March Winds

I'm a cross stitcher and I'm a reader. Do you ever have to decide what you are going to do on the days you have free time? Do I stitch or do I read? That is the question and for me I try to do both hobbies on those days but since I'm an author I often feel guilty when I am not spending ten hours a day at my desk.

Then along the way I learned something very important to me (probably not to you) but that is I need everything to make me a balanced more effective person. I need to stitch because it not only gives me something to do when husband watches mind numbing shows every weekend but it gives me a sense of satisfaction to complete a project. (This shows me my time isn't wasted) and I CAN waste time. I NEED to read I have needed to read since I learned to read. I love mysteries because I'm convinced reading mysteries keeps my mind busy (which is a good thing so I don't reach the dottering stage too soon) if ever.

I write because writing is like breathing now I didn't say heavy breather or that I breathe in all good things (this is what rewriting is for) and that some days aren't shallow breathing. Or for that matter like the March winds that some days (like today) I'm not a little windier than I should be (don't look windier up in the dictionary because it's probably not a word), again one needs balance. I will say that since I tried to balance my life I have less time to worry if my life is balanced.

I'm still trying to work on the perfect writing schedule for me.  Although why I am trying to work this out I will say that I am writing, blogging, reviewing, interviewing and keeping up with other writing obligations.

How about you is your life balanced? Are you ready to become unhinged and does the squeaky wheel get all the attention while other things slide? I might add here that unless you count family I really don't have much of a social life....well away from the computer.

Until next blog.....

Pamela

Review of Wicked by Gregory Maguire

• Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Harper (September 25, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 0061350966

The story of the Wicked Witch of the West from her POV.  Been looking forward to reading this for a long time.  Was not quite what I expected but I really enjoyed it.  The thing is, it is not a fast read (and I am not sure why not).

Elphaba was destined for a hard life from the time she was born.  Being green with scary teeth sure did not make it easy for her mother to love her.

Maguire gives a backstory to her, Glinda and her sister the Witch of the East.  Not to mention, the Wizard, with a twist I was not excepting.

One big surprise for me is that she really was NOT a sorceress.  It was more a psychological battle for her.  With ANIMAL rights, questions on the nature of good and evil, politics and manipulations. I would feel sorry for her at times, but it never lasted.  She was such and angry woman.

Dorothy and the murder are still the climax of the book but it is a very long journey to that part, leaving Dorothy almost incidental.

Will defintiely try more of Maguire's fables at some point.

But I have to honestly say, I can't envision a musical on this story so will HAVE to see it someday. LOL


Terri

Guest Blogger - Ellen Crosby

I have a habit of getting some of my best writing ideas the moment I get up from my desk to take a break or catch up on something that needs doing around the house. More often than not it’s a repetitive chore like chopping vegetables or folding laundry, but I also write while driving in my car (only at red lights!) and there is a water-spattered notebook on the dressing table next to my makeup bag since my muse has a thing about showing up in the middle of a shower. Last weekend when “Snowmageddon” dumped more than two feet of snow on the D.C. metro area, I ended up with more than a sore back and tired arms from two days of shoveling: I roughed out much of the plot of my new book, the sixth in my Virginia wine country mystery series based on vineyard owner Lucie Montgomery.

            Between now and Halloween when I turn in a final manuscript to my editor at Scribner, my characters and their story will constantly live in my head. I’m a planner and an outliner—a couple of books ago I also began keep a rough daily diary devoted to nothing other than the work-in-progress. I buy cheap hardcover notebooks; lately I buy a 5.5 x 8.5” spiral notebook made by Piccadilly at my local Barnes & Noble after a bookseller pointed them out to me on the bargain shelf. Spiral because I’m left-handed and it’s easier to write; a different cover design each time so I can tell them apart. I date my entries and switch ink colors—hey, why not have fun with it, right?

            In those notebooks I try out character names, work on biographies, mind map, and strategize new ideas—stuff like that. I’ll write about a plot problem that has emerged in the latest draft and figure out possible ways to solve it. What I don’t do is keep reference information or notes from some of the experts who help me in the daily diary; those go in a loose leaf notebook where I can retrieve them and, once I turn in the book and finish all the rounds of copyediting they do at Scribner, file them for possible future use. The diaries are just in-the-moment scribbles and doodles; nothing I want or need permanently.

            My practice of writing about my writing, documenting my ideas and thought processes in an organized system, stems from my background as a journalist (primarily of feature stories)—where there is no such thing as taking too many notes, capturing too many sensory details, or recording too many direct quotes during an interview. And once I move from plotting and planning to writing, I borrow a trick from novelist Stewart O’Nan: the practice of physically keeping the last few pages I’ve written with me whenever I’m not at my computer. O’Nan wrote an essay in an excellent book called Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide published by Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism (I recommend it for fiction writers, as well) explaining how the habit of carrying your manuscript on you–even a single piece of paper or an index card—meant that in those stolen minutes all of us have every day we can advance our story, capture a fleeing thought, and, most importantly, keep the momentum going on the current project. For me, it makes the next session at my computer that much more productive, minimizing start-up time. Don’t ask me why it works, but it does.

            As I write this, the local weather forecasters are calling for another ten to twenty inches of snow tomorrow. That means more shoveling . . . and plotting. But first, someone please pass the Motrin.                

           

            Ellen Crosby’s Virginia wine country books are: THE MERLOT MURDERS, THE CHARDONNAY CHARADE, THE BORDEAUX BETRAYAL, and THE RIESLING RETRIBUTION, published in hardcover by Scribner and paperback by Pocket Books. Look for THE VIOGNIER VENDETTA in August. More about Ellen at http://www.ellencrosby.com and on Facebook at Ellen Crosby Books.

Guest Blogger Mary Jane Maffini - Sidekicks

I am so happy to be visiting Mayhem and Magic. Not only to connect with old and new friends, but also to get on my soapbox, briefly. Many thanks Pamela and Terri for the invitation. It gives me a chance to speak in praise of sidekicks, the downtrodden heroes and heroines of mystery novels. Where would we writers and readers be without them? When mystery protagonists are being shot at, stalked, seduced and otherwise distracted, who do you think is getting the background on suspects, making sure the dog gets walked and, even getting food on the table? The sidekick, that’s who. Does the average sidekick really get the attention they deserve? I owe such a huge debt to mine that I thought it would be worth recognizing their contributions, as my three protagonists never seem to be the slightest bit thankful.

For instance, Camilla MacPhee is a fortyish lawyer who sleuths grumpily around Ottawa, consumed by her quest for justice. She has two faithful assistants. Is she grateful to them or to me for providing them? Well, if she is, there’s no sign of it. Mrs. Violet Parnell, now in her eighties, never lets her bad hips or her walker interfere with her enjoyment of life or her enthusiasm for her current challenge. The World War II veteran just may be my favorite character in the twelve books I’ve written so far. To show my appreciation, I let her continue to enjoy Harvey’s Bristol Cream by the tumbler and smoke her Benson & Hedges. What the heck, there’s no second hand smoke in fiction. Plus, men of a certain age find her irresistible. In return, Mrs. P. uses her prodigious technical skills to find out information that Camilla could never obtain legally. We don’t want to look too closely at Violet Parnell’s, research, um, methods but I’m glad she has those talents, otherwise, far too many crimes would go unsolved.

And then there’s Alvin Ferguson. Oh sure he’s the world’s worst office assistant – and aspiring artist and decorator -- and Camilla’s ongoing attempts to fire him fail because his mother and her father go way way back. Never mind that Alvin can’t be counted on to deliver a message or run an errand successfully, but when the going gets tough, he’ll redecorate the house. Oh wait, that’s not so useful. So what? It’s not his fault his apartments keep blowing up. Well, at least, he’s learning to cook. He’s also been tossed in the frozen river, been propelled though a plate glass window into an art gallery and so much more in the service of Camilla and her sleuthing. She takes him for granted, but I’ve noted that Alvin has a fan club starting up. Take a hint, Camilla! I think I’ll let him get a new tattoo.

My second sleuth, Fiona Silk, is a charmingly unsuccessful romance writer with no sex life (coincidence?) and a desire to be left alone. That body in her bed is not her fault and the police will come to realize that in time, with luck, even if her small town neighbors never stop gossiping. Fiona would be lost without her young helper Josey Thring, Fiona’s a reluctant sleuth. Sixteen year old Josey’s a determined assistant and always available. Cut your lawn? Weed your garden? Groom your dog? Steal a few books from the library? Set up a machine to answer your door for you? All part of the service. Too bad about her criminal relatives and backwoods connections, because really, she’s the best thing ever to happen to Fiona. And I guess it is possible that she actually does have all those days off from school.

Charlotte Adams declutters homes and organizes lives in a historic town in the Hudson Valley. Her high school friends (the Misfits) still live there too, and come in handy in so many ways. I suppose they are sidekicks, especially Jack Reilly – tall guy with tousled hair, so close to that PhD in philosophy, busy with his bike shop, his dog rescue work, and such a good landlord to Charlotte. When will they realize they’re in love? Oops, sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. But the real sidekicks in the Charlotte Adams books seem to be Truffle and Sweet Marie, the miniature dachshunds that Jack rescued and foisted on Charlotte. They don’t talk, they don’t solve mysteries and they are two princessy for words. But they make connections and sometimes their ears and noses come in handy. I make sure they get plenty of treats.

Whether I’m writing or reading, to my mind sidekicks are the measure of a mystery. They are the characters I want to reconnect with when I read someone else’s books or write my own. I look forward to the time when they make it on the covers of my books. How about Closet Confidential: a Charlotte Adams mystery featuring Truffle and Sweet Marie? Not sure how my publisher will feel about that, but it’s worth a try! You can see their real live counterparts on my website www.maryjanemaffini.com

Tonight I plan to raise a glass of wine to my favorite fictional sidekicks – my own and other authors. I hope you’ll join me in a toast!

__________________________

Mary Jane Maffini rides herd on three protagonists and series: Charlotte Adams is a professional organizer in upstate New York, while Camilla MacPhee snoops in Canada's capital, and Fiona Silk must be the most reluctant sleuth in West Quebec. The latest Charlotte Adams mystery is Death Loves a Messy Desk and the long-awaited sixth Camilla MacPhee book, Law & Disorder, hit the shelves in the fall 2009. Charlotte Adams returns in Closet Confidential (July 2010). Before turning to crime, Mary Jane had lots of mysterious fun as a librarian and a mystery bookseller. She lives and plots in Ottawa, Ontario with her long-suffering husband and two princessy dachshunds.
You can visit her at www.maryjanemaffini.com

Guest Blogger - Alice Duncan

Okay, so February has been slightly more full of mayhem than magic, but at least it turned out all right. For one thing my great-granddaughter, Kasumi Oshita, turned two on February 27. Yay! You can see pics of her and her brother Andrew on my website. Both children are ever so worth looking at: www.aliceduncan.net

Second, I called my brother, Elbert H. (for Homstead, which is the most important part of his name, as you’ll see if you keep reading) Duncan, Jr., in Washington, DC, to see how he and his wife Connie were surviving the ghastly snowstorms. He told me they were fine, and then he told me something I never knew about my dad’s side of the family, but which makes at least part of my writing life easier to comprehend. Evidently the Homsteads were very heavily into spiritualism. Therefore, when he read my last month’s blog about how Daisy Gumm Majesty (HUNGRY SPIRITS, June 2010) ended up with my personal soul mate, Rolly, he told me all about the spiritualistic side of the family. El said he went to séances all the time when he was a kid, and I never would have known that if I hadn’t confessed to Rolly’s birth. Or rebirth. Whatever. Evidently, when El was growing up, any time they heard a bump in the house, our grandmother would tell him, “Oh, that’s just Edna.” Edna, by the way, was our mutual Grammy Afton’s late sister. So there you go. You learn something every day, and that day I learned that I come by my spiritualistic bent naturally!

What I didn’t mention last month was that my very first experience with the Ouija board occurred when I was a secretary at Avon Cosmetics in Pasadena, CA. The Big Boss’s secretary brought her Ouija board to work one day, and we played around with it. At that time the board told me I was going to be married three times, the third marriage would last for fifty years, and that I’d die when I’m 94 by strangling on a clothesline. I’ve since learned that Ouija boards can be great jokers. I guess so 

Anyhow, that was the fun part of February, which lasted maybe three days. Then came the chaos. My cousin, Jerry Wilson, offered to refinish the totally icky floors in my house (I use the term “my” advisedly, since I’m probably going to have to sue my sister in order to get her to let me buy out her half of the place. Sigh). However, because of Jerry’s kind offer, I hauled everything out of the house and moved my five wiener dogs and one ringer (Scrappy, the miniature pinscher/Chihuahua mix; I call him a minchihuahua) to the little room off the garage. We were there all. month. long. Through snowstorms and decent weather. So, okay, we live in Roswell, New Mexico, and our snowstorms aren’t the big deals they are in, say, Washington, DC, where my poor brother lives.

Then my computer crashed. Actually, it was the CPU fan (whatever that is) that was damaged. Naturally, I didn’t have any of my editing work backed up, although I did back up the book I was writing. Writing books, however, doesn’t pay the kibble bill. Editing does. Bless the man who fixed the computer, he managed to e-mail the relevant files to me so I could continue earning a living. In the little room off the garage.

And then my glasses broke! I can’t even find my glasses when I take them off to shower, so this was another terrible catastrophe. Fortunately, I took them to a glasses place, they replaced the stem (or the eyepiece, or whatever you call it). The new stem doesn’t match the old one, but I have glasses again!

Not only that, but I got to move back into the house last week, and it’s perfectly gorgeous! And it no longer spells of 40-year-old doggie piddle! Now, if I could only find the cord to my digital camera, which I know is around here somewhere (or in the garage or the room off the garage), I’ll ever be able to take pictures!

March Madness

MARCH MADNESS:

Ever feel like you were going mad? Maybe things go bump in the night that you don't understand? Ever get a chill for no reason then the phone rings and somebody died? Ever have a nightmare you knew would haunt you for the rest of your life? Think of these things this month and more distrubing thoughts as we on mayhemandmagic2 enter into March Madness.
We want to make the March Winds howl and the hair on your arms stand at attention. This month we are honoring the paranormal mysteries. Werewolves, Vampires, Vamps, the corpse, (I mean why did your victim have to die)? Think haunting such as the Barbara Michaels Suspense Books, think paranormal at it's finest. We will certainly be posting cozy/traditional authors this month as well because we want to know why their victims had to die....but fasten your seatbelts, leave the lights on and say your prayers because it's going to be a frightening month filled with humor and haunts.
Is there life after death or better yet life after murder? Is the cemetary the latest place to hang out and have a conversation with your character? Is your protag blood thirsty? Is the man of your dreams dying to meet you? YES we've gone mad for March and we are loving it because there is nothing like a good scare to make you glad you're alive.
We will add a little fantasy and suspense and the recipe for thrilling reads will come to perfection. So if you have a taste for murder and mayhem with a little practical magic thrown in and are feeling like being bewitched then stay tuned because boy do we have a month of authors lined up for you that you won't want to miss.

Remember keep it cozy with the lights on don't forget to howl with the moon!

Hugs,
Pamela

Pamela's Feb reads

DECKED WITH FOLLY by KATE KINGSBURY: This was my favorite book of the month. 9/10 *

AUNT DIMITY TAKES A HOLIDAY by NANCY ATHERTON : This one didn't quite hit the spot 6/10 *

The CIRCLE by PETER LOVESAY: I loved this book and it's about a group of writers and authors. Murder happens and imaginations run amuck. Very well plotted and some endearly flawed characters. 8/10 *

KILLER HEELS by SHERYL J. ANDERSON I loved the humor in this mystery and if you like a good chick lit mystery this is the book for you. 8/10 *

IT HAPPENED ON KNIFE: by JEFFERY COHEN: Another mystery with humor and I am enjoying it but I have not finished reading this book so scoring will have to wait.

Pamela James