Death at the Dakota: A Trudy Genova Manhattan Mystery Book 2 By M. K. Graff

6/6/2020

Multi-volume author, M. K. Graff, introduces us to the second volume of her cozy murder series, Trudy Genova Manhattan Mysteries, Book 2, Death at the Dakota:
Nurse Trudy Genova is making plans to take her relationship with NYPD detective Ned O'Malley to the next level when she lands a gig as medical consultant on a film shoot at the famed Dakota apartment building in Manhattan, which John Lennon once called home. Then star Monica Kiley goes missing, a cast member turns up dead, and it appears Trudy might be next. Meanwhile Ned tackles a mysterious murder case in which the victim is burned beyond recognition. When his investigations lead him back to the Dakota, Trudy finds herself wondering: how can she fall in love if she can't even survive?

Cozy murder mysteries are climbing up my list of favorite genres, definitely in the top ten, maybe one of the top five. This book is one of the reasons for that change.
“Death at the Dakota” is such a fun book to read, using first person point of view for the protagonist, Trudy Genova, nurse and third person POV for her detective boyfriend, the story is revealed clue by clue.
The author has a nice touch with word choice, her descriptions are just right, not too long and not too short. Scene setting is very good also, she has a good eye for architectural details and the makeup of a room. Action is delightful also, benefiting from an economy of words, the story moves along at a good pace.
All of that contributes so much to excellent reading. But the thing that really makes this story shine for me is the dialogue. I laughed and giggled so much, the conversations were appropriate and contributed a great deal to my overall enjoyment of the story.
I award a score of 4.8 stars to “Death at the Dakota”!
Here is a nice touch. If you buy the book from Bridle Path Press you can request an autographed copy of the book. The link is below.

You can buy this book:
http://www.bridlepathpress.com/Store/Books/Death-at-the-Dakota
https://smile.amazon.com/Death-Dakota-Manhattan-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/-death-at-the-dakota

You can follow the author:
https://twitter.com/GraffMarni
http://www.auntiemwrites.com
http://facebook.com/bluevirginmysteries

Tags: amateur sleuth, police procedural, women sleuths, cat, action, mystery, murder

I have reviewed another book from a different series written by Marni Graff "The Golden Hour", here is the link: www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-golden-hour-by-marni-graff
I have reviewed "The Evening's Amethyst" also: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-evenings-amethyst

Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction

69 Comments

Marni Graff link

6/6/2020 06:44:34 pm

Thanks for a such a comprehensive review, Mark~

Mark

6/7/2020 09:45:38 am

You are very welcome, Marni, your book gave me a lot of reading pleasure.
First question.
Please, tell us more about yourself. Perhaps something a little bit beyond your bio.

Marni Graff link

6/7/2020 12:52:24 pm

Two things come to mind: Most people will know if they read the comments at the end of the book that I was a nurse for 30 years who wrote "on the side" until I retired to write full time. I had managed to cadge a job writing interviews for Mystery Review magazine as I was winding down the nursing, where I was able to interview many of the crime writers whose work I read and enjoyed. That was a huge outside the classroom experience, encompassing writers like Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, and Deborah Crombie among many others.
But my favorite interview was when I was studying Gothic Lit one summer at Oxford, and the magazine arranged for me to train to London to interview PD James. She was my crime-writing hero, the one whose books I gobbled up and re-read, and I was to meet her at her London townhouse. We spent time talking for my article, and when I realized I'd taken up enough of her time and rose to leave, she asked if I would like to have a coffee in her kitchen. That next hour started a 15-yr friend/mentorship with the Queen of English Crime. It was the Baroness who suggested I write a second series, based on my own favorite nursing job. She said readers love a behind-the-scenes look at different worlds and professions, and encouraged me to consider what would become The Trudy Genova Manhattan Mysteries. We stayed in touch over the years by letter and email, and when I would be in England to do setting research for my Nora Tierney series, we would meet and have tea. She was a huge influence and supporter of my writing, and I was fortunate to have her in my corner.

The second thing is that I am a huge dog lover. My husband and I have always at had one and often two over the years of our marriage. Right now we have to Australian Labradoodles, Seamus and Fiona. They are delightful companions, very human-loving, and they don't shed! I highly recommend this kind of affectionate and whip-smart type of dog to all the dog lovers out there.

Mark

6/7/2020 01:44:17 pm

What a great job for a writer to have, interviewing other writers. How exciting that you got to meet your idol.
Your dogs sound great! Dogs like that are probably hypo-allergenic, they probably have hair, not fur. Our recently departed dog, Grizz, was a long-hair Chihuahua. We are seeking another long-hair dog now.
New questions.
What inspired you to write this series?
Why did you choose this genre, or do you feel the genre chose you?
Who designed the cover of your book? Feel free to drop a link if appropriate.
What do the elements on the cover represent?

Marni Graff link

6/7/2020 04:38:10 pm

I wrote this series on the advice of PD James and have been grateful for her suggestion as I now alternate the two series, which keeps me researching and collecting plot ideas for the next one even while I'm in the midst of writing in the other series.
I'd written essays and lots of poetry before deciding my novels would be in crime because that's what I enjoy reading the most. I gobbled up the Golden Agers in my teens after dissecting Nancy Drew as a young reader, and kept being drawn to crime. The idea of the puzzle to be solved intrigues me, as does looking into human nature. I am fascinated by what would drive an otherwise rational person to feel it's reasonable to take another human being's life. As I review crime novels on my website, I still read heavily in that genre.
The covers for this series are usually photographs. The first for Death Unscripted was a classic image of the Brooklyn Bridge so that readers would know they were going to New York City. I chose that because my great-grandfather worked on that bridge. This one for Dakota was a photo taken by a NY friend specifically for the cover. I wanted the building, where a lot of the action takes place, to take center stage. He sent me many jpgs and once we chose the one I wanted, he cropped out the surrounding buildings and resent it in black and white, where those spooky clouds added just the right touch of menace in tone. Beth Cole does my covers and layout design for the Trudy Genova series.

Mark

6/7/2020 05:18:34 pm

I think alternating the series is a brilliant idea. It mirrors one of the suggestions I picked up for beating writer's block. Do more than one book at a time, whether it be another book or series, short stories or side stories. Always having something else to turn to will keep the muse occupied and happy.
Sherlock Holmes was an early favorite of mine, before I landed on science fiction as my favorite genre to read. I loved the old, black and white movies and the books by Sir Doyle.
Writing mysteries was an easy choice for you and a wonderful niche. Doing reviews ensures that you know what is happening in the genre.
The Brooklyn Bridge is almost as iconic as the Empire State building. Great choice. Using a B&W picture for the cover makes it stand out. I love it and the clouds are perfect. Beth knows her stuff.
New questions.
Was it hard to come up with the title? What was the process?
Were the character names difficult to develop? How did you choose them?

Marni Graff link

6/7/2020 05:37:09 pm

For the first, Death Unscripted, which takes place on the set of a soap opera, it made sense to use the image of a script. Once I had "Death" in the title, I decided to keep that word in the series titles. Death at the Dakota was a no-brainer, then, easy-peasy. The third one in the series will be titled Death in the Orchard, but that one's a long way off. although I already have it's folder started and am throwing in ideas.

I choose character names carefully. The ones who will be repeating characters I have to love, as I will be typing them over and over and have to live with them for along time. As for characters specific to each book, I took at the heritage I've assigned that person, or perhaps something about them I want to convey. Monica Kiley, Trudy's charge in Dakota, sounded to me like an actress name as it flows. The British director in this TV movie has a hyphenated last name. An more unsavory character has the last name "Murdock."

Mark

6/7/2020 05:50:48 pm

A series needs to have unifying factors or characteristics. The same word in a title is a good choice. A character or characters that are on board for most if not all the series is another good choice. Readers like getting to know a character well, to develop feelings of empathy for a protagonist or antipathy for the antagonist, such as Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes series with Cumberbatch. He was a villain worth hating.
I love what you did with Monica's last name, bringing in her first husband was a genius touch. I don't think that is too much of a spoiler, do you?
Murdock is an interesting name, I never thought about it before this moment sharing the first syllable with the word murder.
New questions.
What other books and genres have you written?
Have you entered any writing contests?
Have you won awards of any kind for your writing?

Marni Graff link

6/7/2020 06:46:54 pm

My novels are all crime, a mix of amateur sleuth and cozy. My other series is The Nora Tierney English Mysteries, with four in print and I'm working on the fifth now. Nora is an American writer who lives in England, and by this fifth book, in engaged to an Oxford detective. I move Nora around England so she won't suffer from the Cabot Cove syndrome: how many murders can one town hold? She's been involved in cases in Oxford (The Blue Virgin); Cumbria (The Green Remains, The Scarlet Wench) and Bath (The Golden Hour). You'll see there's a color all of those titles, their unifying item, and each cover also sports photography but with a color wash that matched the title and makes them stand out. The one I'm writing now is titled The Evening's Amethyst, a line from a Stevenson poem, and I bet you can guess what that cover color will be!

My most recent essay was a commissioned piece for The Who, The What and the Where, one of a series of essays about the person behind the famous person, usually people we never hear of. Mine is about Joyce McLennan, PD James' PA who typed every one of her crime novels and her autobiography. James dedicated Death Comes to Pemberley to Joyce, and we remain friends.

Each mystery I've written in both series has been long- and short-listed for Chanticleer Media's "Mystery and Mayhem" Awards. The Blue Virgin and The Green Remains won in the category of Best British Cozy in those years. Death Unscripted was also a finalist for an IAN award in mystery.

Mark

6/7/2020 07:34:29 pm

You write a lot. Nora is not a nurse and she lives in England. Trudy is a nurse and she wants to visit England. Have you lived in England or just visited at least once?
Your choice for your essay is pretty nice. It gives Joyce a nice moment in the spotlight. Did you get a chance to talk with her to prepare for the essay?
The very first book I proofread was a carbon copy of a book written by a friend of mine, back in the 70s. It was double-spaced typewritten. I put my red pencil to work.
I bet the Nora series looks nice on a book shelf, with the color washes.
Congratulations on the award and all of the other honors! That kind of recognition must be very gratifying.
New questions.
I noticed that your book is in Kindle Unlimited. How is that working out for you? How many books have you put in KU?
Have you ever gone through the query process, seeking an agent or submitting directly to publishers or did you go straight to indie publishing or self-publishing, and why?

Marni Graff link

6/7/2020 07:52:22 pm

I first visited England when I was 25 and when I stepped off the plane, felt like I was coming home. I'd been back a few times with my husband when I was offered the chance of a summer study at Oxford. Once I started writing the Nora series, I go back every second or third year for setting research, and now to visit friends. I've traveled all over, by train when I'm alone, and when my husband is with me, we rent a car as he will drive on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road. Not me! I thought my affinity for the UK was down to my love for the Golden Age mysteries that had such an influence on me. Then last Christmas we had our DNA profiles done, and although my heritage through grandparents was a mix of German and Italian, those were only 17% of my total. 54% was British! So I suppose that accounts for the feeling to some extent.

I'd met Joyce McLennan on one of my visits to PD James and we became friends on our own. I used my talks with her with more the references James gave toward her in her autobiography to craft the essay.

I love how you say you put your red pencil to work editing. You said you have an eye for typos, that they jump out at you. That must make reading difficult at times when you find them. By the way, Nora's dog in the series was named by her son: Typo.

I have all of the books in Kindle Unlimited now, after a bad experience with the first, after it was pirated many times on another site. I have had a NY agent with Curtis Brown since before the first one came out, but he wasn't able to sell that first book. He remains my agent in name only now but would jump up if someone offered foreign rights or to pick up either of the series. He and I agreed I would bring out the books through Bridle Path Press, a small indie press where I've now become Managing Editor. In today's climate, there are so many options open to authors, and the stigma that used to be around other-than-traditional publishing seems to have faded. What I bemoan is the time taken away from writing to work on marketing, which is certainly necessary. If I were to win the lottery, that's where some of my dollars would go, toward hiring a publicist to spread the word more on my books.

Mark

6/7/2020 08:43:42 pm

I have been to England and the continent several times myself. I have enjoyed it each time. Being able to understand the language is a plus. Though I do fairly well with the simple things in French, English is easier.
My sister had her DNA done last year, she (and by extension, me) is almost 50% from the British Isles.
Yes, typos and homophone-type errors jump off the page and slap me in the face. I finish almost every book I start. There was one book that had a dozen or more errors on every page, it was too painful to finish and I was too distracted. I can ignore some to a certain extent.
Piracy is a serious issue. It is theft, pure and simple.
Many authors start their own publishing company or imprint. Especially after they have self-published one or two of their own books. Then writer friends want help and if for no other reason than trying to preserve some of their own writing time, they start to charge for the work they put in. Which is quite reasonable.
There are many options from traditional publishing to self-publishing, there are independent publishers, hybrid publishers, vanity publishers and scam publishers. One thing is for sure with the last, you will give a lot of money for very little. Unless you count a pallet of books in your garage a lot. Then the marketing gets real and brutal.
We will talk more about marketing later.
New questions.
If I understand how agents work, they don't get paid by you until they secure a contract. Is that right? Was it hard to get connected with your agent?
I have heard stories of authors sending out dozens or even more than one hundred query letters trying to find an agent to represent them. What was your experience like?
What are the main advantages of being independently published as opposed to getting a book deal, traditionally published?

Marni Graff link

6/7/2020 10:08:04 pm

Mark, who knows, we could be related!

Yes, agents agree on your contract to a certain percentage, about 15% of your advances and royalties. I queried many agents, probably about thirty, without success until I won a month-long writing residency to The Vermont Studio Center, where the first chapter caught the attention of a woman there who runs The Writers Room in Manhattan. She asked if she could bring those pages to her friend at Curtis Brown--of course I said yes! He read it and asked for any other chapters I written, about six by then, and signed me on the strength of those. Once the book was done (The Blue Virgin) he sent it out over the course of a YEAR to many houses, while I started writing the second in the Nora series, The Green Remains. I had lovely rejection letters from most, who liked the story and writing but were concerned about marketing an unknown American writer writing a series set in England. Then we came very close with one large house and the editor was on board but her Publicity dept turned it down for that same reason. By then I had two Noras written and the indie press came knocking. My agent agreed I should get them in print and perhaps they would be picked up after that. It often comes down to happenstance and knowing someone, or as in my case, being in the right place at the right time to find this agent, and yet he still wasn't able to sell my books and I wasn't getting any younger!

I would say the biggest advantage is having some sort of marketing push behind you with a traditional house in terms of getting your book reviewed in places that have impact. New authors will still have to do a lot of their own legwork, though in terms of events. Gone are the days of houses paying for new authors tours until you have sold big numbers.
With each new book, I design my own tour when it's in the layout and design stages, so months in advance of publication. Then I load up my Mini Cooper, Miss Marple, and leave my NC home for up to 3 weeks to drive from her up to Maine and back, with stops at events I've set up along the way. With six books in print now, I have libraries and other stops that have regular readers and will host me. Most often I stay with friends or relatives to cut down on costs. It's time-consuming but I like to talk about the writing process and answer questions, too.

Mark

6/8/2020 10:34:21 am

It is certainly possible, cousin. ;-)
You are the second writer I have met whose British series was almost picked up. The first is Veronica Cline Barton. I have reviewed her books previously, I really like her cozy murders also.
Much of the time when authors are talking about a book tour it's a blog or virtual tour; even more in these days of the pandemic. However, I like the idea of planning a physical tour well in advance of publication. It makes a lot of sense. A six-month lead time is probably enough to get everything lined up for a three-week tour. Hectic, but fun!
New questions.
Do you think independent publishers can produce a book as good as mainstream publishers?
What are the three most important considerations for an independent author to be certain of when signing a contract with an independent or hybrid publisher?
Is using Twitter and other social media part of your marketing strategy?

Marni Graff link

6/8/2020 12:19:41 pm

My mom wants me to point out her mother’s maiden name is Schultz from Brooklyn, and we could indeed be cousins!
I do feel indies can produce great books if they adhere to insisting on a manuscript being copyedited, good cover design, and have a site where books can be promoted and purchased.
A contract with an indie publisher should clearly state the rights belong to the author. This is key. It should indicate the requirement for professional copyedits, and thirdly, clarify who pays for what in terms if expenses. Some indies will assist the publication costs in exchange for a portion of the royalties; others ask for a yearly fee to support the web site and allow the author to keep all income. I’ve thought of a fourth: an indie press should have an editorial board that reads and accepts an author’s work.
As for social media, I am on Twitter and have a Facebook author page, plus a personal page where you’ll mostly find snaps of my pups, Seamus and Fiona!

Mark

6/8/2020 01:20:37 pm

As the family story goes, when my father's father emigrated from Europe, his last name was Stein. His sponsor told him he should have an American name, he chose Schultz. It is possible, much of the family lives in and around New York.
You hit on a very important point. Intellectual Property rights are crucial for every author. From what I understand of the process and to put it in simple terms: the publisher asks the author for a license to publish the book for a certain length of time. Beyond that it can get murky and slippery real quick. So many authors have horror stories to tell of being tricked by scammy publishers and agents. Losing their IP rights in different ways. It is so important to have every contract examined by a knowledgeable lawyer, a writer cannot afford to skip that step before signing their rights away.
Those other contractual provisions are very important also. If it's not in writing all verbal promises are null and void.
An editorial board is a good idea. Although you will never see one on a vanity press, they exist to satisfy an author's dream at the highest cost possible.
Twitter seems to be where most authors hang out. I have a pretty large following of writers and I follow them back. They write books, I love to read books. It's a win-win situation. A lot of authors have author pages on Facebook, some are on Instagram or Pintrest also.
It's a good idea to have a separate page for writing on Facebook. If I read their TOS correctly, we are not supposed to advertise our business on our personal page. We can recommend other businesses, but not our own.
New questions.
After leaving off the attempt at traditional publishing, how did you locate your publisher?
What is your publisher doing anything to market your book?

Marni Graff link

6/8/2020 04:21:37 pm

I met Lauren Small at a novel writing course at The University of Iowa. She was one of four other writers whose work and critique skills I admired. The five of us navigated to each ither that week, sharing ice cream’s and then dinners. When our course ended, we stayed in touch and formed our own critique writing group via email. Then we started to meet every summer at each other‘s homes as there is no place around that will allow you to critique an entire novel!
Out of that group Lauren had the idea to start an indie press of her own when she became frustrated with trying to get her own novel published. She started Bridle Path Press, a curated hybrid press based in Baltimore. I was happy to sign on with her and first became a member of her editorial board, and have now become their managing editor.
The press maintains the website where readers can order books and arrange for autographed copies from any if us. She has a group Facebook page, too. And if she dies a book fair or other event, all of her authors are represented.

Mark

6/8/2020 04:51:29 pm

A critique group that grew in an unexpected way, friends working together and helping others get their books out.
I bet there are a lot of other independent publishers out there that started in a similar fashion.
New questions.
There are many unethical practices in publishing, which one is the most unbearable in your mind?
Was it hard to find a person to produce audio version of your book?

Marni Graff link

6/8/2020 07:08:20 pm

Undethical practices; yikes, that's a thorny question, isn't it? Two things spring to mind. The first is pirating.
A writer's sweat, creativity, imagination, research, plotting, etc, all add up to hours of work, and all go into writing a novel, and then add on the publication process of multiple rewrites after workshopping and beta readers, edits after copyediting, working with a book designer on layout and cover, obtaining cover blurbs, getting the book reviewed and then, READ, and you are looking at a minimum of a year if traditionally published where others are doing many facets of that, up to two years or more if you do the leg work yourself. Most cover prices won't begin to put money in an author's pocket for years, if at all, so to have someone give away your work (if that was not your intent) just plainly stinks.

The second item is a personal gripe on Amazon and its review policy. It is totally unreasonable, to my mind, to think that writers won't read other writers work! So when an honest is review is turned down because I might know or work with another writer on some level, that seems grossly unfair to me. What other work mode do you know that does not have its work reviewed or critiqued by others who do the same thing? Surely this was first decided upon to prevent close friends and relatives from writing reviews--yes, my mother always loves my books--but other than a small circle who will love every word an author writes, this surely could be overcome. And yet Amazon will print a review from someone who deducted an entire star from her review from a 5star to a 4 for Dakota because while she loved the book, she thought there were too many curse words, despite those being in dialogue and character-specific! (Counted, there were 8 total in over 300 pages). I am reminded of the time Alan Bradley (the Flavia de Luce mysteries) gave a talk at St Hilda's Mystery and Crime Conference in Oxford and told the audience that he once received a review that Amazon allowed to post for a book that was given ONE star with the following review: "Book arrived wet; couldn't read." Surely there should be some better monitoring guidelines . . .

Marni Graff link

6/8/2020 07:21:26 pm

I enjoyed finding narrators for the audio versions of both series. Audible makes the process menu driven for those of us who are techno-challenged. Once I'd decided to do a royalty share, I looked for narrators who accept that and chose a bunch to listen to their voices from their own samples. I narrowed those down to four or five and sent them a script, which was a small sample of text, that they then recorded. I listened to these several times to get the right tone, as I knew with a series I would want the same narrator for the rest of the books if possible. To that end, Dakota's narrator is a voice-over actress who also does commercials and had the right 'zing' in her voice for Trudy. Lucinda Gainey started the series with Death Unscripted and did Death at the Dakota and will do the next once it's written. For my Nora Tierney series, since Nora is the only American but all the other characters are British, I use an English voice-over artist, Nano Nagle, who has done all four books so far and plans to do the new one once it gets that far in the process. I usually send them the final manuscript once it's in the layout and design process. Both of them have audio studios at their home, Audible also does a final quality check for any things like extraneous noises, breath intakes, etc, that the narrator or I might miss. It's actually a fun part of the process in bringing your book to life that I enjoy. The manuscript is recorded in chapters, so you can listen easily and note where changes need to be made. Good communication before starting is a must. The author needs to describe how she sees the main characters and those who figure highly in this, or you may have the narrator putting a strong Irish accent because the character name is O'Malley, even if they are NY born and bred!

Mark

6/8/2020 10:55:31 pm

Pirating is terrible! Stealing intellectual property for personal gain is stealing.
I agree with you about Amazon's policy about reviews. In the last purge, 2018 I think, They literally threw out the baby with the bath water. So many people lost reviews of their books. Some reviewers were banned from Amazon. Their kindle was empty all of a sudden. They could not shop their, Prime was shut off. It was so bad. I was quite worried for a long time that I would be a victim also. I escaped.
Thank you for describing the process of your audio books so well. I recommend to many authors to get their book into audio and go wide also. You make some great points.
There are many countries that use English as the official language of government, education and business. Plus, there are many other countries that teach English as a second language at all levels of education. In many of the countries of the first group, dozens of millions of people have only a smart phone to access the internet. So an audio book is a perfect way to consume a good story. Plus many want to improve their English-speaking skills.
If you would like to read an interview with a narrator of audio books, I had the chance to interview one in the process of interviewing the author of an audio book. https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/heir-to-a-prophecy-by-mercedes-rochelle-narrated-by-kevin-e-green Sorry the link isn't hot. Copy and paste time.
New questions.
Do you have a favorite book by another author or just favorite authors?
Did you have a favorite book as a child?
Which of your books is your favorite, and why?

Marni Graff link

6/9/2020 01:40:13 pm

Probably my favorite book in terms of influence is Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. I love the gothic feel, how the setting is a character, and how the narrator is never given a first name. She is always "Mrs. DeWinter" or "Darling" or "Monkeyface." It was something Du Maurier insisted upon when she decided to finally allow Alfred Hitchcock to film the book, although there are some differences in plot. Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh taught me about plots; Dorothy Sayers about characterization. Of course, PD James was the whole package: exhaustive character and setting development with complex plots. I prefer her Adam Dalgliesh series to the others, but gobbled them all up.
I have a host of modern authors I admire: in historicals, Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey series is my favorite. Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series is one I look forward to.

As someone who reviews mostly crime books, I can tell your readers that there are tons of great authors writing whose work needs to be better known in the US. Some of my personal favorites are: Jane Casey, Ann Cleeves, Kate Rhodes, Sarah Ward, Tony Parsons, Mark Billingham, James Oswald, Roz Watkins, Fiona Barton, Stuart MacBride, Tana French, Stephen Booth, Sophie Hannah, and Sharon Bolton.

As a child, Nancy Drew ranked high on my list. I would be handed my allowance, run to the local shop that carried them, and buy the next installment. I'd have it read that night and my father would complain that I'd wasted my funds and now had nothing to show for it. I'd simply read it again.

It's hard to choose a favorite book, as I feel I've grown as a writer, but I know the time and effort I've put into making each one a good story for readers, so it's always the most recent when I know what's gone into it. Having said that, in the Trudy series, I deliberately gave the readers two murders to solve with two different killers. I don't want readers to feel they are reading the same book over and over again. In the Noras, The Golden Hour is the first time I didn't write a Whodunnit? but instead a Cantheystophim? Readers know the culprit early on; the tension comes from Declan and Nora trying to find him before he can hatch his devastating plan. It was the first time I'd written a character who is a true psychopath, and I found I have a grand time creating him and then being him his head! Not sure what that says about me...

Mark

6/9/2020 02:05:33 pm

Hitchcock was a master of suspense. I haven't seen the movie or read the book. But I have no doubt I would enjoy it.
I think almost anyone can learn about plotting from Agatha Christie. She was so good at that.
I recently reviewed a book that reminded me of her writing, "A Long Hot Summer" by Trevor D'Silva. It was extremely well done. Wonderfully complicated and a good interview with the author also. He has a lot of skill.
As a boy I was buying comic books and sport cards with my allowance. Relatives were sending me books. We had a series called The Happy Hollisters, a family of 6 or 7 kids who solved mysteries in their neighborhood. We had almost 20 volumes. I read them many times.
That makes sense to me that you would have a problem choosing a favorite book, of all that you have written. I still like to ask that question.
New questions.
Does writing have a spiritual or healing component for you, does it energize you or make you feel tired?
Why is it important for writers to tap into the emotions of the characters?
Have you ever done NaNoWriMo?

Marni Graff link

6/9/2020 04:32:22 pm

Last one first: I've never done NaNoWriMo but I know other writers to have and find it fun and a real stimulant. It's difficult when you are writing without a hard deadline sometimes and this can be good for writers to jumpstart a project. I'm fortunate to be part of a writing critique group for the last 16 yrs. We read each other's entire novels the month before we are to meet. Then each year we move around the country to one another's houses and everyone gets a day to work through what the other's have found in that book. Questions get answered; plot holes revealed; ideas are shared. The author is the owner of her work and chooses which things she finds helpful, but we work well together after all of these years and that imposed deadline is one I find works better for me.

As for a spiritual component, I've found when I've done my homework with creating a character "bible" for recurring characters, in terms of knowing their background, habits, likes and dislikes, that I can connect to characters in a way that allows me to feel I'm in their heads at times. I've had instances where a character, usually my lead, will instinctively let me know that what I've just written is not working because it is not how he or she would react. I've also had those times where there is a chemistry between characters where the conversation between them flows from my head to my fingers as I type and seems so natural and real. That's the kind of high I love and why I keep writing. It energizes me. I do most of my review reading at night after my husband falls asleep and that helps me to wind down.

I think a writer needs to connect to the inner emotional lives of their characters if she wants readers to be able to connect to them, which is why they will keep returning to read books about these fictional characters. Look at Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache, or Elly Griffiths' Dr. Ruth Galloway. Their legions of readers will anxiously await the next installment to find out what's happening to those characters in their personal lives almost as much as to solve the next case. It's what elevates a crime novel from a simple puzzle to one that resonates with readers.

Mark

6/9/2020 05:10:16 pm

It doesn't sound like you need NaNoWriMo. However, if you ever wanted a jolt, it might be useful to do something different.
Your critique group sounds wonderful, It sounds like it's at least a long weekend adventure, if not an entire week. I love the camaraderie that has built up, an amazing amount of trust among friends.
I guess that could be called being in the zone, when your characters are giving you hints about what should happen next. It has to be a wonderful experience.
When the characters become real they have 'real' experiences and 'real' problems and joys. I can see how that creates a lot of investment from the readers. What a great way to write a book. As a great example from DATD, Trudy's relationship with Ken, the step up to the next level kept getting postponed. A real type of experience mirroring the real world.
New questions.
Are you an under-writer or an over-writer? When the first draft is done, do you need to add more to flesh it out or do you have to cut material because there is too much?
Are you talking about sentences, paragraphs or a chapter that didn't survive the final cut?

Marni Graff link

6/9/2020 07:29:37 pm

That's a great question about over- or under-writing. My critique group would say I am definitely an over-writer when it comes to setting. I love to get into the history and details of a place and sometimes they say I'm sounding like a travelogue--guilty as charged! It's usually a matter of subtracting a few sentences so I don't sound like a travel guide. I love the history of places, too, and The Dakota has such a rich and varied background that it's difficult to find the balance in the first draft at times.

A few times I've not explained myself enough as to a plot point, and when one of the gals owuld ask me a question I readily had the answer to, she would say to me, "You had that in your head but it didn't make it to the page!" And so I'd add in a few sentences. I find that I do that less as the books have gone on as I'm much more aware of making certain all of the questions I've raised have been answered.

One thing I would address: the opening is usually the part I rewrite the most, even in a first draft. You want an opener that grabs a reader without giving too much away but might raise a question if it doesn't always include a body! With the Trudys, since she's always on some kind of television or movie set, I've used the device of opening in the middle of a scene being filmed. Then we cut to Trudy and her unusual job and we're off and running.

Mark

6/9/2020 08:30:32 pm

I love doing research, exploring words, concepts and unusual things. If I were a writer I would like suffer from the same problem. Big info dumps can bore a reader so fast. There is a balance to be had and your critique partners help you find it. That is perfect and how it should be.
The grab-the-reader-by-the-throat opener is so important to get readers past the first page or two. I am not the least bit surprised that you work on that so much. I think appearing in the middle of the filming of a movie scene is a bit of genius. Guaranteed to keep the reader engaged.
New questions.
Do you prefer dialogue tags or action beats in your books?
What do you do to flesh out the characters for your stories?
Do you base your characters on people you know or have met, or is it easier to just invent them completely?

Marni Graff link

6/10/2020 08:51:53 am

I very much prefer to have the reader envision the character doing something, as most people are in constant motion. Even a scene where someone is sitting down for an interview is a way to give the reader the little tics a person has that denote who they are. I sparingly use he said/she said and even more sparingly, an adverbial tag. A simple act, like preparing a cup of tea for a visitor, can give clues to a person: do they warm the pot first, do they use loose tea or bags, do they put milk in the cup before adding the tea? Do they add several spoons of sugar or take theirs black? These tiny things all denote character, to my mind.

To flesh out a character who has ore than a 'walk-on' part, I do some kind of background bible for them. The depth of that will depend on how much of the action they see and how important their role is in the book. I have a few pages of background, for instance, for Trudy and Ned, and several for her best friend, Meg, and his young detective sidekick, Borelli. There are two things I always ask and answer for any major character: what do they want the most? And what do they fear the most? These baselines help me get to know my characters in depth, and while I am the one assigning the answers, sometimes it feels as if they are more being revealed to me.

I rarely base a character on someone I know. I have, on occasion, allowed a friend's name to be used for a character, but while the character won't be anything like that friend and those instances are rare. I much prefer my characters to be my own creation. If i"m reading a print magazine and see a face I find interesting, I'll tear out that page and shove it in a folder I keep. Then when I need to create a new character, I'll often look through my folder to see if I can 'find' my character in there and go from there. Right now I'm working on the next Nora Tierney, and her stepsister, Claire, who has been mentioned in an earlier book, appears in this one in a more important role. The photo that gives me her description is taped to my bookshelf for me to see her as I write. It's a clothing ad, but it's the model's face I found interesting. When I wrote my first psychopath for The Golden Hour, that was from my imagination totally, without the aid of a photo to start me off. I ask myself: who is this person and where did they come from? I consulted my handy-dandy psychology books for his pathology, and created a background that would fit someone who is a psychopath. In Dakota, there is a character who is elusive and referred to and not seen until near the end of the book, but I still need to know a bit about him to make him feel real, as the people who do know him talk about him and they certainly know him. I do a lot of work on things that don't make it into the final book, but are things that I need to know, especially as refers to the characters.
One other point is that I feel it's safer to create characters. If they are based too closely on a person you know, other than a tendency to do something a certain way, a personal tic I might use or a way they dress, for example, I may then be constrained by the real person. Also, I wouldn't want that person to feel they could recognize themselves--what if they are the murderer? I can imagine the emails I would get for that!

Mark

6/10/2020 11:16:25 am

Your choice of action beats over dialogue tags explains a lot for me in terms of how you make your characters seem so real. All of those little things add up give depth to a character.
One of my guest bloggers, Rick Hall @Stellerex64 has created a tool for generating psychologically consistent characters for use in writing fiction. It seems very thorough to me and has many examples. https://www.wordrefiner.com/guest-blogs/character-creation You might find this useful.
The idea of a character bible is quite good. Many authors use pictures or draw their own image of the characters in their mind. Having a visual seems very helpful to me.
I understand your reluctance to draw upon friends or family for characters in your stories. Things could get real uncomfortable for everyone if that person felt slighted by what the character did in the story.
New questions.
Which is more fun to write, the protagonist or the antagonist, and why?
What is one thing you hate about your protagonist and one thing you love about the antagonist?

Marni Graff link

6/10/2020 02:25:44 pm

Thanks for that link. I will definitely take a look at it.

I suppose the antagonist is more fun. The protagonists are continuing characters, So I always have to be careful about decisions I make as they will affect the long-term series and be carried over. Although of course, overtime I do become familiar with them and are very fond of them! However each antagonist is usually just for that particular book. Therefore I have a bit more latitude with how I can develop them and often let loose a bit more. I can try things on for size that I might not be able to do with a recurring character. I can also go in a direction and have them act out in ways my protagonist would never do.

In Dakota, one thing I love about my antagonist, and there are two in Dakota, is that both of them have the ability to think of lies on the spot. They are both dissemblers, and can lie convincingly, looking police and others right in the eye, thinking they are going to get away with it. And for a lot of the book, they do!
It’s tougher to think about things I hate about my two main protagonist, Trudy and her boyfriend Ned. For Ned, I’d say his attention to his duty as a NYPD detective often affects his personal life. While it’s a noble profession, it often robbed him of time he would rather be spending with his family or with Trudy. For Trudy, the thing I hate about her…… I’d like to say there’s nothing about Trudy that I hate! But if I had to choose, it’s probably the fact that she is headstrong and can often put herself in situations where she hasn’t stopped to think things through, and therefore can put her self in jeopardy.

Mark

6/10/2020 02:35:59 pm

Most authors say the antagonist is more fun to write.
I never thought about how careful an author would have to be with the protagonist in a series. That makes a lot of sense.
The dual crimes and almost parallel investigations made for a fascinating storyline in your book. Especially how the two investigations were tangentially involved with each other.
New questions.
What is your writing routine when you sit down to write?
Do you write in a straight line or do you write whatever the muse provides for you at a given moment?

Marni Graff link

6/10/2020 04:42:29 pm

I write in the afternoon. I stay up late reading —1-2AM— and i’ve learned mornings are not my best time to write. Then to, I am doing my errands then, walking the dogs, doing lunch, etc. By the afternoon I can put all of that aside and concentrate on my writing. I have a routine where I allow myself half an hour to zip through emails that must be attended to and put out any fires there, then I reread what I wrote the day before and do minor editing, and then plunge into the next scene or chapter. I always end in a place where I’ve put either the heading for the next scene or a line or two to jog my memory of where I want to go next. That saved me from ever having writers block!

I write chronologically as I use the pressure of time to both elevate tension and to help readers keep track if where Trudy or Ned are at any point in time. I start each book knowing the ending: who is the culprit and why. That way I can build in my other suspects with plausible motives. I will jot notes for an eventual scene I know I’ll need and put a line through that once it’s written. And while I do a lot of setting and other research I know my plot idea needs, I am always researching other things as they come up during the writing.

Mark

6/10/2020 06:17:51 pm

You have developed a good routine, it sounds like. Getting the extraneous business out of the way is smart. I really like the idea of leaving yourself notes to go forward with. Glad to hear you have never had to deal with writers block. Some other writers are not so lucky.
If I was writing, I would write the last chapter first, that way I know my target and make sure that every shot goes where it is supposed to. Both hits and misses.
New questions.
Which is more important to a story pace or flow? How do you control it?
Did your writing process change much from your early writing to your current book or did it stay the same?

Marni Graff link

6/10/2020 08:40:23 pm

Early on, I was concerned about not knowing where I'd be going next, so I developed that idea of leaving myself a tickler for the next day. It's really helped me be able to plunge in and make the most of my time at the laptop.

Pace vs flow, that's a good question. I'd say for a mystery pacing is important because of the way the writer is parsing out information to the reader, giving fair play but still with the hope of rising tension. And within each chapter, there is the idea of using cliffhangers so that the reader will want to flip the page. I try to control flow by alternating the viewpoints of the two main characters. From that, the pacing builds and hopefully brings flow along with it.

I think with each book my writing process has become polished. It's grown as I've grown, with the result that I've learned that the more work I do before I sit down to plunge in to write, the better it is for me. This is not to say that I outline the entire book; I don't. But I'm talking about setting research, general plot outline, and the all-important work into the characters that i invest beforehand. The other thing I've learned to do is at the other end, before I send off even a first draft to my critique group. Besides reading for typos and other edits, I've learned the words I use too much in first drafts, and want to carve out. I use FIND and seek them out and try to change them. Early on this was doing that for "was" to try to use more active verbs. Now I use it for words in re-reading I see I've overdone (and these may change from book to book).For Dakota and for the Nora Tierney I've just sent to my group, those words were : just, seem, and some. It's a process that is still evolving~

Mark

6/10/2020 09:30:53 pm

Another good idea I heard sometime ago was to stop writing in the middle of a chapter that you already know how you want it to go. That is pretty similar to your practice.
Dropping hints and red herrings is important, I think most people are happy to be surprised at the end. I know I am. Mini-cliffhangers are great, I don't want to be bored when I am reading.
Your writing process is getting better all the time. You have written enough books to know what works for you. Searching out the filler words is a perfect example. I do the same thing when a word registers in my conscious mind when I am proofreading. I search it out to see how often it is used. I do that when I see a name with an alternate spelling. Sometimes I search out alternate spellings of names to make sure I don't miss them.
New questions.
How do you think your book relates to the world we live in today?
What is the one thing you hope readers will remember from your book?
What else are you writing these days? Are you writing anything for yourself or only for readers?

Marni Graff link

6/11/2020 11:58:40 am

Dakota gives a clear example of how drugs fuel our world on any socio-economic level. Without giving plot points away, they affect the lowest drug dealer to the highest level of celebrity or financial wizard. It's a scourge that attracts users for many different reasons, but all of them become unable to resist the siren call of the ultimate high, until something spurs them to shake it off with help, not an easy task. Some accomplish it; others turn to crime to feed their habits. Sad but all too true.

I hope readers will take away that there is a fundamental joy in our lives, despite the tragedy it contains. Trudy is trying to cement her relationship with Ned; one couple is having a baby. Older couples who have been together for years help each other with the health issues of aging. We humans need each other, it's as simple as that.

I alternate the books now that I have a second series. I'm writing the next Nora Tierney English Mystery, whose working title right now that probably won't change is The Evening's Amethyst. It's a line from a Robert Louis Stevenson poem that will be used as the frontispiece, and refers to the victim and to a special locket she wore all the time. It's set in Oxford, with scenes at Exeter where I studied, so it's the college I know the best in terms of layout. There are a few minor scenes in Cambridge, too. I've just completed the first draft and now it's in the hands of my critique group. While they read, I will be writing weeks of reviews ahead for my crime review blog so I can take a few weeks off.

Mark

6/11/2020 12:16:28 pm

You illustrated the struggles of drug abuse quite well in the story. The theme is woven throughout the plot without taking it over. Well done.
There are so many ways to find joy in life, many of them have to be worked for. We all want to be loved and accepted for who we are. It takes time and investment into another person to find the right fit between two people. Everyone has woundedness and getting through that takes time.
I bet having two different projects to work on is another great way to avoid or beat writer's block. I have also heard that writing completely different short stories can help, as well as side stories connected to the work in progress. The blog is yet another good idea, plus it keeps your fans engaged.
New questions.
Do you have a classical author or poet, you admire?
If you could meet your favorite author, what would you ask them?
What software do you use to write and publish your books, and why do you use those?

Marni Graff link

6/11/2020 04:11:38 pm

My favorite classical author would have to be Agatha Christie. She was a huge influence on my wanting to write mysteries, and her books are outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible. They endure because of her excellent plotting. Her characterizations were not as in-depth as some other authors, but reading her books taught me skills any mystery writer needs: using cliffhangers; red herrings; rising tension; plot twists. I was fortunate on one of my England research trips to spend time in Devon and visited her home there, Greenway. A restored vintage bus takes visitors for their tour of the house and grounds. It's filled with all of her belongings--even her clothes are in the closet. It was very interesting to me to see this place she loved, and the grand piano she would play for herself and family. She'd trained as a concert pianist and was quite accomplished but was too shy to perform in public.

If we were to meet in person and have dinner, the first thing I'd ask her was why she disappeared all those years ago, leaving her car broken down at the top of a moor, inviting suspicion she'd been killed or committed suicide. She refused to talk about that episode in interviews, ever. Much has been made of the fact she'd just found out her husband was having an affair with her friend. She ended up using that woman's last name at the spa where she was ultimately found. Her sense of betrayal must have been horrific. She went on to remarry an archeologist who made her very happy, and whose travels together were the basis for many of her mysteries.

The press uses Lightning Source for printing and I use the Kindle format for ebooks. I write in Word for Mac because it's the easiest for me to transmit manuscripts between my critique group. I've not tried any of the many manuscript programs that are out there. With my seventh book in draft, it's what I'm used to and I've learned to manipulate its tools to fit my needs.

Mark

6/11/2020 04:27:30 pm

AC is a great choice! Such a genius. Mrs. Wordrefiner and I love watching the movies made from her books.
How exciting to visit her home. I didn't know that there was mystery in her life. That is wonderful that her next marriage was a HEA.
New questions.
Have you ever had the experience of the story swerving in a different direction than planned, as if a character was driving it?
I know there are many ways to build the outline. Do you do it all on the computer or do you get analog at some point with post-its or note cards?

Marni Graff link

6/11/2020 05:37:06 pm

I'd highly recommend a visit to Greenway if you are in England. When you walk into AC's bedroom, a tape recording of her voice from an interview comes on and you hear her talking about her writing. The house was used in several Poirot's so may look familiar.

I try to leave what I call "the muddled middle" for happenstance things to occur, so my outline gets rather vague by then except for the end as I feel my way toward it. One time that allowed me to see and swerve when a character, who was originally a red herring, ended up telling me she had a better motive to be the killer! I rewrote the book and it was absolutely the right thing to do.

I use an old-fashioned three ring binder for my character bibles and starting outline. The pages are easy to move around and I write down my ideas in longhand. As I'm writing, I keep a legal pad next to me, and jot down things that appear to me that I know I'll need to add in later, or perhaps a scene I'll need, or even a question I've raised that I don't want to forget to answer later for the reader's benefit. Once I've addressed these things, I cross them off so I know they're done. I type as I think, so that goes quickly, but the bits of handwriting give me that tactile sense I like.

Mark

6/11/2020 10:19:40 pm

The wife and I have been to England three times, I think. We enjoyed our visit each time. I don't think we will be making any more trips, but it would be nice. A trip to her house would certainly be in order, as we are both fans of Agatha Christie.
Allowing the middle to be vague for a time is a good idea. I think it's quite interesting when the characters start to tell the author that a change is in order. It's different for every author, also.
You must have quite a few of those binders by now. Perhaps you use one for each series, that would make sense.
I do a lot of manual note taking also. I have lots of Post-it notes and three stenographer pads for different record keeping.
New questions.
Do you have defined space for writing at home, or are you a coffee-shop writer?
Do you listen to music or have the TV on when writing at home, or do you need quiet?
Action, dialogue, or narration; which is easiest to write?

Marni Graff link

6/12/2020 01:14:13 pm

We live in a very rural area at the end of a dirt road. The closest coffee shop is an hour away! So I write at home, on one side of a vintage oak partner's desk my husband and I share. I had trained myself to write with noise around me, even the TV! But lately I've found headphones to be a wonderful solution. I listen to music via Pandora radio, usually classical without words or I want to sing along! For some scenes I may stick on jazz, Chet Baker is a favorite, as the peppy or mournful music may fit the mood of what I'm writing and help me get there emotionally. My dogs are pretty good about leaving me alone, but are in the same room when I write, either lazing around the floor near me or snoozling on the couches!

I try to keep pure narration to a minimum, as all that telling instead of showing isn't as interesting as action and dialogue for a reader. When I know the characters well, dialogue flows and is easy to write. If often exposes things in the character's personality, whether it's their views on a topic, their personal history, or a quirk. I try to incorporate action in those scenes of two characters talking so it's not static. People hardly ever sit still and just talk to each other, do they, in real life? Someone is pouring tea or folding wash or cooking dinner while they talk. Pure action often comes in the form of moving Trudy or Ned, or Nora and Declan, from one place to another. That's the business needed to put them in places where they can investigate and talk to others.

Mark

6/12/2020 01:39:49 pm

That desk is cool. It must take up a lot of room.
I can read in almost any environment, from years of practice. When I am proofreading I need a lot of quiet. I could listen to instrumental music, but I don't. Frequently I listen to our youngest daughter's YouTube videos, she has a channel devoted to food and healthy living. The granddaughters are frequently part of the videos so I enjoy hearing their voices.
I noticed how little actual narration you have in your book. You make great use of action beats also. The story moves along so well.
New questions.
Of the five senses which is the easiest to write and which is the hardest?
Have you ever participated in theater in some way, acted, behind the scenes or written a play?

Marni Graff link

6/12/2020 03:49:10 pm

Of the five senses, seeing the easiest because I am describing what my point of view character sees. I try to incorporate something from the other senses in every scene. Taste needs the character to be eating, so that's probably the hardest, can be the most personal as people experience tastes differently. I use scents and sounds often as readers easily can relate to those. The wail of a newborn baby, or the scent of a bus belching diesel are things most readers can identify with. A writer can deliberately add those in during revision, and I tell my writing students they are adding texture to their stories when they accomplish that.

I acted and sang in many high school musicals and plays but nothing since then, unless you count the time when I was working as the medical consultant for a soap opera in NYC and the director asked me to be in a scene. We were faking a surgery scene, and my job was to hold the endotracheal tube in place when the patient was rolled onto her side. Of course, it wasn't in her trachea at all, but cut off to rest just inside her mouth and taped in place, so it became easily dislodged when she was turned. My mom was pretty excited I was "going to be on TV" and bitterly disappointed when it turned out I was masked and gowned and all she could see where my eyes!

I've written several screenplays after I studied that form at NYU when I was still in my nursing position, but educating myself about all forms of writing. Screenplay format taught me about the importance of dialogue and was an excellent form for a novelist to learn. It was also the reason I was given the medic consultant position for the NY movie studio I worked for as I was transitioning out of nursing. I brought the medical expertise they needed but since I knew screenplay format, I could also correct dialogue in medical scenes when it veered too far from reality. That was my favorite position, and the basis for the Trudy Genova series. No one was really ill or dying. It was also an eye-opener to the way television shows are produced, and a great learning experience.

Mark

6/12/2020 04:36:05 pm

Adding those textures go a long way to reader investment in the story. I recognized so many "textures" I felt very much at home in your story.
Trudy is you, from the past. That is great! You really wrote about what you knew on that one. I love it! I bet your mom recognized your eyes. That was disappointing for her, no doubt. Our first daughter was on TV a few days after birth. She was born by C-section and had a pretty round face and head. During the news show segment her face was never seen. As very proud parents we were extremely disappointed, also.
I have been recommending for sometime now that writers should take a course in writing plays or screenplays. The different emphasis would be valuable. I am glad to hear I have been passing along good advice.
New questions.
In your experience, which marketing avenues have been the most rewarding or profitable?
Speaking of marketing, why did you pick me to help promote your book?

Marni Graff link

6/12/2020 05:07:00 pm

I decided early on that I would have to limit the time I spent on marketing or I would never get a book published! So I do Facebook and Twitter in the main. I'm 'on' other platforms, like LinkedIn but confess I rarely check them. I do send my posts to LI to be mirrored there so I have a presence, but you could spend all day on social media and it would eat up your writing time. So that's social media. It's definitely a way for readers to learn about your books, awards, nominations, etc, and those two seem to cover the main age groups of my readers.

I don't have a big publicity budget, so I'm always looking for places where I'll get a lot of bang for my buck. A site I use consistently is Loving The Book (lovingthebook.com). I have done cover reveals, book launches, and other book events to keep my books in reader's hands. They are reasonable, have a lot of packages to choose from, and most importantly, are connected with an international group of book bloggers.So their reach is wide and I always see a bump in sales when I've done an event with them.

I chose you because of your attention to detail, the value for the funds, and I figured if you were a dog lover and a proofreader, I couldn't go wrong!

Mark

6/12/2020 07:28:34 pm

Marketing is like the Gordian knot for many authors. It seems so overwhelming. You are so right, it can take up all of the time that you give it. I suggest to authors they allot one or two hours every week or two for marketing. They should set up a plan and follow the plan as much as possible. Some things have to be planned months in advance, such as signings and fairs.
Lovingthebook.com sounds like a good service to use. Thanks for sharing that tip.
Thank you. I do think I give a good value for the money. This is the only live interview on the internet that I am aware of.
New questions.
Do you have a newsletter you send out to fans? Why or why not?
If you do have a newsletter, which mailing service do you use? Is it the same one you started with or not? Why?

Marni Graff link

6/12/2020 07:36:13 pm

I don't have a newsletter for several reasons, and I've gone back and forth with the idea but have so far resisted. It seems that because I take time with my books, bringing a new one out approximately every two years, that there would be a lot of months when I wouldn't have much news to share. Then, too, I evaluated how often I discard newsletters from other writers with few exceptions. Louise Penny's is one I read as she always has something interesting to say. But then that is the only social media she does. She doesn't do Facebook, Twitter, etc.

So the short answer is: no, I don't do one. But don't count me out for down the road! I reserve the right to have my mind changed.

Mark

6/12/2020 10:50:19 pm

I ask that question because there are those who say newsletters can be important to stay engaged with your fans and to collect email addresses. The mailing list of a few thousand is important to some publishers, important enough that some of the publishers won't talk to an author unless they have one. The mailing list represents nearly guaranteed sales. There are many ways to have content for a newsletter including book reviews, contests for book titles, character names, and so on. Advertise book signings and other meet and greet opportunities.
On the other hand, it's one more thing to pay for with cash or time.
New questions.
I have seen some authors use music to flesh out the characters, they create a playlist for them. They publish the playlist in the back of the book. Some use music for inspiration for chapters and share that, or song titles or a few words of lyrics as chapter titles.
Have you ever thought of adding music to your books, like what the characters listen to or they went to a concert as a plot point?

Marni Graff link

6/13/2020 11:30:53 am

It's interesting that you mention music. While I haven't (yet!) considered using music as a plot point, I did have a playlist of music Trudy listens to in the first book in the series, Death Unscripted. She plays the violin but loves singers whose music tells stories. The playlist contained all the music she listened to through the course of the book, from contemporary to classical with a bit of jazz. I feel it's an integral part of who both Trudy, and Nora Tierney in the English series, are in terms of character. But the publisher nixed that page and it was taken out of the final book...

I do feel music sets or reflects a mood and as a reader I pay attention to what music a character chooses. Peter Robinson has his Inspector Banks listen to and love music, and I learned a lot from his choices. Ian Rankin notes the choices of Inpt. Rebus, too. You can learn about a character by knowing his music.

Mark

6/13/2020 01:17:55 pm

Music is a language that reflects feelings and personality so much of the time, a small but important part of knowing a person or a character. I don't sit down to listen to music myself much anymore, I am a news junkie. When I listen to songs I like to know what the lyrics are, so that limits some of my musical choices. Instrumentals are wonderful as I can enjoy the instruments for their own sake.
New questions.
How much time passed from when you got the idea to write your first book; then actually starting to write the book?
How long did it take you to write that first draft?

Marni Graff link

6/13/2020 01:53:30 pm

I was given the opportunity to study gothic literature during a summer program at Exeter in Oxford. I was writing for Mystery Review magazine then and had decided I'd set my series in England, with an American protagonist. Her getting used to living there would be part of her growth and change, from the language slang she adopted to other customs.

So I had my setting and character when I went there and used that month's visit to take good notes, photos, etc of Oxford as most of the action would be set there. I took notes for a potential plot, too, and places Nora, as I'd named her, could visit and explore. But I was taking classes that required essays and reading and didn't put the pressure on myself then to start writing.

When I returned I went to a month-long residency at the Vermont Studio center. That's where I wrote the first three chapters, fleshed out Nora and the other characters, and built my plot. When I returned from that, I finished the first draft about 4 months later, so a little over six months for the draft. But I had the luxury of time then to concentrate on it, both in terms of research in Oxford, and in Vermont where I wrote every day.

Now as I alternate the books, I am researching and plotting the next one even as I'm revising the current one.

Mark

6/13/2020 04:52:57 pm

Many of Nora's experiences probably mirrored some of your own as a newly-arrived American in Oxford, England. That was a fabulous opportunity and you took good advantage of it. Seeing England through American eyes is a nice twist.
Your residency provided a great occasion to expand and flesh out all of your notes from Oxford. Thus shortening what would have likely been a much greater length of time for the first draft.
New questions.
A lot of new authors struggle with finding beta readers. Because, after the first draft is done, fresh eyes and feedback become very important.
Do you have alpha-readers and/or beta-readers, apart from your critique partners, to help you smooth out a lot of wrinkles before publishing? If you don’t, why?

Marni Graff link

6/13/2020 07:36:50 pm

I do have beta readers. They are not relatives, because someone like your mother won't be honest and will usually love everything you write.
For the Trudys I mix if up with people whom I know are great readers, not necessarily writers. Someone who reads and knows a great story can give valuable feedback. For the Noras, I have a few British friends who always read and help me to correct my dialogue if I've gotten something wrong. I learned early on that a lot of my Britspeak was gleaned from either the Golden Agers or Masterepiece Mystery! And often not still in use. So those are invaluable. I add a few others as needed for those.

So my routine is this: I write a first draft and send it to my critique group. They are not all mystery writers, but very good at what a book needs to tell a decent story. They help me see plot holes, or point out where I've gone on too much like a travelogue. Then I revise the book in its entirety, making changes as needed, or fleshing out a character who's too thin. PD James told me once "the real writing gets done in revision" and I've come to see her point. Besides fixing anything the critique group has pointed out, this is where I add texture and pump up the senses, too. That's the point where it goes out to beta readers, and I give them time to read and comment. I don't expect them to fix typos but do add a cover letter with the specific things I want them to think about as they read: questions raised that aren't answered for them, or places where the pacing lags. I ask them to tell me how it hits them overall, if it holds together once they're done.
Once I receive their comments, I incorporate those as needed in another round of revisions. Then it goes to my publisher. And her comments and edits are incorporated. This is the point where it goes to a copyeditor. Phew!

Mark

6/13/2020 08:22:25 pm

Some writers do use family as beta readers. The family members are committed to telling the truth. As long as it works, that is good. I do encourage authors to locate people in addition to or instead of family members. A lot of it depends on the family.
Your division of beta readers is pretty good, I like it and it makes a lot of sense.
Some writers just allow the readers to share whatever they find. A few actually have questions for the readers to keep in mind, as they read.
PD James is quite right, the real writing is in the rewriting. A first draft is going to be mostly garbage, it just has to be dragged out of the author's head in any way possible.
That is a good process. It's good that there is an editor and a copy editor. They are different functions.
New questions.
Do you get ideas for future books while writing a book?
When does inspiration strike for you?
What do you do to preserve these ideas?

Marni Graff link

6/14/2020 02:00:35 pm

On occasion I've had a thought for a future books, someplace where I could point Trudy down the road. More often what happens when writing is that a subplot for a future installment will occur to me, or something that moves Trudy or Nora's growth along.

I keep all of those ideas, plus those I find in the news, magazines, etc, in the folder I keep for the next book in each series. I don't know the titles or much action at first, but any scrap of paper that has some idea jotted down on it gets thrown in there for when I turn my attention to it, along with lovely faces I've torn out of magazines or articles that may suit for research. When I'm ready to address the next book, I go through the folders first to see what I can actually use.

I've found that just before I fall asleep at night things will come to me about the next chapter or scene I'm writing, so I always keep a notepad next to the bed for that. And I always have some kind of tiny notebook in my backpack that I carry around with me. You never know when you will see something that you can use; when an idea will hit you, which often happens on longer drives; or when you'll overhead a snatch of conversation that either spurs a good thought or that you lift for a great line of dialogue. Those notebooks sure come in handy then!

Mark

6/14/2020 05:02:36 pm

That is a smart move to save those glimpses of inspiration. Who knows when one or more will turn into brilliance.
I know one author regularly wakes up at about 2:30 in the early morning. Her muse has a message and is insistent that she write it down. She keeps the pad and pen on the nightstand also.
I know another author that lamented to me that her best ideas arrive in the shower. I recommended she get a waterproof pad and pen, The Space Pen works quite well underwater and that type of paper is quite real. I have both.
When driving, making a voice memo works pretty well, depending on local laws and ordinances.
New questions.
Going back in time, did you do any kind of creative writing, even back in grade school?
How early was it that you realized how powerful words can be?

Marni Graff link

6/14/2020 05:26:00 pm

I'm going to answer your second question first, as my thoughts flow through better that way.

I was fortunate to have a mother who read to me form early on. Every afternoon we'd sit in a green wing chair with a swirled pattern and she'd read to me from the first volume of Childcraft books, the same nursery rhymes and brief stories over and over. After a while the words became familiar, so that by the time I was four I was reading early readers. I was one of only two children who could read competently in kindergarten. The other gal and I gravitated toward each other and became fast friends. Remember that best friend I mentioned in Maine?
We were hooked on words and stories and have never looked back.

I think she and I knew early on that words were powerful. We would trade books we'd read, usually far above our grade level. We alternated reading Nancy Drew and then Agatha Christie with classics such as Les Miserables, War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, Anna Karenina, Gone with the Wind as young teens. We'd read a book we loved and insist the other read it, too, so we could talk about it, and marveled at the sweep of those stories. We both worked in the school library and would get recommendations from the librarian for books we should read.

In 4th grade I won a huge dictionary as the best speller in my grade--all those books I read paid off. In 5th grade I scored the highest grade in our school district on the yearly reading test. Then In 7th grade, attending a junior-senior high school, I won the yearly writing annual poetry contest. There was some controversy over that, as the upper classmen were put out that a lowly kid had won over them, and I recall my parents were called in to verify the poems were totally my own creation. That was my first brush with creative writing.

Mark

6/14/2020 06:09:41 pm

Answer in whatever order works for you.
The name Childcraft rings a tiny bell for me. I wonder if my mother read to me from them also. I was an early reader as well. I missed kindergarten, but could read better than everyone else in the first grade. I recall reading a lot of fables, fairytales, and short stories.
That is so wonderful that you had a friend all the way through school to share the books with.
We had a full-size dictionary that was five inches thick. This unabridged Webster's dictionary had some large, color illustrations and lots of small, black-and-white drawings in the text. I could spend an hour easily in that beast.
Congratulations on those wins. Your parents must have been very proud.
New questions.
What is the most important thing you learned from publishing your latest book?
What are three things, that you wish you knew before you wrote your first book?

Marni Graff link

6/14/2020 06:39:27 pm

Those Childcraft books were a boon to any young reader. They had orange covers and as you grew in reading level, so did the stories. I wish I still have them, but recently came across the nursery volume at a yard sale and scooped it up.

I'd say the most important thing I'd learned from bringing out Dakota was how much readers who love a series will follow an author and go with her on the journey her character takes. When Trudy first meets Ned, they get on each other's nerves, especiallyTrudy on his. Months later when they've been dating and are trying to move their relationship to a new level, a lot of readers identified with the frustration they find as their jobs and family issues get in the way. And that included leaving the reader at the bedroom door. Readers of mysteries are rarely looking for a graphic sex scene. They don't mind a bit of romance, nor the idea of the characters having sex, but they don't need to read it. Those kinds of scenes are usually best left to the readers's imagination.

Three things I wish I'd known before bringing out The Blue Virgin, my first novel, would be:

The amount of time marketing would take up;
The amount of pre-marketing I should do along the lead up to a new book;
that the amount of time I put in before I sit down to actually write, whether it's character development, research, or plot work, will never be lost and will make my writing job easier!

Mark

6/14/2020 10:07:10 pm

Have you looked online for those books? Ebay is great for all manner of odd and unusual stuff.
Most authors live for their book to be read and loved. The book is a labor of their heart and soul in many ways. Having people connect and love the characters that pour onto the page has to be a pretty great feeling. I know I glow when a writer tells me how much my proofreading has helped their book, they love it so much more; very gratifying, it truly is.
I fit right into that group of readers, I prefer a bit of mystery, here and there, especially in the bedroom. Less really is more, sometimes.
Marketing. I have heard it said, the best time to start marketing your book is a year before it's published, the next best time to start is today. Very true. I tell authors that marketing is not a sprint, it's much closer to an ultra-marathon.
The better an author knows the characters and plot, the better the reader is likely to enjoy the story.
New questions.
Do you have a hero, real or fictional?
You have published a number of books. You are writing more. Are you writing anything strictly for your own pleasure, not necessarily planning to publish it?
What are common traps for beginning writers?

Marni Graff link

6/15/2020 10:04:15 am

I have looked for those book online and the prices are out of sight! They've become collector's editions. I'll keep scouting yard sales and hope to find someone's well-loved copy.

When I was 12, I wanted to be Julie Andrews. She could sing, she could act, she was pretty to boot in an unusual way, and had that terrific voice. She was the whole package for me and would have been my first hero. I moved on to Grace Kelly, Katharine Hepburn, Fred Astaire and settled on Ginger Rogers, and still have a fondness for old black and white movies from the 30s, 40s, 50s. You know the old saying about her: "Ginger did every move Fred did, but backwards and in heels!"

When I was in high school I read a biography of Marie Curie, and she's always been a favorite. Nellie Bly, too, and Annie Sullivan who taught Helen Keller. What these strong women had in common is that sense of adventure, whatever their field, that had them stand out and make strides.

As far as a hero in the crime fiction world, PD James was always mine, which is why I was so thrilled to be able to meet her in person for an interview. Then to have her in my life for 15 yrs until she died was such a blessing. I miss her wry wit and her sage advice. Through her I met Nicola Upson and Mandy Morton, both writers, both into the arts, whom have become great friends. Mandy was a folksinger/songwriter in earlier years, who does an arts program for the BBC with Nicola now, and both write mystery series. (Nicola's is the historical Josephine Tey series, and two of them have been nominated for CWA Crime Daggers; Mandy's series is set in a world of cats, The No. 2 Feline Detective Series, and the proceeds go to support care for aging and ill cats.)
When I go for a visit, I always see them in Cambridge or at their Cornwall thatched cottage. So they have become my new heroes of sorts. They support so many activities and charities, and being involved in theatre, music and the arts in Cambridge and in the UK makes them stimulating company when I am fortunate to see them.
On my last trip over, they took me to an old stone church which is where Nora will be married in the next book, quite a while away. I think she may spend her honeymoon at their thatched cottage, too! Having a hero you can meet and spend time with is fulfilling and wonderful.

I don't have a lot of time between writing one book and plotting the next in the other series to write for myself, but I take great pleasure in writing letters to several friends in Australia and the UK, and on occasion still toss out a poem. I have folder of those I've written for myself. Then a friend asked me to support a project she was doing and asked me to write a short poem about Amelia Earhart. It was chosen for the book that came out of that project, that resides in Earhart's hometown museum. I've always wondered about what happened to her and her co-pilot, and here's another strong woman with an adventurous streak. So another hero of sorts for me.

For seven years I conducted the Writers Read group in Belhaven, NC, mentoring new writers. The group learned how to critique each other's work in a constructive way, and how to read their own work aloud, critical for any writer who plans to do book events and must feel comfortable reading in front of an audience. The most common traps I'd say those beginning writer fell into were two-fold: wanting to submit a first draft; and not having their work in proper formatting.

It should go without saying but I'll say it anyway, that a first draft is like a lump of clay. The writer spits her story out, and no matter how accomplished that can be, the revision process tightens the story, hones dialogue, adds texture, and improves the overall piece. The writer takes that lump of clay she's produced and tries to carve away all the unnecessary bits to show off it's lines and curves and make it into something beautiful and finished.
Along with that, the accepted formatting must be learned until it's second nature. If a writer attempts to submit to an agent or publisher, that's one of the easiest ways for your manuscript to be tossed without even being read if it's not in proper format. Today's author doesn't put two spaces after a period as we did when I first started writing. All manuscripts should be typed in double-space for ease of reading and to allow room for an agent or editor to scribble notations. New writers should consult the ALA or Chicago Manual of Style if they aren't certain about formatting.

Purdue University (owl.english.purdue.edu) has a terrific Suggested Resources page, too, with many areas to consult, even if they are slanted toward business writing. For instance, they have a guide on how to write a proper email and how to update your CV that many fiction writers may find helpful.

Mark

6/15/2020 11:32:29 am

How wonderful to be able to meet and become acquainted with some of your heroes. That is so rare, I can't recall the last time I heard of that, when the person is also famous. Many have a family member or a teacher as a personal hero, that is a different circumstance.
I love the sound of the Writers Read group that you operated for the benefit of new writers. That sounds a lot like an apprenticeship. I was a sheet metal apprentice and shared my knowledge with other apprentices after I became a journeyman. I found I learned from the apprentices, sometimes, while they were learning from me.
The reading aloud part is quite good. To do that well requires a certain amount of acting, inserting emotion into the mind of the audience, as they listen to the spoken word.
That is an excellent word picture of editing that first draft. I have said many times, a first draft has to be a pile of garbage to start, there has never been a perfect first draft. The garbage is turned into a basket of jewels through serious editing and rewriting.
I learned to type with double spaces also. It was a hard habit to break.
Thanks for the tip about the resources at Purdue. I hope many find it useful.
New questions.
Do you think a strong ego is an asset or liability for a writer and why?
Can you describe the demographic of your ideal reader? Who is the person most likely to buy your book?

Marni Graff link

6/15/2020 11:53:43 am

I feel a writer has to have a certain amount of confidence to be able to get up in front of a group of strangers and read from their work and then answer questions in what hopefully will engage the audience. But when you use the word strong ego I have the fear that such a writer will not take critiques well, and you have to get used to that and figure out how to pull the helpful comments from the ones that don't matter to your book. So confident, which can be learned, yes. But a strong ego, probably not...

I write for anyone, but that being said, the typical reader of my books is going to be a woman of any age who likes a mystery and look for resolution in the end. I don't think my readers want to be left hanging or to have questions go unanswered. That's why you can pick up anyone in either series and read them and have a satisfying read if it's out of order. The recommendation for reading them in the order they were written is to follow the trajectory of the protagonist, but in each book I give enough hints of backstory that the reader is not at sea. I do know men who read and enjoy the books for the puzzle, too, but I'd say they represent only about 20% of those who buy my book.

Mark

6/15/2020 01:34:21 pm

It does take a certain amount of confidence to speak in front of people. Many years ago I took a course in public speaking from Dale Carnegie. It was very challenging for a guy with a stammering issue. I learned I could do it, the class was very supportive. One of the important things I learned was that when you have been invited to speak, you are considered an expert and the people want to hear what you say. Who knows an book better than the author? No one. My stammering issue? I learned to pause when it approached me, it worked to my advantage, people were all the more eager to hear what I had to say. I spoke in front of nearly a thousand people once. Now, I know I can do it again, as long as I am talking about something I am knowledgeable about.
I hadn't thought about the satisfying conclusion, but you are certainly right. I love that! The bad guy is captured or vanquished and the hero is victorious.
New questions.
Do you have anything you consider to be your writing lucky charm?
What is your writing Kryptonite and how has it affected you?
Do you see an advantage of writing under a pseudonym, why or why not?

Marni Graff link

6/15/2020 03:12:54 pm

You are right about the author knowing his or her work. I am fair-skinned and blush very easily, and would always get a fire red face when I first started talking that would subside but drove me bonkers. I quickly learned that there was NO question I could be asked about my work that I couldn't answer. Sometimes an audience member will ask a question I have to think about and I will tell them that, that it's a good question, but then I just plunge in with my thoughts. I love answering questions now and the blush subsides early on if it occurs at all.

I don't have a lucky charm unless you count my dogs, Seamus and Fiona, as such. They like to sleep near me when I write. I don't have a favorite beverage or have to have ten pencils lined up in a row. But my Kryptonite is definitely the telephone. We live in rural area as I've mentioned where cell phone coverage is dotty, so we still have a land line. The ringing of that phone drags me from my fictional world and I loathe it. I don't answer it if it rings when I'm trying to write, and anyone who knows me soon figures that out. My husband will answer if it's an important call and tell someone I'll call them back. I've recently started using headphones to shut out noises such as that. It really works for me.

I started using my initials with the first book because there are some people who won't read a book if written by a woman, sad but true, and my agent at the time suggested it as my first name, which is Marnette, is long on a book cover. Marni is nickname I've had since the Hitchcock movie came out. But then my Mom, who is still alive at almost-87, would be hurt I didn't use Marnette as it's her middle name! So his suggestion to use my initials worked fine and everyone was happy, even me. I think a true pseudonym works fine when an author who is known for one type of book wants to try a new genre. Some authors do that also to keep their books separate. I know a British author who uses a different last name because she has another life as a solicitor and wants to keep her crime novels on their own. I don't have strong feelings about it, but most often the reading public will find out the identity of the author anyway when an interviewer gives it away.

Mark

6/15/2020 05:23:26 pm

The phone, the internet, the kids, there are all kinds of things that interrupt our work. I am fortunate that my proofreading is something I can turn away from at any moment. It took me a long time to realize that.
Headphones, especially noise-cancelling headphones are really a good idea. When they have Bluetooth also, you can stream your favorite music at the same time.
So many authors use the first two initials. I am shocked that it's still necessary in this day and age. We have to deal with the reality we have, not the one we want.
I know a number of authors that have a different pen name for each genre. They bring all of the pen names together on one website, I am assuming that they are hoping to get fans to crossover to the other genres.
Last questions.
If you branch out into a different genre, will you use a pen name, why or why not?
Are there any issues that are peculiar to writing this genre that might not apply to other genres?
Do you ever read books in other genres? Why or why not.

Marni Graff link

6/15/2020 06:02:55 pm

If I ever decide to try a different genre, I don't know if I would use a pen name. I know writers who write several different series under different names and they keep having to explain them all. I think I'm good with my own for now, although maybe I'd use Marnette for that. But what that would be, I have no idea, other than a different type of crime novel. Mine are a mix of police procedural and amateur sleuth. I could myself writing a suspense thriller perhaps, but have no plans at this moment. It's mystery for me because I like the sense of justice and resolution at the end far too much at this point to deviate. But never say never, right?

I've tried hard to think of issues that apply to writing crime that might not apply to other genres. Robert McKee said the goal should always be: "Original stories, beautifully told." Within the different kinds of crime writing, there are sub-genres that each hold conventions of that genre that fit readers expectations. For instance, someone who picks up an action oriented spy novel is going to expect the book to move through several settings, often international, and for the level of direct violence and overt sex to be higher. A reader who picks up a cozy mystery expects that there will be references to sex and yes, there are murders, but the level of gore is lower. A police procedural falls in between. I can get away with an autopsy scene, or one scene of violence and gore, but if I go over the top with those, I've failed to meet the conventions of the book the reader expects, and I may lose them.

Yet within those sub-genres of crime, the hallmarks of good writing are what make or break any novel: realistic characters, strong and complex plotting, a setting the reader can envision. A good story and strong writing should supersede any genre, to my mind.

I do read outside crime, but those books are in the lower percentage as I also review crime novels, so the bulk of my reading is in crime. I read biographies that look interesting, for instance, and just finished the autobiography of Dame Ngaio Marsh. I enjoyed the one Dame Judi Dench wrote, filled with photos, of her life. I'll read any book someone who's reading instincts I trust recommends, and to that end, just gobbled up The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan, set during WWII. I also enjoyed Elizabeth George's Mastering the Process: Idea to Novel.

There are SO many books out there that are wonderful reads. There truly is not enough time to read them all, but I aim to try!

Thank you, Mark, for this thoroughly enjoyable interview, your thoughtful review, and for the many probing questions you've asked. You've given me a lot to think about in terms of my writing life, and I hope your readers won't hesitate to reach out to me if they have any other questions that haven't been answered~.

Mark

6/15/2020 06:21:53 pm

You know your genre quite well. You certainly know how to meet the expectations of your readers and fans.
You have been a fabulous guest and I have thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.
I have another promotion that starts tomorrow.
Until we meet again, keep writing.

Death at the Dakota: A Trudy Genova Manhattan Mystery Book 2 By M. K. Graff

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