Collaboration

These handsome guys are four of my five grandsons. They were visiting on the w/e. Left to right is Westyn, Riley, Ryan and Aidan. Missing in action is Damian. Hope to have them all together soon.

 I've tried everything. I’m up to date with my filing. Well, sort of. Laundry’s done. I know what we’re having for supper. I've answered all my email and sent off some pictures to family. I’m doing my best to stay off face book so I have closed it for today. I've read all the blogs I follow and forwarded pertinent articles to Liz. What I’m finding out is that there’s a theme here.

I am definitely not alone when it comes to procrastination. I have written on the subject before and I blame ... the weather, my family, my friends, my desks a mess .I can’t possibly write when it’s like this. So I spend the next hour cleaning and filing. Last week I was without my computer for two days. TWO DAYS! Can you imagine the withdrawal I had? My husband, who does not use the computer sarcastically said, ‘Never heard of pen and paper’?

But the biggest tragedy was forgetting to save my contact list. So that gave me something else to do instead of writing I actually spoke to some real live people to ask them their email address. So if I’ve not contacted you yet please send me your address to pblance@cogeco.ca .

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A question Liz and I are often asked is; ‘How do you work together to write a mystery/crime novel?’

We've been writing together for over five years as Jamie Tremain and we've tried every arrangement to make it work.  It did not take us long to find our roles as Liz is a whiz at the computer stuff (she would never have lost her contacts) and I do research and work on query letters and editing. The writing of course is in the rewriting and revisions. Our books are character not plot driven. We prefer the characters to lead us through the story line.

 So who creates a character? We both do and yes, we have our favourites but we have to agree on the final version of the character. If in the course of a storyline that character gets nasty or nice (out of character) we thrash it out until we have an agreement.We try and meet at least once a month face to face and that’s when we brainstorm and do major revisions. Everything else is done be email, I Google where we chat and work our way through a scene

.

Do you agree on each other’s writing style? Mostly. When we are editing or revising its great to have a fresh pair of eyes. It’s seldom we say.. ‘No, I want to keep that’ but it does happen. We pick up on the others spelling, grammar or overuse or words.

Is writing not a lonely pursuit? The actual writing can be but when you co-author it’s great to have a partner I can ask a question in the middle of a scene. Some scenes are written by one person and some chapters also but we both have to agree to the direction its going.

Most of all we have a great deal of fun and we’re looking forward to sharing our baby with the world.

I’ve been researching others that collaborate. A friend from the Ottawa area, Mary Jane Maffini, the prolific writer of  three mystery series has ventured into a co-authorship with her daughter Victoria Maffini who is a short story writer. The first in the series is

 ‘The Christie Curse’ by Victoria Abbott . Check it out.

There are a few others and one of the most successful duos in the thriller field is Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I was given their latest for Christmas called ‘Two Graves’ and was about to read when I noticed  the blurb inside said I’d be better to read the first two. Back to the book store; never have a problem with that and now I’m started ‘Fever Dream’. Preston and Child are the authors of twenty novels and each writes in their own name as well. I’ll let you know what I think of them soon.

Talk soon,

Slainte,

Pam

Pen Pal

What does a writer like to do?  Write of course.  But every now and then the path takes a turn unexpected.  For me this week, my road to writing has taken a side street in connection with my oldest grandson, Michael.  He’s not quite ten and having some struggles with school work.  His teacher suggested having a pen pal might be a good way for him to become familiar with writing structure.  She’s had some success with other students using this idea.

So I was truly honoured when Michael’s mother approached me to see if I’d be interested in becoming Michael’s pen-pal.  Would I?  What a terrific idea.  Even though we live in the same part of town this could still be fun.  So I began watching the mail box for his first letter.   A few days passed and I began to wonder if I was supposed to send the first letter.  Checked with his dad, my son, and no, Michael was working on a comic strip that he wanted to send.  It was almost done and would soon be in the mail.

Today it arrived, addressed to Nana Lindsay.  Couldn't believe how excited I was to open this up and see what the envelope held.  A notebook page entitled Best of Food Friends, with a comic strip detailing an adventure between an egg yolk and a pickle.  Good imagination and it’s still making me smile.

When was the last time I actually put pen to paper and wrote a longhand letter?  Usually I’ll whip up a letter on the computer and print out and off it goes.  But this called for a much more personal touch, so I started printing, and keeping in mind I'm corresponding with a ten year old.  The process led to memories surfacing.  Of having pen-pals in grade school; at one point I had two at the same time.  A girl in France with whom we took turns writing in both French and English, and also a boy in Scotland.  Ironically his name was Jamie!  I had totally forgotten about that experience.

Not that I’m about to start writing anything Jamie Tremain in long hand, but the process forced me to really think about what I was writing and not just key words as fast as I can think them.  So I’ll have to thank Michael for this little side benefit.

Who knows how many letters we’ll exchange, or if this idea will fizzle, but for now I’m quite excited to continue sending letters and will work to make them interesting and at the same time hoping he’ll also be learning a little about grammar and sentence structure along the way.  And I’ll gladly write to the rest of my grandchildren as they get a little older if the desire is there.   If you have grandchildren, nieces or nephews, I’d recommend this exercise – its sure to benefit all involved and strengthen bonds and create some special memories.

Cheers!

Liz

Busy Saturday

No sleeping in this Saturday –  up early and on the road to spend the day with Pam.  After some catching up it was down to JT business.  We now have a mentor provided through our membership to CWC and she has reviewed our synopsis.  We agreed with her questions and suggestions and spent a good part of the day re-working it.  Later today I’ll be sending it back to her, along with about 50 pages of Body Perfect for her to review.  Next up will be a meeting with the three of us and we’re hopeful of some positive feedback.

Seems that many of we writers are like a dog with a bone when it comes to our writing – we just can’t leave it alone!  After some of our mentor’s comments, we’ve decided a small re-work of the last few pages is in order.   All to the cause of strengthening our characters and wanting future readers asking for more.

We paused from our musings to enjoy a delicious lunch – Pam had baked a scrumptious onion pie and added a tasty salad.  (Oh and I DID bring the almonds) Another couple of hours spent on all things Jamie Tremain and I believe we had a productive day. 

From Pam’s it was only 5 minutes over to visit with my sister and her husband.  Today is her birthday so it was nice to hand deliver a card instead of previous years sending in the mail.  Enjoyed a nice visit, reminiscing over childhood memories.   Another very nice meal enjoyed – chicken cacciatore.  How nice to have had two yummy meals in one day that I didn't have to prepare.

As well we bemoaned the sad state of disappearing language skills. My personal pet peeve?   Garnish vs garnishee – how annoyed I am when newscasters report on “his salary was garnished”….really.  Personally I’d welcome a garnish – something extra – on my pay instead of a garnishee.   I'm continually grateful to my father who was a huge stickler on grammar.

Then it was time to hit the road at about 7:00.  The sloppy weather forecast for the day had held off, until I was just reaching the highway...then the rain and incredibly high winds hit.  I watched the temperature drop and as it neared the freezing mark the drive became a little nerve wracking and I was quite relieved to reach my exit.  No doubt the tulips I saw peeking out of flower beds outside my sister’s building are in total shock this morning. 

This morning it’s quite evident winter has returned, with a blanket of snow and dangerously high winds. 

For today it will be a chance to review notes from yesterday and get back to our mentor.  Also have some ‘housecleaning’ to do on Jamie Tremain documents in order that everything stays organized.

Birthday wishes again for today to my sister Michele and to a good friend at work, Stephanie!

Cheers!

Liz

Away with the Faeries

I have been charged with being, Away with the Faeries (fairies) many times and for a writer that’s not a bad thing. When I have that look on my face it means; Do Not Disturb, or, Don’t ask me anything important as you may be surprised by the answer. It’s my time to write and plot and develop characters. I have been accused of being aloof or even rude. My apologies if I appeared that way. My husband refers to me, to anyone who asks, “Oh she’s off again” as if I was some mouldy cheese. So I go away with the faeries but they keep bringing me back.

Let them fill your dreams with wonder, fever, pain and passion 
Let them fill your head with thunder

Taken from Away With The Faeries Lyrics

 Performed by Inkubus Sukkubus

I am meeting with Liz tomorrow for an all day session. Brian storming the new book, query letters, onion pie and Portuguese custard tarts in any order we choose. I hope she’s bringing some chocolate covered almonds. I think better with them, hint, hint. I promise to have the faeries bring me back.

Snow is back and very cold. Safe driving Liz and don’t forget the almonds!

Talk soon,

Slainte,

Pam

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet

I’ll attribute that quote to Will Shakespeare in case you thought it was an original. As plagiarism is at the top of the news it’s prudent to make sure as writers that we only use our own words and if we quote others we give them the recognition.

As Liz and I are in the planning stages of the new book, names are always being discussed and we find it an important part of the process. Along these lines are discussions of E.L. James’s phenomenal success with her ‘Grey books’. No, I have not read them and have no real desire to do so but we do share a name. 

James is my single (maiden) name. Initials P.A.M. to be precise. Not sure if my parents were aware of the P.A.M being what most people have called me most of my life. My middle initials were my grandmother’s names. I only get Pamela if someone is mad at me! I wonder if maybe I am a poor cousin to Ms. James.

Of course there are many people in history called James and I am not about to claim a relationship to Jesse James the outlaw. Jesse and his brother Frank are best known for robbing banks and murdering folks. Then there is Henry James the nineteenth century writer... Maybe he was a GGGG uncle!

More contemporary is P.D. James that wonderful crime writer who is still going strong at ninety two. There is hope for me yet. Geraldine James a British actress is a favourite of mine and I can watch her portrayal of Sarah Layton in “The Jewel and the Crown” many times over. It was taken from the “Raj Quartet’ books by Paul Scott. And I always enjoyed Sid James the comedian who played alongside Tony Hancock... that was in the dark ages.

But my favourite James was the writer and poet Alister William James, my father. He had a small amount of success as a writer but mostly as a poet.

He often signed his name A.W. James. Is that the secret?

The name Jamie Tremain is a concoction of Jamie for James. I was Jamie in high school. Tremain is a family name for Liz.

So as the blog name says, 'Jamie Tremain, Remember the Name'.

I have just finished Ian Rankin’s latest book ‘Standing in another man’s grave’. Excellent read as usual. He uses lots of details and there are surprises when you turn every corner. Highly recommended.

Last night I started a novel by author PETER JAMES. There’s that name again. He has at least twenty two books to his credit, none of which I have read before. The book is called ‘Not Dead Yet’. I’ll report on it later.

It’s been very balmy weather for the last couple of days but tomorrow back to the deep freeze. Better bring out the long johns.

Talk later,

Slainte,

Pam

Belated Happy New Year

The Christmas season is now finally over for yours truly.  One last family get together yesterday at my sister’s lovely new home in Oakville.  A chance for this side of the family to gather and exchange gifts and a whole lot of food.  Hor d’ouevres and snackie food to start.  Later followed by a non-traditional holiday meal, it was pure comfort food!  Baked macaroni and cheese, some meatballs and salads.  All so delicious and set out buffet style.  Pies and brownies were among the finishing touches with coffee and eggnog.

Two of the grandchildren brought along their new Furbys.  Made for some interesting conversation among the adults and one of the resident cats didn't quite know what to make of them. A lot of Furbish dialogue between the two toys only made sense to them.  The better discovery of the day was learning my granddaughter appears to be a budding chess player, and she’s not eight years old yet.

Also now coming to an end are the recent shortened work weeks – not sure how I’ll cope with a full week as of tomorrow.  No doubt the traffic volumes will be back to their usual capacity.  The past two weeks have been so enjoyable with very light traffic, but all good things…….

Speaking of good things – unlike Pam I'm thoroughly enjoying a new Tassimo.  Last month I had the good fortune to win one at our work Christmas luncheon.  Experimenting with different styles of coffee and hot chocolates; its only limitation in my opinion is tea.  Nothing beats a good pot of tea made with freshly boiling water and being allowed to steep.  Just can’t duplicate that with an instant coffee machine.  The kitchen table is currently doubling as a T-disc dispensary, with a multitude of different coffees to choose from while the novelty is new.

Another highlight, for me, over the past month was taking in the première of “The Hobbit” with my oldest son.  He and I share a great love for Tolkien’s work, as well as all things Star Trek – the next film coming in May by the way.  It’s become tradition for the two of us to take in new releases at the cinemas whenever possible.

As Pam mentioned ‘Jamie Tremain’ plans a get together later this month on a Saturday to brainstorm ideas for book number three.  We are excited to start something fresh.  At the same time Body Perfect will be set loose now upon publishers and/or agents in the hopes of finding the right connection for us.  I've been using my excel skills to create spreadsheets for keeping track of resources, potential agents, our favourite authors and other useful information to store all in one place.  Keeping it revised and current is now much easier than hunting for a multitude of different files.  A fresh start for 2013.

Hoping that all of your fresh start resolutions are manageable and that 2013 brings you all good things and success in your endeavours.

Cheers!

Liz

Edit , edit edit.

It has been  pointed out by a friend reading my last post that said I heated my posterier with a cup of coffee. Well that is clearly not true. So to clarify. I had meant to say that I was heating my posterior while drinking a java and reading the latest crime/mystery. And that is all we will speak of my rear end from now on.

Bitterly cold day and biting wind. A good day to stay by the fire. Liz I am sure will be glad its the end of the week as she has a family gathering this w/e.

Making headway with the plotting of MMC our next book. When we meet on the 19th we should both have loads of different scenarios to compare. Then we will eliminate and add as we mould the new story together. We have learned a lot in the last few years and doing chapter summaries is one of them. Keeping track of timelines is another. Oh and editing before sending is another. Maybe my friend would like to edit for us!

Are you all caught up with series one and two of Downton Abbey? Series three starts Sunday night. There are more plots and goings on at Downton to choke a horse. Nobody does it better than the Brits for period drama. Fantastic cast and Maggie Smith is superb. I believe we will be seeing Shirley Maclaine in this third part. Should be interesting when these 'ladies' get together.

On to more plotting and editing!

Slainte,
Pam

Two Dinosaurs

Today I had lunch with two friends in Toronto. I made lunch and took it to them. One is a very sprightly ninety six year old and the other her daughter my friend who has Multiple Sclerosis. It was a combined Christmas, New Year and birthday celebration. We had a lovely time over some wine and finished our lunch with some coffee. Now, as I was in charge of the lunch I was informed that I could make the coffee in one of these new coffee makers with the pods.

Anyone who knows me is aware of my incompetency with anything of a digital nature so after calling my husband into the kitchen to help he kept muttering...'I wouldn't give this house room’ we finally managed to produce single cups of coffee. It’s too bad if they wanted another. I was too intimidated and my husband not much better.

I put my husband to better use as my driver.  On the drive from Oakville to Toronto I continued reading my new Ian Rankin, “Standing in another man’s grave”. He has another winner on his hands. For Rankin fans his Rebus creation is just as sexist and he still manages to put away large amounts of Glenlivet single malt and cough up his lungs on his fags. Personally I would like to smack him about the head but his ex-colleague Siobhan Clarke appears to tolerate him. Good stuff. I love how he mentions the street where I grew up-Broughton Street.

Now how do I get my husband to keep driving around as I am enjoying another new invention? I’m not a complete dinosaur. Heated car seats are the best thing since sliced bread, especially when it’s -4 degrees. If ever I am missing in action you will find me in the driveway, heating my posterior with a cup of coffee and the latest crime/mystery novel.

Had a good session with Liz last night and we are meeting all day on the 19^th to have our first brainstorming of 2013.  We will have sent out a pile of query letters for Body Perfect by then and we’ll wait on all the offers of representation!! or contrary, rejection letters.

Talk soon,

Slainte,

Pam

Dreaming

My Inspiration

I woke up a few days ago dreaming of an outline of the first pages of the new book. I wanted to go back to sleep to keep it going, but of course it started to fade so I hurriedly started scribbling so that I wouldn’t forget. I read it over this morning. Complete rubbish. But...some was salvageable.

This has never happened to me before and I am trying to remember what I was doing before I went to sleep. Was it the overdose of chocolate or the shrimps and dip? Or maybe that extra helping of mashed potatoes with the horseradish and cream cheese that was heaven on earth. Couldn’t have been the wine or the eggnog with a sprinkling of nutmeg and a teaspoon of brandy but the vodka martini’s......Now if I try them one at a time I could eliminate and find the culprit to these nocturnal musings. Liz is not impressed. She says we will start afresh in the New Year minus all of the above. Such a spoil sport.

I have been at my desk most of the day catching up with emails and sending pictures of the family to friends. It’s a winter wonderland outside and very distracting for a writer. Hoards of birds came swooping in reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Birds’ movie but just as quickly left. It’s still snowing lightly and is a good night to stay home.

Santa, as usual, was very good to me but then I am usually a good girl even though I do enjoy vodka martinis. I have four books to read and not sure which one to start tonight.

www.kingsolver.com/

I have Barbara Kingsolver’s ‘Flight Behavior’. Barbara of the Poisonwood Bible fame. This is a favourite book so I am looking forward to this one.

www.harpercollins.co.uk/.../bring-up-the-bodies-hilary-mantel

I was given Hilary Mantel’s ‘Bring up the Bodies’.  Winner of the 2012 Man Booker prize. It is not my usual fare but I am all for an education. Tudor England, Anne Boleyn, and that rascal Thomas Cromwell. This is the second book in a trilogy so may start with the first. I’ll let you know if I become a fan.

http://www.peterjames.com/

Peter James latest book ‘Not Dead Yet’ is a police procedural and to quote his website, is the first book to knock 50 Shades Trilogy off the top of UK paperback best seller list!

www.ianrankin.net/

Rebus is back. ‘Standing in Another Man’s Grave’. After a hiatus into retirement the Edinburgh CID’s most famous cop is back. Ian Rankin captures Edinburgh’s gritty side and for me it’s a trip down memory lane as we traverse the streets of the old and the new town. Not that I frequented the pubs that Rebus seems to spend his time in but I love hearing about my home town even through the eyes of fictitious characters.

Liz and I want to wish all our followers and friends on facebook a happy and prosperous New Year.

As they say in Scotland...Lang mae yer lum reek! (Long may you always have coal for your fire).

Slainte, ( meaning Health -a drinking toast)

Pam

What a Snore!

Hopefully no one’s surprised that we're still here despite the Mayan calendar prediction.  Although 2012 is certainly winding down as we come into the home stretch before Christmas and will soon be one for the history books.  A few snowflakes have been falling today, but it’s not looking hopeful for a truly white Christmas.

This past week I kept my scheduled appointment with the sleep clinic to determine if I have sleep apnea – any bets?  Arrived at the clinic just before 8:30 p.m. and was admitted by a very personable technician who would be on duty all night.  She showed me to my spartan accommodations for the next few hours; told me to change into my jammies and relax for about 40 minutes.  Glad I brought a good page turner with me – Kathy Reichs’ 206 Bones.  I'm a big fan of her books.

When the tech returned about an hour later, she rolled in a trolley full of electrical leads, and pre-measured dollops of goop.  She’d obviously done this procedure hundreds of times and like an airline steward informing passengers what to do in the event of an emergency, she made it sound very routine, but yet personal at the same time.  I think I was one of 6 participants that evening, although I only briefly saw a couple of other folks upon check-in and my ‘instructor’ was responsible for all of us.  It must have taken a good 15 minutes to apply all the electrodes atop my head, some beside my eyes and along my jaw.  A couple more on each leg just for fun.  Then two Velcro straps across my upper chest and abdomen.  An oxygen tube found its resting spot and was taped into place.  And last but not least, the oxygen/blood pressure monitor doo-dad was clipped onto my finger. Visions of a restful sleep were fast disappearing!

By now it’s about 10:00 p.m. and as I was instructed no nap during the day, I was pretty tired and longed to lie down and see about sleeping with all the paraphernalia attached.  Yes I could lie down now, but I was NOT to go to sleep just yet.   I was told once everyone was hooked up, there would be some testing via the camera and intercom to ensure we were all recording as expected.   That was a very long few minutes and I had to fight not to nod off.

Finally her voice!  Blink your eyes, move your legs this way and that, try to snore, etc.  When she was satisfied all her class were behaving, she finished up by saying – “You can now go to sleep and may sleep in any position you like (right!), but not on your head or at the other end of the bed.  Good night”

Wasn’t the most restful of sleeps and I had to make a washroom trip only once.  Very hard time falling back to sleep after that, but when the door opened and the lights flew on at 6:00 a.m. I was sound asleep.   Time to change my clothes and was very grateful to have heeded advice about bringing a ball cap!  My hair had gobs of what felt like toothpaste in several spots and stood up like demented porcupine quills.

So now I await results and will see if I’m in need of a CPAP machine – if it means an end to dreadful snoring and exhaustive fatigue, bring it on!

And now the gift wrapping is done and in a couple of hours I’ll gather with family for our early Christmas gathering. Wonder if anyone seriously didn’t do Christmas shopping thinking the Mayan’s had it right?

My thoughts turn to the families in Connecticut whose Christmas is now forever changed.  There are no words to describe the sadness that one feels during these horrible events, but with so many little ones lost it’s beyond understanding – my thoughts and prayers continue to be with that community.  Please hug your own little ones more closely this Christmas and enjoy your family and friends – no one knows what tomorrow will bring - truly life is precious and vulnerable at the same time.

Wishing everyone a very Merry and Blessed Christmas – and don’t forget – books make great gifts!

Cheers

Liz