Rooms of My Own

I'm writing about writing spaces at the Poisoned Pen blog today -- both those in home and those we create on the road -- so I thought I'd share some photos. I've become so fascinated with the concept that I created a Pinterest board celebrating these writerly spaces (soon to be joined by a board celebrating bookstore bathrooms -- but that's another blog post).

That's me on the left (painted toenails and coffee and all) in Scottsdale, Arizona. I've got a phone pressed to my ear (on a radio interview) and a computer in my lap while the desert sun warms the patio. A sandstorm came in later, but what the hey . . . the morning was stupendous.

I didn't even get out of bed for the photo on the right. Which is in Colorado Springs the morning after winter storm Virgil ripped through the area like a party-hopping frat boy. Gorgeous and total, the snowscape provided a lot of fuel for the creative furnace. I wish I could conjure a blizzard every weekend (unlikely in South Georgia, but a girl can dream).

But here's my favorite spot -- the window in my own tiny office, with my crystals and candles and gargoyles, and my front-yard view of the dogwoods. I watch the Wheel of the Year turn through this window, Nature in all her steady rhythms, from the tender green-gold of spring to the yellow-red flare of autumn. This view reminds me that writing itself is an organic act, sometimes beautiful, sometimes violent, sometimes both at the same time.

Book Stuff!

Wednesday, April 17th at 7:00 p.m. at The Book Lady Bookstore in Downtown Savannah. Come say hello and meet Cover of Snow author Jenny Milchman (and me, I'll be there too) for an evening of writing talk and mystery fun, all of it in one of the coolest bookshops you'll ever visit (50,000 books, plus coffee and goodies, all in one spot).

$25 Gift Card Giveaway to Kick Off the Spanking New Newsletter

Countdown to the Blood, Ash and Bone Release Day continues with -- more ta-da! -- my newsletter, BULLET POINTS. 

A very short,sweet, once-a-month affair, it will have specials and schedules and news and giveaways, starting with this one -- a drawing for a $25 gift card to The Poisoned Pen Bookstore (good in-store or online). I'll be drawing on April 1st from all those signed-up for the mailing list (and if you've already signed up, then congrats! You're already included!).

You don't have to buy anything, promise anything, or pass any quizzes. All you have to do is join the mailing list. Done. You're entered in the drawing.

Click HERE to do just that.

See? Easiest thing you did all day. And I appreciate your support and interest VERY much. Pass it on!

Recipe for a First Draft Weekend

The first draft of my fourth book was born during NaNoWriMo, 50,000 words of random descriptions and wandering dialogue interspersed with kissing, shooting, blackjack, corpses, and one small avalanche. What I didn't have was a plot.

Luckily, all I needed was a literary threesome -- just me and Tai and Trey (who was rather grumpy about being dragged along) -- a hotel with room service, and a long weekend with nowhere to be for two solid days.

Here's the prescription that worked for me -- feel free to adapt as your own work requires.

Location, Location, Location. I got a room with a balcony and THIS was my view to the right -- the iconic IBM Tower, one of the more easily recognizable buildings in the Atlanta Midtown skyline

To the left, the Coca-Cola building accented with a burnt honey sunset

And in front of me, the night-spangled skyline. It was like having a giant big screen TV playing my own private reality show. I half-expected to see a black Ferrari any second.

 I awoke the next morning to a gray rain. Atlanta turns into a map of trouble during any form of precipitation. From my viewpoint, I saw at least two dozen ambulances flying onto I-75, five separate car accidents, three police pullovers, and the inexplicably surreal comings and goings of thousands of people.

There were also black helicopters coming and going in the dense fog. Two separate people claim to have sent them.

It was an excellent morning to open the door to the balcony, let the drizzle kick up a wet revitalizing wind, and get serious about getting to work.

Which I did. But I took a little time first to appreciate the Monet meets Las Vegas landscape.

Isn't this gorgeous?

A little literary inspiration -- Pellegrino, strong coffee and cheap wine

A nice ergonomic work center -- can't stress how important this is

The ugly carpet helped for some reason -- very inspirational

And then Tai noticed THIS down below -- The Varsity. She wouldn't leave me alone until we went down -- in the rain -- and got a Frosted Orange. She wanted a double chili cheese dog and rings, but I refused. Those things come with a side of coronary heart disease and indigestion.

My last morning in the ATL -- I do love this city. And I love being able to be a part of both the real city and the version that lives in my books.

Tai Randolph's Atlanta Vision

When I get into Tai's head, this is what Atlanta looks like -- colorful, surreal, in motion. Gorgeous and provocative. Exactly the kind of place that will get you into beautiful trouble.

Midtown at the Blue Hour: An electrifying shot of Midtown Atlanta taken from Piedmont Park by photographer David Scruggs -- see it and other pieces of his work HERE

The Next Best Thing Blog Hop

Welcome!

What is a blog hop? Basically it's a way for readers to discover new authors (new to them anyway) and new books and maybe even new genres. Please

So below you'll find a little bit about me, and my Atlanta-based mystery series featuring Confederate-themed gunshop owner Tai Randolph and corporate security agent Trey Seaver. The series has received multiple starred reviews (thank you, Kirkus!) and continues in March 2013 with Blood, Ash and Bone, available now for pre-order!

I was asked to participate by the lovely and talented Clea Simon, a fellow author at Poisoned Pen Press. In addition to her nonfiction, Clea writes the Pru Marlowe Pet Noir series. Click on the links below to discover the series of which Booklist (in a starred review) said, "Simon excels in creating unique and believable animal characters as well as diverse and memorable humans."

Website: http://www.cleasimon.com 
Blog: http://www.cleasimon.blogspot.com
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/c3m4cae
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/clea-simon

And now we move to the interview portion of the event. Please visit the next writer in the hop, Emma Bolden -- the links at the end of the post will take you right to her answers to this same questionnaire (in which you learn about her collection of poetry and why Josh Groban will be cast in the movie based on said collection).

And now . . . here tis more than you every wanted to know about the third book in the Tai Randolph series.

1. What is the working title of your book?

Blood, Ash and Bone. And since it went to press last night, I think that's the name that's gonna stick.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

I wanted to explore the my female protagonist’s history, and I decided that a return to her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, would be a great way to do it.  Confederate battles, treasure hunts, and fireworks of all kinds follow.

3. What genre does your book come under?

Cozy noir. I know that's not a real genre -- bookstores will probably place it with the traditional mysteries -- but if it were a real genre, mine would be the definitive example of it. I'm certain of it.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

For Tai, my heroine, I’d pick Drew Barrymore, and for Trey, my hero, I’d get Jason Stratham to suit up.

5. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Smart Southern gun shop owner Tai Randolph solves murder and avoids being homicided with a little help and weapons support from her hot ex-SWAT boyfriend Trey Seaver.

6. Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

I’m published by Poisoned Pen Press, an independent publisher specializing in mystery fiction.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Six months! And then it took me seven years to revise it into something worth publishing.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Readers have made comparisons to S.J. Rozan's Bill Smith/Lydia Chin stories. Which is a huge compliment!

9. Who or what inspired you to write the book?

I read an article in Scientific American about how certain types of frontal lobe damage caused a peculiar side effect — people became human lie detectors, better able to detect deception than even CIA-trained operatives. Trey’s presence in the books came as a result of that article. I decided such skills would make a formidable detective, but that the other results of such damage — especially the emotional instability and impaired judgment — would make him a dangerous one too.

But Trey couldn't tell his own story. For that, he needed Tai, a spitfire of a romantic and crime-solving companion who needs him just as much (but don't tell her I said that). Together, their peculiar mix of fire and earth, yang and yin, makes for interesting romantic entanglements and an excellent crime-solving partnership.

The story of how they meet -- and proceed to said partnership -- became the first book in the series, The Dangerous Edge of Things.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
 
This shirt.

Now Emma Bolden, tag you're it. Please click the links below to visit Emma's blog (with her answers to this questionnaire and the actual place where you can actually order a copy of her book Maleficae. 

Blog: http://emmabolden.com/2012/12/19/malificae-or-why-josh-groban-should-probably-marry-me/

Read It! Wrap It! Love It! -- Jared Sexton's The End of All Things

My recommendation for your holiday gift giving is as timely as they come, since this book is making its debut next week, on Friday, December 21st. And I promise you, it's at the top of my Most Wanted list too -- Jared Sexton's An End to All Things.

I heard Jared read a piece from this anthology, and I was knocked upside the head. Seriously. I didn't see the wallop coming -- I mean, I sensed it, the way you can feel a pressure wave underwater when something big is swimming your way, but when it hit . . . Nope. Didn't see it coming.

I still think about that story -- about the voice, the insistent rhythms, the urgent drive of the first-person narration. The images. The set-up. The pow bang. Beautifully executed, a left hook of a story.

Here's some other things other smart, talented writers had to say:

“The stories in Jared Yates Sexton’s An End to All Things are, indeed, about ends—of relationships, of dreams, of innocence—but they also speak eloquently to the means of these ends. Laced through with booze and betrayal, and populated by half‐witted quick wits and good eggs with bad karma, Sexton’s stories get under your skin, split your ribs, and worm their way heartward.”
-Tom Noyes, author of Spooky Action at a Distance

“The characters in Jared Yates Sexton’s stories are desperate. They are obsessed. They speak a language that is part bar fight, part howl, part brokenhearted country song playing on a skipping vinyl loop. These are stories you want to listen to as much as read, full of fierce and searing and melancholy truths.”
-Chad Simpson, author of Tell Everyone I Said Hi

So keep a spot open on your gift list for this one. December 21st. Go get it.I know I'm hoping I've been good enough that somebody will get it for me.