Buried Under Books

Tales of a former indie bookseller

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Basic Tips for Aspiring Authors

Andrea Campbell is the author of twelve traditionally published nonfiction books on a variety of topics but she writes mostly about forensic science and criminal law. Andrea is editor for a professional quarterly, columnist, ghostwriter and e-teacher. To subscribe to her bi-monthly author’s e-newsletter or to find out more about her online classes, write to: andreacampbell@hughes.net

I am not Medusa, but I think I remember some actual mythology. Anyway, I’ve been an e-teacher for longer than I’d like to admit. I wrote and conduct two courses: an 8-week workshop on how to write a book proposal that sells, and the other is 4-weeks of the gatekeepers—how to get an agent or editor, how to work with them, and grow as a career author.  I tried to think about what it was that I could tell potential writers, wannabe writers, or any writer hoping to become an author. I have come up with these tips:

• Read. It is totally amazing to me how many authors don’t read. I feel like I am reading 24/7 but it is not always books. Of course, when I do research for a book of my own, I am in about 20 titles all at the same time, analyzing, thinking and, well, reading. I think the reason that some writers don’t read is they don’t want to acknowledge the competition. They say things like, “I don’t want the other writer’s style to influence mine.” That’s ridiculous I think because, what? are you going to memorize their words? Your words will always be your words! And look at it this way, you are reading someone who is already published; don’t you think they might have something to say?

• Marketing. There aren’t many students that come to me that know the difference between “audience” and “market” and they use the terms interchangeably. Because I might have a few readers here who will try to finesse us into thinking they know too but don’t: your audience is your reader. And you should be able to conjure up a picture of them. If not, who are you writing for? The market on the other hand, are ways to get to your reader. So first you should be able to describe your reader, for an example: My reader is female, in her 30’s, she works in an office and hopes for better; she isn’t rich or good looking but is nice and tries to keep up with what’s hot, what’s in, what to wear, what movies to see, etc. So where is she in the market? She might read Cosmo, or Self, or People. She only has only around $10 for books (paperbacks are her thing) because of her Chevy car payment; she went through the romance phase, then the chick-lit phase, now moving into the female-driven mystery phase—well, you get the picture. In other to attract her to your writing, your character should possess some of the same problems she has, the same concerns she might have, her economics may be similar, whatever. But this is how you begin to target an, hey, an audience. So the end result: Your reader needs to identify with your character and the best way to do that is to mirror their lives. Novel idea.

• Cliches. And this is my last little lecture here—you can only take so much glib teacher. When did writers lose the ability to think? I very seldom meet a student writer who gets it. What I mean is: this writing gig is a business and there are a lot of other people out there who think they can do it too. But are they competition? Not unless they learn how to think. Thinking is hard. No one really wants to do much of it. Five minutes at tops. Your mind starts to wander. You have to wash the car. You need to online shop at HSN, your mother/brother/husband/boyfriend drives you crazy….you get the idea. So we resort to what is comfortable, familiar and it’s called “first level thinking.” Yup. We think like everyone else does. Whether we call it a consensus, common knowledge, a groundswell of information—we are all thinking the same things at any particular moment. Sorry. The self-esteem and uniqueness thing you got drilled into your head is, well, less than you know. Anyway, my point is this. New and original ideas are hard to come up with. But, you know what? Those are the things that spring off the page. Clever ideas or twists or concepts that we are all familiar with but that we hadn’t thought of yet. Or maybe we haven’t looked at something that way. “Hey, this writer is right! I hadn’t thought of that,” you say, and continue reading because they have built a connection to what you find interesting, but they have something new to say. Need I say more?

July 9, 2010   Posted in: Guest Blogs  3 Comments

A Grab Bag of ARCs

It’s time to give away some more ARCs.  Every time you enter a comment on any post between now and midnight next Thursday, July 15th, you’ll be entered in the drawing to win one of these.  You can express a preference for or against a title but there are no guarantees

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson (Young Adult, May 2010)—Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she’s the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she’s a werewolf.  As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire’s new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever.

The Samaritan’s Secret by Matt Beynon Rees (February 2010)—A member of the tiny but ancient Samaritan community has been murdered. The dead man had controlled millions of dollars of government money. If the World Bank cannot locate it, all aid money to the Palestinians will be cut off. Omar Yussef must solve the murder and find the money, or all Palestinians will suffer.

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Young Adult, May 2010)—It’s war time, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they’ve recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners’ son, who died by drowning.  With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the strange circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called the Prince of Mist–a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden–an adventure that will change their lives forever.

The Osiris Ritual by George Mann (August 2010)—A steampunk mystery adventure featuring immortality, artifacts, and intrepid sleuths Sir Maurice Newbury and Miss Veronica Hobbes.   Sir Maurice Newbury, Gentleman Investigator for the Crown, imagines life will be a little quieter after his dual successes solving The Affinity Bridge affair. But he hasn’t banked on his villainous predecessor, Knox, who is hell-bent on achieving immortality, not to mention a secret agent who isn’t quite what he seems…. So continues an adventure quite unlike any other, a thrilling steampunk mystery and the second in the series of Newbury & Hobbes investigations.

The Curse Workers: White Cat by Holly Black (Young Adult, May 2010)—Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they’re all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn’t got the magic touch, so he’s an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.  Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a facade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his facade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white  cat that wants to tell him something. He’s noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.  Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single   touch can bring love — or death — and your dreams might be more real than your memories.

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July 8, 2010   Posted in: Tales of a Bookseller  23 Comments

Book Review: A Penny for Your Thoughts by Mindy Starns Clark

A Penny for Your Thoughts
Mindy Starns Clark
Harvest House Publishers
July 2002
ISBN 0736909923

Callie Webber has a job she loves. Experienced as a private investigator and attorney, she is now employed by the J.O.S.H.U.A. Foundation to investigate the integrity, including financial activity, of nonprofit organizations in which her philanthropist boss is interested. He then decides whether to make donations, often very substantial, based on her
recommendations. Oddly enough, Callie and her boss, Tom, have never actually met but they have developed a strong rapport and a feeling of mutual trust over the phone.

Working for the foundation gives Callie a sense of making a real contribution to society and enhances her faith in Christ. It also keeps her so busy she has little time to dwell on the sudden and gruesome death of her husband although she treasures her quiet times in her home on the Chesapeake. Thus, she is looking forward to returning home when Tom asks her to make one more day trip first, to deliver a check to an old friend’s hunger relief organization.

What promises to be an easy errand soon turns into something a bit more involved. Tom’s friend dies, almost in front of Callie, and it becomes apparent that the cause is probably murder. Tom asks Callie to stay and investigate on behalf of his friend. Unfortunately, it’s not long before Callie realizes her own life may well be in danger and very few of the victim’s family and co-workers can be trusted. Solving this murder may carry a very high price.

A Penny for Your Thoughts is the first of the Million Dollar Mysteries by Mindy Starns Clark. Billed as an “inspirational” or “religious” mystery, the touch of faith is lightly done and comes across quite naturally and unobtrusively rather than being heavyhanded as some religious novels can be. Callie is a refreshingly intelligent and resourceful woman, eminently likable, while Tom is an enigma. Who is this man besides being very wealthy and undoubtedly generous? When will he and Callie meet? What, if anything, will happen when they do?

The author has really piqued my interest with this first entry and I’m looking forward to the next, as much for the puzzles surrounding Tom, as for Callie’s sleuthing adventures. It’s nice to have a new mystery series with a well-constructed plot in addition to good character development, a combination not every author can accomplish.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, 2002.
Review first published on murderexpress.net in 2002.

July 7, 2010  Tags: Christian fiction, mystery  Posted in: My Reviews  No Comments

Promotion for Writers

Kathleen Delaney, author of And Murder for Dessert and other books, retired from real estate to pursue writing full time. Her long time love of small towns sent her looking through the Carolina’s for a new place to settle. Gaffney. Limestone College, a delightful historic district, and great library immediately drew her in. She lives in a wonderful 100 year old house, with a wrap around front porch, where she and her dogs can wile away a summer afternoon, and a big office, lined with bookcases, where she can spend her days writing. And, as always, reading.  Kathleen has returned today to talk about the perils of self promotion.

I don’t usually read comments on articles posted on the internet, but the other day one got my attention. It seems that a woman author of a couple of best selling chick lit books engaged in some very imaginative promotion. Her books evidently have a reputation for being funny, and as she has a new release, she decided to play on that. She hired a number of actors-I’m not sure how many-to take copies of her new book into crowded places, like the subway, Times Square, a popular New York deli, and pretend to be reading. And laughing. Extra emphasis on the laughing. Of course, while doing this, they were to hold the book in such a way that the cover was visible to one and all.

Mighty clever, I thought. A wonderful, quirky idea that just might work. But it seemed I was in a majority of one.

There were numerous comments about this article, mostly negative. Several people said they were so glad they had read the other comments because now they knew the book couldn’t be any good if she had to promote it that way. After all, if she had talent, it would automatically sell. Several others seemed to feel that they had been cheated in some way by the sheer fact that she had brought it to their attention and also vowed not to buy the book, or even check it out at the library. Others complained because she had the gall to try to promote her book at all.

The comments left me scratching my head.

Have none of these people been in a Barnes and Noble recently? Have they not seen the row after row of books offered for sale? You can get lost just browsing the stacks. When I go I carry water with me, just in case.

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July 6, 2010   Posted in: Guest Blogs  18 Comments

Book Review: Changes by Jim Butcher

July 5, 2010  Tags: dark fantasy, mystery  Posted in: Full Reviews  One Comment

Happy Independence Day!!

Have a safe and happy holiday!

July 4, 2010   Posted in: Tales of a Bookseller  No Comments

Book Review: Safe Beginnings by Christine Duncan

Safe Beginnings
Christine Duncan
Treble Heart Books
July 2002
ISBN 1931742855
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor

Kaye Berreano is the counselor on duty at Beginnings, a battered women’s shelter, when the fire alarm goes off. Kaye hurries to get all the women and their children out of the building but Mary Ellen, a woman apparently disliked by nearly everyone, doesn’t make it. Early investigations reveal that the fire was deliberately set and Farrell, the police arson investigator, believes Kaye is withholding information.

Since some of the women need to be placed elsewhere, Kaye’s job security is in doubt, at a time when she is going through an ugly divorce and her financial situation is very shaky. The police don’t seem to be getting anywhere useful, even thinking the victim may have set the fire to cover her own suicide, and Kaye begins her own investigation. Unfortunately, since this is a battered women’s shelter, there are quite a few potential suspects among the abusive husbands and boyfriends. In addition, more than one of the women may have had a motive. She’s sure, though, that Mary Ellen did not kill herself. Digging into the lives of these abused women, Kaye finds some surprises and even more questions, about Mary Ellen’s death. Ultimately, she must come to terms with her own life and future.

Most of us, thankfully, will never know what it’s like to live with abuse and what that can do to the soul. Author Christine Duncan has cracked the door to this world just a little bit, with empathy and understanding, through a woman with problems of her own. Kaye’s desire to protect these women and children while encouraging them to break the cycle of pain makes her a woman I’ll look forward to meeting again.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, 2002.
Review first published on murderexpress.net in 2002.

July 2, 2010  Tags: mystery, softboiled  Posted in: My Reviews  No Comments

Go Local!

Today is the first day of Independents Week, celebrated each year to promote the importance of supporting locally owned business of all types, whether it be a restaurant, a boutique, a beauty salon, an auto repair shop or a bookstore.  Any given indie may be quite large, offering employment to many in the community, or so small that the owner is chief cook and bottlewasher.  In either case, they have one particular financial aspect in common and that’s the return of money to the immediate area through payroll, local taxes and day to day expenditures .

For every $100 spent in an independent, locally owned business, $68 remains in the community.  For every $100 spent in the local branch of a national or regional chain, $43 remains in the community.  For every $100 spent online,  $0 remains in the community.

To put this in more accessible terms, I’ll use our now-defunct storefront as an example.  Annie and I had two employees so we paid wages which were, in turn, spent primarily in the Richmond area.  We paid a number of local people for services—our CPA, an attorney, a janitorial firm, occasionally a window washer.  We paid rent and purchased advertising in local newspapers and radio & TV stations.  When we had special events, we purchased food and beverages, plus all the paper goods, from indie grocers.  We bought some of our office supplies from local stores.  We purchased books from local authors and publishers.  Our coffee and tea supplies and equipment came from a local distributor and our furniture, other than the shelving, came from local stores.  And, unlike most online businesses, we paid local taxes.

I could go on but you get the picture.  This slow (moribund) economy is destroying much of our independent business and national chains bulldozing their way into our neighborhoods hasten the process.   If we want to have choices in where we shop and want to retain the character of our towns, we all need to support independent business as much as possible.  My favorite rule of thumb is the 3/50 Project—click on the image below to find a simple way you can do your part.

July 1, 2010   Posted in: Tales of a Bookseller  No Comments

Book Review: Monster by A. Lee Martinez

Monster
A. Lee Martinez
Orbit, 2009
ISBN 0316041262
Hardcover (ARC)

I am not certain if the following could be called a review of a book or a reaction to a book. Until opening this book, the assumption was, rather naively I now realize, that after over a half century of reading, I had read every genre of book ever published. However, nothing I had read prepared me for this book.

The story opens at Food Plus Mart, a convenience store where a bit of a disturbance is taking place. A Yeti, as in those mythical creatures associated with the Himalayas, is in the store’s freezer, eating ice cream, an entire carton at a time.

Judy and Dave, the two clerks on duty, debate what to do. Judy goes to the store’s office to call Animal Control. Dave goes back stocking shelves. After the phone call, Judy goes outside for a smoke break. She’s there when Monster arrives. He’s a free-lance contractor for the Cryptobiological Containment and Rescue Services. He’s looks normal, except that he has blue hair and skin. Both change every day, and Monster has no idea what color he will be until he wakes up each day.

Anyway, he walks into the store, brains the Yeti with a bat, draws a circle around the creature, and adds some strange looking letters around the circle. In minutes the Yeti disappears, leaving only a “small fluffy rock” inside the circle.

From this beginning, the story becomes…. My reaction is that I had read the script for a fantasy video game between good guys and bad guys, one that includes things, events, morphing creatures, and violence that make the opening scene as described above as tame and sane as a “Dick and Jane” reader.

This book is the sixth one written by Martinez, a native Texan who is described as a fantasy and science fiction author. If asked, I would have said that I had read books that could be described as fantasies or science fiction. However, this book took this reader through things that I never conceived could exist, and truly hope that they do not exist, outside the mind of the author.

Reviewed by Bo Parker, June 2010.

June 30, 2010  Tags: dark fantasy, humor  Posted in: Guest Reviews  No Comments

Books, Dogs and Kids

Mary Jane Maffini is a lapsed librarian, a former mystery bookstore owner, a previous president of Crime Writers of Canada and a lifelong lover of mysteries. In addition to the four Charlotte Adams books, she is the author of the Camilla MacPhee series, the Fiona Silk adventures and nearly two dozen short stories. She has won two Arthur Ellis awards for best mystery short story as well as the Crime Writers of Canada Derrick Murdoch award.  She is having fun with the fifth Charlotte Adams adventure: The Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder (Berkley Prime Crime 2011) and says she’s grateful for all the tips she gets from Charlotte.  Mary Jane lives and plots in Ottawa, Ontario, along with her long-suffering  husband and two princessy dachshunds. Visit her at www.maryjanemaffini.com

In this age of multitasking and time stress, we’re often run ragged without feeling any benefit from all that effort. But wouldn’t it be great if two things you love came together to bring happiness to other people and you got to have fun too?  Talk about bang for your buck! Finally, I’ve hit on a way to make this happen. A startling amount of my life is taken up by my twin obsessions: books and dogs. Wait! Let me begin at the beginning: At any given time I am writing or promoting one of my books or dreaming up another one, with my dogs nearby offering moral support and sometimes story ideas. Otherwise, I can be found reading other people’s books, with a pair of miniature dachshunds cuddled up to share the experience. The only problem with this blissful scenario is that sometimes I really should leave the house. And my dogs need a change of scenery too. Not that there’s anything wrong with spending your days under a blankie.

I have always loved children’s chapter books and story books too. I love also kids and shoes, but let me try to focus here. So I was thrilled to discover a program that brings dogs and young readers together in a way that helps pooch and kiddo. The R.E.A.D. program is under the auspices of Intermountain Therapy Animals www.therapyanimals.org.  R.E.A.D. stands for Reading Education Assistance Dogs ® Through this remarkable organization, dogs go into schools (and also libraries) and  children meet with the dogs for one-on-one reading sessions. Oh sure, the dog’s handler goes along too, but it’s the bond between dog and child that’s the key to this fabulous and effective program. No, the dog doesn’t read. I have been asked that hundreds of times! The dog sets the stage for a positive relaxed experience. Any child who may need a bit of extra practice, a comfortable relaxed place to gain confidence, an uncritical friend to read with, or just some special attention, can benefit from this. School staff choose the children to participate. The dog’s owner gets to have a wonderful time, but the dog and the child are the focus. This inspiring program is in hundreds of schools and is earning raves for participants and educators, cheers from children and woofs from dogs.

Daisy and Lily are both Therapy Dogs, having behaved just long enough to pass the tests, and Lily has now qualified for R.E.A.D as well. They look quite dashing in their jaunty red scarves. My local group, Ottawa Therapy Dogs www.ottawatherapydogs.ca operates this program in my area and they’ve been wonderful to deal with.

While Daisy is a huge hit visiting people with mild dementia, Lily prefers the company of children. She is looking forward to going to an elementary school in the fall, curling up on a fluffy blanket and meeting some new friends. We are waiting for our school assignment to be confirmed and we believe we’ll get the school we asked for. I’ll be along to lug that blanket as well as supply of books, stickers, bookmarks, hand sanitizer and other paraphenalia. You can tell that Lily enjoys practicing with Teagan and Connor,  the two newest family members. They’re too young for school, but they already love books with animals and Lily doesn’t want to get rusty waiting for the new school term.

There’s just one bit of suspense: I am about to take my Intermountain test. There’s lots to learn in this program and it’s important for all human participants to be well-trained and informed. I have my fingers crossed that I’ll succeed. Wish me luck!

I am grateful to Intermountain and to Ottawa Therapy Dogs for giving Lily and me a chance to do some good while doing what we love. For the first time in my life, I really can’t wait for school to start. I hope the kids will like my shoes if they pay any attention to me at all.

In order to share this experience and spread the word a bit, I have encouraged my dogs’ fictional counterparts, Truffle and Sweet Marie — the rescued miniature dachshunds in the Charlotte Adams mysteries– to take the tests. There’s plenty of suspense there as well! Truffle and Sweet Marie are very naughty little dogs. They are the first pets Charlotte has ever been owned by and they give her a run for her money. Will they pass the tests? Closet Confidential hits the shelves on July 6th, but don’t bet the farm on the results.  But there’s hope for the future, because anything worth doing, is worth doing well.  Take note, Truffle and Sweet Marie, if Daisy and Lily walked the walk, you can too. Sooner or later.

Does this sound like just the ticket for you and your amazing pooch, cat, guinea pig or rabbit to volunteer in your community? Then don’t forget to check out www.therapyanimals.org

June 29, 2010   Posted in: Guest Blogs  11 Comments

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