Four Favourites

As a writer, one piece of sage advice stuck with me; to write well, one must also read. If you know me already you know that books are my passion. I have changed genres over the years but usually arrive back at crime/ mystery/thriller/suspense. After I retired, not surprisingly,
my to-do list was to read all the classics. That never happened. By then I was writing with Liz Lindsay as Jamie Tremain.

This week on Jamie Tremain's blog I have featured four different authors. Two are crime/mystery fiction, a comedy/farce series and a literary drama of the domestic and family life genre. I don't discriminate. These books all had a different location so, I travelled vicariously with these characters.
Reviews are not my forte, so I keep them short and sweet. If you see a book here, you know I like it. I hate to give too much away as that annoys me when I spy a spoiler for a book I want to read. But saying that, reviews are so crucial to a writer so please let the author, or where you purchased the book, know you enjoyed the book or didn't. Feedback is important.


Launched a few weeks ago, the always funny Melodie Campbell has one more in the Goddaughter series. 'The Goddaughter Does Vegas.' This time Gina Gallo has eloped from 'the hammer,' Hamilton, Ontario to Las Vegas. What could possibly go wrong after they discover a double of Gina is front-page news where fraud and her wacky family is involved.
For a fun and quick read try The Goddaughter Series from Orca Book's Rapid Reads.





The next book I enjoyed is a prequel to the first in the Austin Starr Mystery series. The first two were placed in the sixties, but this book features Austin’s grandmother at twenty-three in prohibition America. ‘After You’ve Gone’  written by Kay Kendall takes place in fictitious Gunmetal, Texas. Bootleggers, flappers, and floozies with lots of adventure for Wallie McGregor when she lands in the sin city of Galveston. Loads of characters with shady pasts, an ornery aunt, and a romance. Oh yes, and a couple of murders. Published by Stairway Press.

Louise Penny can do no wrong in my book. Pun intended. We all have our favourites, and I have been in love with Chief Inspector Gamache of the Quebec Surete for many years. But is he still the Chief Inspector? You will have to read the 'Kingdom of the Blind' to get the answer to that question. I want to live in her fictitious town of Three Pines. Her understanding of human nature and interpretation of the foibles of her characters is brilliant. This is the fourteenth book in this series. Did I mention I loved Louise Penny's books? There will be a new book out this fall.

This author is new to me. We met at a book signing for her book "Neighbors" that launched in 2018. Hannah Mary McKinnon is from the UK via Switzerland and now lives here in Canada with her family. "Neighbors" is her second book with a soon to be released book  'Her Secret Son' next month.
'Neighbors' deserves all the accolades it has been getting as this is what I would call a domestic suspense novel. Loads of twists and turns and the edge of your seat prose. And that surprise ending. WOW! Looking forward to her next book.

Published by Mira Books.


Next month I will have four more books for you. I have quite a pile on my bedside table. Not the least will be Jamie Tremain's new book in the Dorothy Dennehey Mystery series. 
"Lightning Strike" was a labour of love for Liz and I as we continue with our protagonist, Private Investigator Dorothy Dennehy. As soon as we receive a release date from our publisher, Black Opal Books, we'll let you know. Stay tuned for an invite to the launch.

I think Spring is finally here. Enjoy the sunshine.

Slainte,

Pam

It's all in the Collaboration

It’s been two months between posts and I have no real excuses other than, Christmas shopping, Christmas eating and partying, traveling for New Year and more eating and partying. There is a theme going on here and it’s about to stop. There is only one box of chocolates left in the freezer where I hid them. I do not want them! Really!

When I was not working on the edits of The Silk Shroud I was reading. Collaborating with Liz Lindsay as Jamie Tremain. I am drawn to other authors who do the same. Co- authoring is on the rise and ‘big name’ authors are getting into the act. Writing a novel is a mammoth task and sharing the load makes sense, with a few ground rules.

The books I read during party season were all co-authored.

 Melodie Campbell, an award-winning novelist, and author of ten books, teamed up with Cynthia St-Pierre and created the Fashionation with Mystery Books series published by Imajin Books  
Cynthia is also an award-winning author and marketing professional.

     The first in this series came out in 2012. A Purse To Die For. Anyone who knows me can testify that fashion is of great interest to me and I would rather have a new purse than new shoes. But the book languished on my ‘to be read pile’ until the next in the series was published last year. Killer Necklace. I like necklaces too.

     I am hooked on this series. Great characters and sexy, funny dialogue. Is there another in the works ladies?

"A Killer Necklace does not disappoint...hard to put down..."

Lorna Gray, author of Finding Daylight

Award-winning author Gloria Ferris and debut author Donna Warner  have entered the collaboration stakes with their novella thriller Targeted published by Black Opal Books.  Also available at Amazon.

This thriller has it all. An exciting ride to a beautiful Carribean resort. Blue sea and sky and sizzling sandy beaches, handsome men and those mahitos are to die for. Likable well thought out characters had me zipping along with this tension- filled story. I stayed up until the early morning hours to read the conclusion. Hope to see more of Peidmont and Blair.

  

Two authors I have read over many years are the fabulous Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. 

Both prolific writers having written many books together and alone. I follow the Special Agent A.X.L. ( Aloysius) Pendergast series. Aloysius is a law unto himself.

 

2013

       White Fire is my abosolute favourite.

"The best Pendergast book yet- a collision between past and present that will leave you breathless. " -- Lee Child

2014

"Heart pumping action and an intricate plot that pits a vengeful killer against the most interesting character in fiction". -- Suspense magazine.

2015

 I will get to this one shortly.

With today's technology, collaborators do not have to be in the same room to write let alone be near one another.

Melodie Campbell lives in a different town but the same province as Cynthia St-Pierre. Gloria Ferris and Donna Warner are within spitting distance (well maybe 10-15 km's away) and Liz Lindsay and I are 70 km's apart. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child don't live in the same State. Douglas divides his time between New Mexico or Maine and Lincoln lives in New Jersey.

For Liz and I, using email, Googe Drive to share documents, and Skype is our method of working together.Once or twice a month for a face to face, with lots of coffee and reinforcements also works. 
You do what works for you.  Liz and I had a great day yesterday and have a handle on the edits going forward. One step closer to see The Silk Shroud in print.We'll keep you posted.

Jamie Tremain's calendar is being filled for author interviews  and guests on the blog for 2016. You can look forward to learning all about Dee Willson's debut book A Keepers Truth.

The rest of the schedule TBD.

Talk soon,
Slainte,
Pam

New Year - Fresh Start

Happy New Year to one and all!

Enjoyed a very productive day with Pam today – well it was productive after we spent some time organizing files and folders.  Once that was out of the way it was down to business.   Earlier this week we received some writing advice from Melodie Campbell and after some discussion Pam and I decided to go with a couple of her suggestions.  One, and its a major one, is to rethink the names we have given our main characters, Paul and Dorothy.   

Ironically Pam and I had just recently been wondering whether to make a change in Dorothy’s surname to better reflect her Irish background, but a whole new name?  Today we mulled over some names, liking some more than others, but waiting for the one which would jump out at us.  Eventually we decided on ......Caitlin Dennehy – “Cat”.  The more we spoke aloud Cat Dennehy the more we liked it and so as of now we say good bye to ‘Dorothy Del Rio’ and hello to Cat Dennehy.   And as for her partner, Paul?   A fresh start for him seemed appropriate and therefore -  we introduce  Gavin Steele of Steele & Associates.   Of course one name change leads to another – but you’ll have to read the book to find out who else has had some renovation!

As well the first four or five chapters are in for some major revising, not changing the gist of the story, just the layout.  From there we decided it was time to add some more depth to Paul’s, er Gavin’s, character; so we added some more details to the man and his life.  Hopefully once we incorporate some of these revisions the tale of Body Perfect will be the better for it.   We have four pages of typed up notes that Pam and I will be using as we both, individually, go about making some changes to the beginning of the story.  We will compare our progress in a week or so and see how close we are to what we discussed and then merge both sets of revisions into the opening scenes of the next draft.    Sounds like a lot of work perhaps, but I for one, feel totally energized by the prospects of reconstructing what we already have!

As well, Jamie Tremain has decided to definitely attend BloodyWords 2012 in Toronto this year; hotel registration is on my to do list before the weekend is over, and we will apply for associate membership with Crime Writers of Canada – indicators of our intention to continue our quest towards becoming published!  We’ve also received some great comments on LinkedIn after Pam requested comments from other writers who have worked collaboratively on their work with other writers.

And so now it will be time for some disciplined writing sessions; not having the luxury of some retired writers, who shall remain nameless, I’ll need to carve out some precious time each day for Jamie Tremain.   Some upcoming vacation time in February will be spent in front of the computer no doubt – vying for time I want to spend cleaning out closets and drawers.

So the day may draw to an end, but it marks the beginning of a new focus on Jamie Tremain and in particular Body Perfect.  The New Year is always a good time for fresh starts!

Cheers!

Liz

The rose of all the world....

I have never been a great lover of poetry or been able to write it. I feel it is on a level with algebra. Never could quite understand how letters could equal numbers. Now before you start saying “What a Philistine that woman is” there are a few poems that have stuck with me through the years and this one by Hugh MacDiarmid 1892—1978 a significant Scottish poet, is a favourite.

The rose of all the world is not for me.
I want for my part
Only the little white rose of Scotland
That smells sharp and sweet -- and breaks the heart.

-- Hugh MacDiarmid, "The Little White Rose"

I am not in favour of MacDiarmid’s politics as he was a communist and maybe a Nazi sympathizer, but he did have a great love for Scotland.

I must make a concerted effort to read more poetry.. My father, Alister James was a poet but none of his talents in that field rubbed off on me. He wrote mainly in Scottish vernacular or the Doric .His subject was the family and life as he saw it. http://awjames.yolasite.com/published.php

My sister Caroline Mackie did a wonderful job of putting all his work in a website for what would have been his hundredth birthday earlier this year. Check it out for a good explanation of the Scottish lingo.

Liz and I have been ploughing through our manuscript and I stayed up late last night to finish my corrections and revisions. When we get together on Saturday we can finalize our corrections.

I am halfway through the synopsis and have changed the wording at least ten times. It was explained to me today by Melodie Campbell.( author, humorist, instructor and professional speaker) over a cup of coffee that synopsis writing is a bit like writing a short story. Check out her website and new book.” Rowena through the Wall”
http://www.melodiecampbell.com/

Cooler weather and a hint of fall. Love this time of year.
Talk soon,
Slainte,
Pam