
Beatrice has a lot of gossip to catch up on—especially with the Patchwork Cottage quilt shop about to close. It seems that Judith, the landlord everyone loves to hate, wants to raise the rent, despite being a quilter herself… But when Judith is found dead, the harmless gossip becomes an intricate patchwork of mischievous motives. And it’s up to Beatrice’s expert eye to decipher the pattern and catch the killer, before her life gets sewn up for good.

Elizabeth Spann Craig: Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series for Penguin/Berkley (as Riley Adams), the Southern Quilting mysteries (2012) for Penguin/NAL, and the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink. She blogs daily at Mystery Writing is Murder, which was named by Writer's Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers for 2010 and 2011.

As the mother of two, Elizabeth writes on the run as she juggles duties as Girl Scout leader, referees play dates, drives carpools, and is dragged along as a hostage/chaperone on field trips.

Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Indie Bound
Mystery Writing is Murder

The Azalea Assault
Cam Harris loves her job as public relations manager for the Roanoke Garden Society. It allows her to combine her three loves, spinning the press, showing off her favorite town, and promoting her favorite activity. She's just achieved a huge coup by enlisting Garden Delights, the country's premiere gardening magazine, to feature the exquisite garden of RGS founder, Neil Patrick. She's even managed to enlist world-famous photographer Jean-Jacques Georges. Unfortunately, Jean-Jacques is a first-rate cad—insulting the RGS members and gardening, goosing every woman in the room, and drinking like a lush. It is hardly a surprise when he turns up dead. But when Cam's brother-in-law is accused and her sister begs her to solve the crime, that is when things really get prickly.

Alyse Carlson: Alyse Carlson is the pen name for Hart Johnson who writes books from her bathtub. By day she is an academic researcher at a large midwestern university. She lives with her husband, two teenage children and two fur balls. The dust bunnies don't count. This will be her first published book.


Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Indie Bound
Confessions of a Watery Tart

A Review and some Stuff

FIRST: I KNEW Elizabeth Spann Craig was re-releasing her first Myrtle Clover mystery which had gone out of print AND her third one in the series which hadn't been released first round because of a change in direction by Midnight Ink. But that sneaky sneakster snuck right past me on WHEN!!!

So... Available on Amazon!





So what are you waiting for!? Go buy them!!!


SECOND: I am ALSO at Authors Promoting Authors today talking about the several options BETWEEN Traditional big house publishing and Self-publishing.


And THIRDLY... on Tuesday I promised you a book review of My Fearful Symmetry...

This isn't my normal genre, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think this is everything the extremes of the Vampire genre of late lack. It isn't cold like the horror end, and it isn't romanticized out of realistic. Instead we get a beautifully written, sympathetic main character, brought into the immortal world to 'save his life'... or so he believes... and when I say beautifully written, I MEAN beautifully written.

But Cedric's maker has an agenda, and it isn't Cedric's glorification... but Raj's. I felt the details were beautifully done, as was the world drawn of a very old ritual--a culture where 'Adepts' are held in servitude much as I imagine the Geisha--revered in many ways, but whores, nonetheless (and I do know this description demeans Geisha—I don't mean to say a Geisha is a common prostitute... but rather I am trying to elevate the Adept... skilled pleasure bringers... in this case to bring the parties in contact with the goddess). I think the characters, language, and detail of this book are perfect.

It isn't for everybody--the slash romance angle isn't graphic, but is ever-present. It is not 'parts detail' but it is very erotic. But keep in mind neither of those are things I normally go for and I loved this anyway--the underlying story is well developed, very human, and beautifully told.


Note:  LAST CHANCE!!!  Denise offered to give away a t-shirt that says 'I am an adept of the ancient arts' which if you read her book you will know is QUITE the bragging rights! Very likely to get you all SORTS of propositions, offers of cash and possibly cookies... So... if you WANT to win, just comment, all week long with the phrase 'Kinky Vampire sex' (or if you are a prude you can just say 'I want to win!'). To double your chances, tweet or facebook share Tuesday's or Today's posts that feature Denise and her book! (and let me know... mind reading is not among my skills)  [Sadly, she can only ship US and Canada]

Elizabeth S. Craig: On Sequels

Yibus know how I'm a goofy fan girl about Elizabeth, right? I started following her around like a stalker about the same time as I started blogging, and we've made great friends. She was the one who first suggested I should try my hand at Cozy Mystery (something that, until I met her, I hadn't known was a genre of its own). So she has been my go-to resource both for the Social Networking she has mastered [if there was a PhD offered in Social Networking, her picture would be on the seal] AND for the tricks and rules for writing mystery.

Well for today I selfishly begged her to share something with you that I REALLY wanted her to share with ME because I am trying to figure this out myself. I wrote a trilogy once, but I am just trying to get my first 'stand alone sequel' in order. But I figured I couldn't be the only one who wanted to know how!

So Elizabeth, WELCOME! I'm thrilled to have you here!

Tips for Writing a Sequel—by Elizabeth S. Craig

The idea of writing sequels used to make me freeze up a little. I didn’t want to bore the folks who read my first book, or confuse and frustrate new readers who didn’t know who my characters were or how they connected with each other. 

What was the right balance?

I’ve heard opinions both ways…that it’s better to leave off any real explanation of the characters and their motivations in the second book, and that it’s better to make sure not to leave readers confused. 

For me, though, I’ve decided it’s better to treat the second book as a standalone as opposed to treating it as a continuation. Here’s why:

It’s more likely that even most of my returning readers would need a refresher—especially considering how long it takes for a book to come out. The only reason this wouldn’t be the case is if someone bought book one and book two at the same time. 

I also decided, based on my own experience as a reader, that it’s worse to be confused than it is to be (very) briefly bored by a short explanation. As a reader, I wish I had the time and patience to figure out who characters are…but I just don’t. Instead, I’m likely to choose another book in my huge stack.

None of us really write a lot of backstory anyway—that’s kind of looked down on. So the second book wouldn’t have any more backstory than the first (naturally, even the first book has a a backstory—why is Jessica scared of commitment? Why won’t Mama go out and look for another job?)

So my conclusion was that I’d write the sequel almost like a standalone, but being especially cautious (even more than usual) about including too much backstory or over-describing my characters, knowing that returning readers would have even less-tolerance for backstory than first-time readers.

Series Backstory--what do you need to explain?

If you look at a paragraph or a couple of paragraphs and you can’t understand what’s going on just through the context of that paragraph…you need to add a smidgeon of explanation. Are the character’s actions confusing? Can you discern the foundation for the way this character relates to others? Do his reactions to people or events make sense for the reader? Is it absolutely necessary for the reader to know why the character is this way? Can they just accept that she is that way? 

Is it hard for you to look at the story and characters as a newcomer? Consider finding a first reader who hasn’t read your first book. They’ll be able to tell you if it’s confusing.

How do you do the explaining?

Briefly! Backstory is passive and readers want to be in the current story. What’s happening now? If your character is holding a grudge against another character, it’s a little less important what the original source of the grudge is…it’s more important that the character is holding one at all—he’s the type of person who doesn’t forgive and forget. What does that say about him? How is he holding this grudge—by not speaking to the other character? By gossiping about him? Does he have a more malicious way of expressing it? Bring the action into the present. 

I think that very short tags work too…the type of tags that keep a reader from even realizing there’s a little dumping there. Karen, Tom’s older, stricter sister, plodded into the room.

One way to include series backstory: Have some of the backstory be an unexplained, small mystery to entice readers to continue reading. Just hints. Your reveal of the backstory could happen much later in the book instead of the usual chapter one dump. That way, the source of the character’s avoidance of another character, or their reaction to a particular challenge is just a small question that readers will want to read on to have answered. Returning readers will recognize this backstory anyway and won’t wonder over it. When you finally reveal the backstory motivation/foundation, you need to keep it really brief for those returning readers. 

Other ways to reveal helpful series backstory (backstory that actually helps move the plot forward or helps readers understand, relate to, and emphasize with our protagonist): believable, unstilted dialogue, a character’s thoughts or memories (be careful here), or flashbacks (be really careful here). Otherwise, you could just figure out a way to bring your backstory into the present—work it into a current conflict with a character in your story, etc. 

Character descriptions and identifiers:

It’s helpful to find the descriptions in your first book and reword them. But it’s nice to also reveal one, additional small trait or feature of these characters for the returning readers so that they get some fresh, new information.

Avoid continuity errors in the sequel by maintaining a series bible.

My series bible helps me keep track of character ages, traits, habits, hobbies; setting details; and any details of recurring subplots. I know a couple of writers who keep track of these things on an Excel sheet, but I use Word.  I type out each character’s name, how old they are, where they live in the town, what they look like, where they’re originally from, etc.

How do you make your sequel interesting for returning readers as well as your newcomers?

Character development and subplots that are continued through the books. Your first time readers won’t realize the overall pattern or extent of the growth, but if it’s hinted at then they’ll want to find your first book to see how it all started. And your returning readers will love to see how the protagonist is steadily growing…whatever your storyline is. Is your protagonist someone who’s slowly stepping out of her shell over time? Learning magical powers (like Harry Potter?) Developing a romantic interest in a recurring secondary character? 

Make some elements different—This won’t matter to new readers, but returning readers will notice and appreciate the new situations, new settings, and the new characters and conflicts you introduce. 

Sequels and series are tricky, and I’d love to hear how you make yours work. Got any additional tips for writing a sequel or what you like to see when you read a sequel? And—thanks so much to Hart for hosting me today! I love visiting here. :)

Bio: Elizabeth’s latest book, Finger Lickin’ Dead , released June 7^th. Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series for Penguin/Berkley (as Riley Adams), the Southern Quilting mysteries (2012) for Penguin/NAL, and the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink. She blogs daily at Mystery Writing is Murder, which was named by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers for 2010 and 2011.
Writer's Knowledge Base--the Search Engine for Writers
Twitter: @elizabethscraig

And for anyone wanting to see my Review of Finger Lickin' Dead, it's here! But if you want a spoiler... Her tricks WORK!

Finger Lickin' Review

So today is the big day Riley Adams, who we all know and love as Elizabeth Spann Craig; she releasing her second Memphis Bar B Que Series book TODAY. I finished it yesterday on my way to work, and it was a delight all the way through... but let me give you some detail...

The Players

Lulu is the MC and 90% of the book is from her PoV. She is family matriarch and second generation owner of Aunt Pat's Barbeque restaurant on Beale Street in Memphis. She is kind and smart... worries about her family...

Her family includes her son, Ben, cook for Aunt Pat's, his wife Sara, an artist who waits tables to help make ends meet, their twins Ella Beth and Coco, and Sara's nephew, Derrick.

Aunt Pat's also had a passel of regulars: The Graces, five women of a certain age who are docents of Graceland, the Backporch Blues Band, three octogenarian musicians, and a few more, met this book.

The Plot

Evelyn, one of the Graces, has a new beau, or rather an old beau... she is seeing an ex-husband who seems to rub a lot of people the wrong way. When it is learned that Adam is not only smarmy, greedy, and philandering, but the anonymous pen behind some scathing restaurant critiques, there are some people out for blood... literally...

But who literally literally got blood and who just figuratively got blood? There is a long list of suspects... people who lost jobs, people who lost business, people who were being blackmailed, people cheated upon... oh, no... there is no shortage of who might have wanted Adam dead... But who killed him? Lulu takes on the case to help her friend Evelyn, who looks a little guilty at first... but it seems nearly everyone on the list is someone she knows...

Assessment

The pace is good. The characters are GREAT. And... I read the first Memphis and didn't see any setting deficits, but honestly, I could TELL Elizabeth made a visit to Memphis between the first and second book. Memphis here is more tactile... I could FEEL it. I really enjoyed the first one—I thought it was a fun, well-done read. But I think on every front, this is a stronger book. (which means instead of really good, this one was great).

Personal note: Hubby started his first week of full time work since I've known him this week. My biggest complaint is that I will have dinner duty 4 nights a week in the foreseeable future, and I despise cooking. I hope this doesn't interfere with blogging, but it might now and then. I know it WILL interfere with writing a little, but once I get a grant in at work (the 14^th) I begin a schedule with a day off each week, so I will make up for it.