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Mary Rosenblum
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Hello, all!
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Welcome to our Professional
Connection live interview.
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Tonight, my guest is Connie
Shelton.
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Connie Shelton is the author of
the Charlie Parker mystery series. The newest is due for release this Fall.
Connie has been writing since 1985 and her experience also includes five
years as senior editor at Intrigue Press, three years with Long Ridge, and
teaching at numerous conferences and workshops.
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So Connie, welcome! And when IS
the new book due out? Or is it?
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Connie Shelton
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Hi Mary and all. Thanks for
having me here.
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Yes, the new book is out in New Mexico right now
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on a limited basis. Will be
out nationwide in November.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Cool! Is it out with Intrigue?
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Connie Shelton
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Yes, Intrigue published this
one. It's the ninth in my Charlie Parker mystery series.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's a nice long series, and
I'll certainly have more to ask you about writing a long series like
this...but let's begin with the beginning. J How did you get
started writing?
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Connie Shelton
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I got started about the time
Sue Grafton and Marcia Muller and some of the other
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present day women mystery
writers were just hitting fame.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Did you start with novels...and
the Parker series?
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Connie Shelton
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Actually, I'd written two
longer novels first (never published ones). They were those long
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multigenerational sagas, which
unfortunately were sort of falling out of favor with NY publishing in the
early 90s.
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Then I got the brilliant idea
to try a mystery series because, after all, that's mostly what I read. It certainly
showed that it's important
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to read in the genre you
intend to write. I found the mysteries lots of fun.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You know, I can't stress that
too often to would be novelists...write in the genre you read! Do you have
any thoughts
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on why that is?
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Connie Shelton
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Absolutely! I think it's
impossible to write fiction unless you're very familiar with the genre
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you intend to write. I, for
instance, could never write a sci-fi novel because I just read so few of
them.
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You need to know what's going
on in the market, what's on the bestseller lists for that genre...
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and what the trends are. Not
to say that you can possibly write to fill a trend, but you've got to be up
on what others are writing in your field.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I totally agree. And I think
part of that is that every genre has its own set
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of reader expectations and
unwritten 'rules' and even if you can't identify them, you 'know them when
you read them' or write them, as the case may be.
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Connie Shelton
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Exactly. Plus, I think it
helps to meet other people--writers, fans, agents, etc.--in your genre.
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I love attending mystery
conventions because the talk is all about my favorite subject.
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I get exposed to a lot of very
good writing and books I may not have otherwise heard of by attending.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Which is a great reason to
attend conventions in your chosen genre, yes?
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Connie Shelton
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Yes, I recommend it to every
fiction writer.
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writeaway
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Welcome, Connie!
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tory
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Connie, did you find your first
mysteries harder to write than your sagas? I love mysteries, but fear I
couldn't do twists and turns well enough.
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Connie Shelton
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Hi. I think I actually found
the mysteries somewhat easier to write
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because there's sort of a
formula.
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Before I let that one go, I
should say that we never want a book to be formulaic, but there are certain
expectations that are easy to follow.
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Mary Rosenblum
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What are those expectations,
Connie?
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Connie Shelton
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Well, in modern mysteries for
the adult markets, the crime is typically a murder
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so that means there's going to
be a dead body somewhere.
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And there'll be a sleuth,
police, or just plain nosy neighbor (like Jessica Fletcher) who wants to
see the crime solved.
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speckledorf
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Do you have a specific way you
plant clues? Any hints you can give us?
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Connie Shelton
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I often find myself writing
along, coming to a point in the story where I want the investigator to
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discover something, so I'll go
back to my manuscript and plant the clues that would lead her to that item.
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Sometimes I'm able to plot
well enough that I know when I'll need a clue and I put it in right from
the start.
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But the beauty of writing is
that we get to go back and add, subtract, fix things after the first draft
stage.
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Cute story: One mystery writer
friend of mine claims that he just writes along, planting clues
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all over the place. At the end
of the story, the ones that turned out to lead to the murder were clues.
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The rest were red herrings!
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'm chuckling, Connie. I think
I could get a bit touchy as a reader if I found myself knee deep in red
herrings!
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Connie Shelton
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True, true :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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But I'm glad to know that I'm
not the only mystery writer to go back and plant clues after I write the
story!
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Connie Shelton
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No kidding! If I couldn't
revise, I'd be really stuck!
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Mary Rosenblum
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So tell us...how do you plant
that clue without drawing the attention of those sharp-eyed and keen-minded
mystery readers who are just watching for those clues?
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Connie Shelton
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Good question. I'm very lucky
that I have a sharp-eyed pre-reader, my husband.
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He gets to see each book
before I even send it to my editor and he's pretty sharp at picking out the
things that don't ring true
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and not shy about saying so!
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Mary Rosenblum
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A good reader really helps!
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Connie Shelton
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Yes--that's another thing I
can't stress enough for all writers.
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Find people you trust--at
least 2 or 3--and run the book past them before attempting to market it.
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By 'people you trust' I don't
mean your mom or your best friend. Try to find another published writer, an
editor, someone with a professional opinion.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And I think that's the real
key...find someone who can tell you WHY they think it works, or where the
weakness lies. Another starting writer is good, yes?
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Connie Shelton
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Exactly--you don't want to
just hear "I loved it!" You want to know what parts work and what
parts don't
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especially what parts don't
work. It's easy to get our dander up when someone criticizes
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but we want to analyze their
critique thoughtfully and try to see how we could rewrite to fix those
bits.
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Often changing a few words or
a paragraph can make all the difference.
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redraven
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How do you avoid giving away too
much info too soon?
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Connie Shelton
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Great question! I've actually
dumped as much as 2 or 3 pages of a first draft when I realized that I'd
just foretold the ending.
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To avoid it, I think you
mainly want to analyze carefully as you write, but also to be prepared
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to cut ruthlessly after the
first draft stage if it's necessary.
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This is one place where my
hubby is definitely a good critiquer.
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He can spot the ending in a
movie very VERY early on. If I give him one of my books and he says he
knows whodunnit,
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then I know I have some
rewriting to do.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Ah, that kind of input is
invaluable. :-) I have a friend who owns a mystery bookstore and is a
lifelong reader. :-) She also is REALLY good at spotting endings. It really
helps.
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Connie Shelton
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Yes, feedback can be very
important.
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You also have to trust your
gut instinct a lot
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and watch out for anything
that reeks of being predictable. I often ask myself
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at a critical juncture in the
plot, what's the worst thing that could happen right now?
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It tends to keep the plot
fresh if you can throw in a surprise.
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One veteran writer once said
when things slow down drop a body through the roof. Dramatic, yes, but you
get the idea.
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Mary Rosenblum
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LOL...now that is one I haven't
tried. Now I'll have to think up an Ellery Queen story where I can do that!
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Connie Shelton
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Good idea!
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tory
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Do you pay readers? Seems it'd
be hard to get editors who are already so overwhelmed with piles waiting to
be read.
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Connie Shelton
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I haven't ever paid a reader.
Here's where knowing people in the business really helps.
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I mentioned attending lots of
mystery conferences... Most of my readers have come from contacts
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made at those. Other authors,
mainly.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And here is yet another reason
to attend writers’ conferences. It is a great place to network and
make critiquing contacts with other writers.
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And...I swap stories with quite
a few unpublished writers I meet at cons.
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You can connect with pros as
well as new writers.
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Connie Shelton
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Absolutely--I've met lots of
people in the business, including agents and editors. You just never know
who will be the person truly important to your career.
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redraven
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Are mystery conferences open
only to published writers?
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Connie Shelton
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Not at all--most of them, in
fact, are specifically geared toward the goal of fans meeting writers,
published and not.
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Many, many new writers end up
meeting lifelong friends at these things. And, in the mystery field
especially
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fans are very eager to know
about new writers. It's quite a heady feeling to go
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and have people ask about your
work in progress. They love to find out about new writers.
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Mary Rosenblum
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What would you suggest in terms
of good mystery conventions for aspiring writers?
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Connie Shelton
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Bouchercon is the
biggest--usually in the fall of each year, and it moves to a different city
each year.
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You can search Bouchercon 2006
online (I'm pretty sure) to find out where the next one is.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Bouchercon 2006 Website
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Connie Shelton
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I also recommend that writers
join professional organizations for their genre.
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Mystery Writers of America (in
NY) and Sisters in Crime (with chapters nationwide) are the two biggest in
mystery.
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Look them up and see about
joining. Their newsletters are filled with listings of events, conferences,
booksellers who love mystery...gosh, everything!
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Mary Rosenblum
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And they have the Guppies.
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Isn’t that a group for
unpublished writers?
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Sisters in Crime Website
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Connie Shelton
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Yes--I always thought that was
a cute title. Sisters in Crime's group of unpublished, the Great
Unpublished, as they say, are the Guppies.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They have an internet chapter,
too.
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Connie Shelton
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Yes, with some terrific
interaction, a chat room I think, and loads of news about mystery.
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SinC's mission is to help gain
notice for (particularly) women mystery writers, but lots of men belong
too, and are most welcome.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They have local chapters, too,
that have speakers, regular meetings. I highly recommend it.
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Connie Shelton
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Yes... a wonderful group!
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Mary Rosenblum
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There is also Left Coast Crime,
which is normally held in the western half of the US, but in Feb 2006 it
is in Bristol, UK.
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trainer
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How often do you let someone
critique your work or do you wait until you have it finished first?
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Connie Shelton
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I have to wait until I feel
the work is finished. I've never shown a first draft to anyone.
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Something about not letting my
baby out there until it's ready. Once I've got the ms as finished as I
think I can
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or when I'm thoroughly sick of
it, then I'll pass out copies to 2 or 3 readers.
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When I get their comments back
I'll analyze everything. If all of them brought out a certain point, that's
something I'll
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definitely address. If one of
them loved a certain part, but the others didn't, then I have to figure out
what I'll do about that.
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beckylady
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Do you ever start a mystery
without knowing whodunnit?
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Connie Shelton
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Usually not. I usually have a
pretty good idea what the crime is, how it happened, and whodunnit.
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That said, I did have one case
in my very first mystery, where it became apparent to me
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about two-thirds of the way
through, that it would be WAY too obvious who the killer was
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So I killed off that person
and had to come up with another suspect.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Oh, that must have been fun!
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Connie Shelton
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Challenging, too! I had to
figure who in my cast had motive to have killed both victims!
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Mary Rosenblum
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And this is an excellent
example of making big changes when the story demands it.
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Connie Shelton
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Sometimes, it just happens
that way.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You know, Connie, of the
biggest puzzles to new mystery writers is the bewildering array of subgenres.
Want to talk about them for a bit here?
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Connie Shelton
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Sure, because I think it's
important to define this to yourself before you start writing.
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Mainly because that's going to
be one of the first questions an editor will ask when you propose a book or
a series.
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Usually mysteries fall into
several definite categories: The police procedural is what it sounds like
--
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the sleuths are police
officers, forensics specialists, etc--professionals in police work.
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Private eyes are privately
hired investigators.
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It pays to know the laws in
your state for PIs, how they're licensed, what their legal limits are.
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My character, Charlie Parker,
is an amateur sleuth (another subgenre). She's an accountant who sort of
gets pulled into cases against her better judgment.
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Think Jessica Fletcher when
you're writing a cozy. These usually involved an amateur sleuth who
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doesn't tote a gun or practice
karate, necessarily, just your sweet little lady next door.
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Does that pretty well cover
the subgenres?
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Mary Rosenblum
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So we have police
procedurals...pros investigating crimes...amateur detectives...your
everyday person who gets drawn in
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and cozies...the small and
intimate mysteries.
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I think that pretty well covers
it.
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Oh wait...hard boiled!
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Forgot that.
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Connie Shelton
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Another fun one is the caper.
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Your bumbling bank robber,
jewel heist gone wrong, etc. Donald Westlake is an excellent writer in
this.
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writeaway
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How about paranormal mystery?
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Connie Shelton
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There are a few. Nancy
Atherton's series about Aunt Dimity comes to mind.
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Technically, those might also
be amateur sleuths, but I think paranormal describes them well, too.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I heard that Berkely Prime
Crime is now doing paranormals.
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Connie Shelton
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Another good reason to stay on
top of the markets and know what's being published.
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tami74
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Connie, love your visit
tonight....just wanted to say hello from up here in Canada! So Hello!!!
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Connie Shelton
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Hi, is this Tammy B?
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tami74
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yes
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Mary Rosenblum
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Ah, your student, Connie?
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Connie Shelton
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Hey, it's great that you're
here. Yes, one of my favorite students... She's working on some great stuff
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Mary Rosenblum
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Cool! Welcome, Tami. Glad you
could make it.
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gail
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How do you decide on your
"other suspects" and their motives? Do you draw from or add to
the victim's backstory?
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Connie Shelton
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As a good writer, good friend
says, when starting to plot a mystery ask yourself, What's important enough
to kill for?
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Once you've established that
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you'll begin to build your
other suspects. You'll get a good idea of who the killer is, what the
victim's
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backstory is and who else
would fit. Motives seem to come along naturally after that.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Would you say that strong
characterization is particularly important in mystery, then?
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Connie Shelton
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Yes, I think the whole story
revolves (and evolves) around character.
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It's a lengthy subject to get
into here, unless you want to hang around until about 2 a.m.
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but I'd highly recommend that
you read Elizabeth George's book, Write Away.
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It's a terrific book for all
fiction writers, but really, really apropos for mystery folks.
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janp
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Hi Connie, Your view on mystery
as a short story.
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beckylady
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Any suggestions for writing
short story mysteries?
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Mary Rosenblum
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We have quite a few people
writing shorts for LR of course!
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Connie Shelton
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There are some great mystery
short story markets (Hitchcock's, Ellery queen), so yes, they're strong
right now.
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Mainly you have to keep the
story VERY tight. The crime needs to be established right away.
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and the clues need to come
along rapidly. Not much time to develop backstory, so don’t.
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Just get the sleuth right to
work putting together the clues and solving the case.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Good suggestions, Connie!
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writeaway
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Did your Charlie Parker series
start out with a definite number of books in mind?
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Connie Shelton
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No, I was hoping to get at
least 3 published...
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Beyond that, I had no idea how
it would go--now we're up to 9--imagine that!
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writeaway
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LOL. I think you made it.
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Connie Shelton
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Thanks!
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redraven
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Is Charlie similar to you in
personality?
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Connie Shelton
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Oh yeah. She's become my alter
ego, I think.
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She didn't start out that way,
but writing in first person tends to put your own thoughts into the
character's head.
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I guess I wouldn't recommend a
whole series written in first person, unless you truly like the person
you've created.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But it has clearly worked for
you. :-)
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Connie Shelton
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So far, so good anyway!
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Mary Rosenblum
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As long as we're talking about
first person...which do you think is easier for a novice writer --
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a first person novel or a third
person...as mystery, I mean?
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Connie Shelton
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Wow--that's really hard to
say.
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It probably depends on how you
tend to think. I guess I find it easier to be inside
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Charlie's head and bring out
her thoughts, and consequently the plot of the story, through her eyes.
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Other writers like the freedom
of switching viewpoints (can't do that in 1st person), so they go with
third.
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As a reader, I like either
one. It just takes me a few pages to get into the rhythm of the writers
style and then I really enjoy the story.
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writeaway
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Doesn't it tend to make you
write tighter when you write in first person?
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Connie Shelton
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It does for me. I'm not sure
if all writers feel that way, but you are definitely limited to
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writing only what your
character can actually witness.
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redraven
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Have you ever wanted to create a
different sleuth?
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Connie Shelton
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I've thought about it. Haven't
come up with one that I absolutely love yet.
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Right now I'm working on a
book that will be multi-viewpoint, more suspense than mystery, and that's
been a fun change of pace.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Cool. Will you aim for the
mystery genre or the thriller genre?
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Connie Shelton
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Probably thriller, although
I'd love it if the book crossed all lines and appealed to a very wide
audience
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well, wouldn't we all love
that? :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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I think it's called bestseller,
Connie! :-) Would we NOT love that!
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Connie Shelton
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You got that right!
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writeaway
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In a series, does your sleuth
age or do you tend to keep her the same?
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Connie Shelton
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I've let her age a bit, but
not as rapidly as the actual number of years that have gone by.
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She was thirty when she
started, 10 years ago, she's roughly 33 now. But I've had to
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fudge that a little. I wrote
myself into a corner with this, when I made her dog ten years old in the
first book, and
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her neighbor 87. Well, I
certainly can't let either of them die, so I've begun to be very hazy about
the time frame.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Ah the things we don't
anticipate when we start what turns into a series!
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roe
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LOL wouldn't we all love to age
that way?
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Connie Shelton
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Exactly. Who'da thought?
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Yeah, I'd love to only have
aged 3 years since I started writing this series!
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roe
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So I guess we better be careful
how old we make our characters especially for a series.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Or the supporting characters..or
the pets!
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Connie Shelton
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It's one of those lessons...
Unless you're Sue Grafton and know you'll do 26 books.
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She has a definite plan for
how she's handling the whole age question.
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roe
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Glad you mentioned it though,
cause I honestly never gave it a thought
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Connie Shelton
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Like Mary said, you can never
anticipate everything with a series. J
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Mary Rosenblum
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While we're talking about
series, Connie, and mysteries do tend to run to series...how difficult has
it been to keep the series 'fresh'?
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Connie Shelton
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Well, I've incorporated a lot
of changes into Charlie's personal life, which I think has helped.
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She was a single, freewheeling
gal in the beginning...met Mr. Right, married, traveled a lot
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and who knows for the future?
Don't want to give anything away.
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Seriously, though, it is
something to consider. Sue Grafton is one of my favorite mystery writers
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but I've heard people say
they're tired of her series because Kinsey hasn't changed a bit since book
1.
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I don't feel that way myself
because I love Kinsey and don't want her to change much, but it's a
consideration with readers.
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gail
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Though there's a tendency
towards serial books in the mystery genre, is there still good opportunity
for the "stand alone" mystery?
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Connie Shelton
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Oh, I think so. Several
writers I know are doing standalones. Steve Brewer is one who writes both.
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Harlan Coben, whom I can say I
knew him when... he's really broken out with his stand alone books.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'm curious though...do you
recall seeing many stand alones from first time authors? Or are these
mostly works by established authors?
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Connie Shelton
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I'd say mostly established.
That's true. Most editors are going to want to know what you're working on
next.
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If you have planned a series,
it's easy to tell them, and easy for them to know what they can expect from
that second book.
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roe
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So having your character get
married hasn't hurt the series. Do you see children in it or not?
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Connie Shelton
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The marriage seemed to fit in
well for Charlie. I've seen other series where it wasn't a smooth
transition.
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Children, hummm... There are
pros and cons to that question and I might be giving away a
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lot about my newest book if I
give the full answer.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Aha...stay tuned!
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And for those who came in late,
what is the title of that one and when will it be out? :-)
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Connie Shelton
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Balloons Can Be Murder,
available nationwide around November 1st.
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It takes place at the Albuquerque
Balloon Fiesta, which is going on here this week
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so we were able to get the
publisher to ship books to Albuquerque early. That normally doesn't happen.
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Mary Rosenblum
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This probably answers the
question Geezer has been patiently waiting for:
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geezer
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I'm curious. Why did your
publisher choose New Mexico to release your book first?
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Mary Rosenblum
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That is very good of your
publisher!
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Connie Shelton
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Yep, that's why!
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can find details about
Connie's mysteries on her website:
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Connie's Website
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Connie Shelton
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Yes, thanks for the little
plug! Please visit....although I have to warn you that
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I've had the devil of a time
getting the newest updates to post, so the new book doesn't have many
details about it yet.
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writeaway
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Could you ask for better
publicity? Wow!
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Mary Rosenblum
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I have to say, you timed the
release perfectly!
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Connie Shelton
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A funny story about good
publicity.
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Two journalists from my home
town papers (Albuquerque) called this week and interviewed me.
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I was amazed last Saturday to
see that I made front page in the afternoon paper and
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top of the second page in the
morning paper. All my writer friends were calling and commenting on the
free publicity.
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I have to say, though, that
it's the first time I've gotten anything like that kind of coverage.
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Pays to be tied to a big media
event like the balloon fiesta.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Perfect conjunction of your
book, your local-writer status, and the event!
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Connie Shelton
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Sometimes the alignment of the
planets is just right, I guess J
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Mary Rosenblum
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Indeed! And ain't it great when
it happens!
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Connie Shelton
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Yes indeed!
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info
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Have you incorporated Charlie's
hubby as a helper or is he standing back in the shadows and supporting her?
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Connie Shelton
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Oh, he's definitely right up
front... In some books more than others.
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(Excuse me, I'm trying to type
with a cocker spaniel on my lap!). In fact, in the books,
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Drake teaches Charlie how to
fly helicopters (his profession) and they go on all these adventures
together.
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Funny story about that: My
sister-in-law was reading one of the books in which Charlie does a lot of
flying
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and she actually asked me when
I'd learned to fly! Yes, people do tie us to our characters!!!
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And no...I've never flown
helicopters myself.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well that leads me rather
neatly to my next question...when you have that sort of 'expert detail' in
your story
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how much research do you do in
order to create that verisimilitude.
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Connie Shelton
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I have to admit that I get a
lot of my expert detail at home. My hubby is a helicopter pilot
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so he reads everything for
correctness on the technical details. He's also a firearms expert, and
worked with bombs in the Navy.
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So, I have to admit that I
have a built-in encyclopedia here. For other subjects, I usually try to
find an expert
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and have them read the pages
that pertain to that part of the plot. Also, I live
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in a very small town now, so
it's easy to know everyone. A good friend is a former
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homicide detective, a private
investigator, and was our police chief for several years.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That helps a lot! Do you feel
that 'getting the details right' is very important in mystery?
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Connie Shelton
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Yes, because, unfortunately,
if you get it wrong, SOMEONE is going to tell you about it!
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Mary Rosenblum
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No kidding. :-)
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Connie Shelton
|
I was reminded once (curtly)
that I got a bit of Texas slang wrong.
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Who’d a thought about
that?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Where are your mysteries set?
All in the same town, or has she traveled?
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Connie Shelton
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Charlie gets around. She's
based in Albuquerque (my home town), but she's been all over
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the state of New Mexico, into Arizona's
Superstition mountains, to Scotland.
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Now that one was fun to
research!!
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Mary Rosenblum
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Did you travel to all these
locales in order to research the details? (Scotland would indeed be fun!)
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Connie Shelton
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Yes, I did. And yes, Scotland
WAS fun--we loved it.
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As far as the other towns
around NM, I've used some locations where I've been, and I've fictionalized
towns, too.
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Sometimes if things are a
little too close to home (you know what I mean) you can make up a town to
carry the scene.
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redraven
|
Could you deduct all your
expenses in Scotland?
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Connie Shelton
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Yep.
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One of the nicest things about
being a writer!
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Mary Rosenblum
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An accountant can help you with
just what you can and cannot deduct.
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Connie Shelton
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And in case one of you is with
the IRS,
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I really did document
everything and knew in advance that I would research locations
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and situations that would lead
to a credible story. It also probably helps that I have a track record
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of being published and using
locations in my stories.
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roe
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Is it okay to put things in real
towns? Like I put a newspaper office in a town that I know doesn't have
one. Or do you have to stay with what's factually there?
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Connie Shelton
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It's fiction--I take a lot of
poetic license with things like that. I also put a newspaper in a town that
I don't think has one.
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Sometimes people will nit-pick
you on things like that, but truly most people just want to read a good
story.
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codeblue
|
Have you ever lost your spark to
write??
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Connie Shelton
|
Once. About a year ago I
questioned whether I wanted to sit down and crank out those 10 pages.
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But starting a new project
re-energized me. And I've found that getting together with other writers
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is a big help, too. Every time
I go to a conference or attend a mystery writers meeting, I come away with
new energy. It really helps me.
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speckledorf
|
10 pages? Is that your daily
quota? What is a writing day like for you?
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Connie Shelton
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Usually I do about 10 a day,
yes. I get up early and write while I'm freshest, while the ideas are
flowing.
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Some days that's 3 pages, some
days it's 15. On the day my Long Ridge work arrives
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I give that first priority,
categorize the lessons, pull all your folders, get ready to work on them.
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I'll usually stick with the LR
work until I can get it finished, then back to my own stuff.
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On a good day, I may get my
ten pages done by early afternoon, then I usually edit something, do a
newsletter for our local writers group, or just kick back and read.
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Between LR and my own writing,
it's full time work.
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Of course, if we don't get
outside and walk each day, life just isn't complete, so we do that, then
have dinner.
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Connie Shelton
|
I find that I MUST exercise
after all that sitting!
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Mary Rosenblum
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Oh, no kidding!
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roe
|
So you don't have an actual
schedule where you set time aside each morning to write. Do you write
everyday?
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Connie Shelton
|
When I'm doing the first draft
of a new book, I do write every day. It's the only way I can
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keep my momentum up. I'll
often write in the morning, edit in the afternoon.
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This year has been broken up
with a lot of travel, so that always messes me up on the writing schedule.
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And as most of my students
know, I always advise finishing the first draft in as smooth a flow as you
can
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then put it aside for a few
days (for short stories) a few weeks for a book, then go back
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and edit with a fresh eye.
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codeblue
|
My ideas come at odd
times-mostly when I'm busy...and you?
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Connie Shelton
|
Oh yeah, and it's tough to
keep them in mind. I have scraps of paper of all types.
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I jot down the idea and stick
it either near my computer, or in my IDEAS folder for later use.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Oh, I know that litter of ideas
stuck here and there! J
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gail
|
What ratio of your total reading
is mystery?
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Connie Shelton
|
I actually read a big variety.
But I'd say probably at least 50% of it is mystery, and probably another
20% is suspense.
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I also throw in the occasional
chick-lit, literary novel, historical novel, etc. I don't read much
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sci-fi or romance. But that's
just my taste. My best advice to all writers is
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read LOTS in your chosen
genre. You really can't know what's going on in the field without doing
that.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Let me squeeze in one last
question from our audience here.
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trainer
|
How much writing experience did
you have before you got your series going?
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Connie Shelton
|
I'd written the two
generational sagas I mentioned earlier. And I'd done lots of non-fiction
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articles, newsletters, company
and business type stuff. I actually wrote two of the Charlie mysteries
before the first one came out, too,
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so that was good experience.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Connie, you have been a fount
of information tonight, thank you so much!
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Want to give our audience a bit
of a blurb about the new book? Whet our appetites?
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Connie Shelton
|
Thanks for having me here, and
thanks to everyone who signed in and took part.
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|
As I mentioned, it's called
Balloons Can Be Murder. It's set at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.
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The story is basically that a
woman balloon pilot is being stalked and comes to Charlie for protection.
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The lady pilot plans to set a
world altitude record in her balloon (another of my real-life experiences)
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and she's trying to make it
through the fiesta unscathed. Charlie tries to track down the
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most likely suspect, but many
others start to appear, so she's got her hands full.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Balloons
Can Be Murder at amazon.com
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|
This is the amazon.com
page...take a look at the great cover!
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Very nice.
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writeaway
|
You set a world altitude record
in a balloon?
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Connie Shelton
|
In my former life, yes I did.
I've been writing for about 20 years, but there was a time when I was young
and crazy.
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So I do hold the Women's World
Altitude Record for size AX-4 balloon. Even now, 25 years later it still
holds.
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writeaway
|
Wow! You sure have an
interesting life.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Well, I could probably keep you
here for another hour easily, and I hope you'll come back and join us
again! You have been a wonderful guest. You can tell us all about being a
balloon pilot, too!
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|
I have really enjoyed our chat,
Connie!
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Connie Shelton
|
Thanks--I'd love it!
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janp
|
Thank you, Connie, Mary, great
forum
|
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writeaway
|
You two ladies prove that Long
Ridge has the most talented instructors. Thank you for an inspiring
evening.
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redraven
|
Thanks Connie and Mary -- great
evening!!
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roe
|
Great forum as usual. Thank you
Connie and Mary
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Thanks so much, Connie! I'll
definitely email you about another visit! This has been a fun evening.
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Connie Shelton
|
It has been fun, and I'd love
to do it!
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trainer
|
Thank you both! Great forum
tonight!
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codeblue
|
DITTO
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Mary Rosenblum
|
And thank you all for coming
tonight!
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Good night all!
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