Tag Archives: crime

A break is as good as a rest!

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As I begin to wrap up my vacation time, I’ll be sad to leave the holiday feeling behind. Yet I know that it has been as essential as it has been fun.

My notebook has new ideas in it, as well as some amendments to existing projects. Sometimes, physical distance can allow you to see things with new eyes. For example, the Lazarus Hunter series has been fairly well plotted to the end for quite some time now. The first three books are completed and book four is down on the list as one of my next writing projects (I’d love to do it sooner, but I have other commitments which are stopping me). Yet a missing piece of conflict that I needed has been elusive up until now.

With nothing to think about, this piece finally snuck up on me and smacked me between the eyes.

So I will be returning from my break with a renewed sense of enthusiasm. I love writing, but my life is like balancing three full time jobs sometimes. My creativity can stutter if I don’t take a break every now and again. When I do, it is worth every penny, both in literal money and also time.

I’ve not got any C K Martin books planned for the release for the rest of this year. I’ve not tracked the sales of A Taste To Die For while I’ve been on vacation, because I’ve not wanted the time to be about number watching, no matter how addictive it can be.

So I can go into the last third of the year feeling more relaxed about what I still need to do. I know one thing that people have wanted in the Teddie McKay books is a little bit more lovin’ for Teddie. As neither books in the series are romances, it didn’t feel right at any point to put a good sex scene in, not without it feeling entirely gratuitous. So I’m playing around with an idea for a short story to let the woman get a bit of action. It would need to be fun for everyone (including me) to make it work.

So, despite saying there’d be no more publications this year, part of me is already thinking never say never…

 

Travel: Why it is essential to a writer

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So, with the release of A Taste To Die For complete, I have indulged myself with a little bit of a vacation. In return for the months of hard work on this (and numerous other projects), I am giving myself sand, sun, sea and wine. Maybe even a cocktail or two.

Santorini

Not only because I quite like the idea of a treat and a reward, but also because I believe that travel is essential to every writer.

It doesn’t have to be exotic, or extravagant like this. It just needs to be somewhere new. This goes for if you are an aspiring author, a traditionally published author or an indie author. New places are vital for creativity.

It’s just the same as books. You would never read the same five books over and over again in isolation and expect to grow. Overseas travel is great for seeing the world with new eyes. There are different cultures, languages, customs and, of course, food, which can all be incorporated into your writing in some way.

Yet it’s also possible to achieve the same result without going too far from home. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, there is every chance that a local town or city is within a couple of hours drive away. I’ve come to look for the unfamiliar in things; each town will have something about it that makes it unique. Travel is essential to finding that little gem and unlocking the creativity.

On top of that, it is the perfect opportunity for me to lavish some time on my significantly better half, who has heard nothing but book release talk for the past year. Of course, I’ll still have a notebook to hand, ready to capture any interesting nugget that comes into view from the other side of the cocktail umbrella….

Cover Reveal! A Taste To Die For

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This is a moment I’ve been looking forward to sharing for absolutely ages. It’s time to reveal the cover of my next novel, A Taste To Die For, the second book in the Teddie McKay series. Without further ado, here it is!

A Taste To Die ForThere is so much I love about this cover. It is a bit brighter than the one for The Crochet Killer, which is just fine. This book itself is lighter in many ways, so that reflects it well. Yet, right there at the bottom, there is that hint of darkness.

I’ve made it no secret that the cover is my least favourite part of the indie publishing side of things. I prefer when someone else comes up with the visual concept. Despite my love of words, I struggle to get the artistic description across when I want a cover made for me. This one has turned out almost exactly as I had envisaged it, with minimal effort. Which is just the way I like things. It allows me to focus on the writing side of life, which is much more preferable.

So why A Taste To Die For? Let’s just say, this book has a food theme. The die for bit should be fairly self explanatory, with it being a crime book and all.

Now it’s just three more days until publication! Then I’ll be sitting back with a large glass of merlot and celebrating another book leaving home. It’s the end of the summer, after all.

 

Finishing touches of A Taste To Die For

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There is something quite exciting about knowing something is finished. Today, all the final touches of the next Teddie McKay Novel are in place, ready for August 27th release. I’m so excited!

I’m not sure (because the past month has been a bit of a blur between this and several other projects) whether I have mentioned the title yet. If not, I can reveal that it will be called A Taste To Die For. That is not, in case you were wondering, some bad lesbian joke based around Teddie’s sexuality.

Until the book actually goes on sale in 7 days, I know I will be a bit of a wreck. It is an excited kind of wreck, but still a bit wobbly regardless. There is something quite terrifying about sending a novel out there for people to read. Even though everything so far has been positive, that doesn’t mean I will ever get complacent about people’s reviews and opinions. All I can do is put the best book I can out there, and hope that people enjoy it.

Despite the fear, it is a hugely rewarding experience too. My life revolves around writing and that goes beyond C K Martin and her books. Yet the Teddie McKay series and the Lazarus Hunter series are some of my favourite things. Why?

Because I can write them as I want.

I don’t have a publishing house or editor telling me how to make them more saleable on a mass market scale. I don’t have to make the characters thinner, fatter, straighter, gayer, more of this gender, less of that, or anything else. The characters are the people I am interested in and the stories are the ones I want to tell.

For example, since Twilight, vampires have been a hard sell in traditional publishing. Yet Indie publishing shows that there is still a significant market for them. The only thing the Lazarus Hunter series has in common with the significantly more popular one is the vampire theme. Therefore, I don’t feel like I should hide it away just because someone else did something similar once. That’s insane.

With Teddie, I wanted the book equivalent of cheesey cop shows. I love to watch them on TV but there are so few gay characters and not in a leading role. Most of the lesbians I know are cops. Just saying. So I wanted her to be identifiable. But the main point is that she’s a detective. A flawed but capable detective. She doesn’t solve the crime with her gay magic powers. She solves it the same way as anyone else would. Which should be the point, really, shouldn’t it?

Anyway, that turned into a post slightly different from the one I had intended. Which was *squee*. It’s done. Now, we wait.

If you haven’t yet read the first book in the series and the sequel sounds interesting to you, then you can buy The Crochet Killer on Amazon.

(Cover reveal on Monday!!)

Q and A With Teddie McKay

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Sometimes, the bits that don’t go into the final edits of a book are some of the best parts. This is something that secretly infuriates most writers at some point. It is the essence of killing your darlings. If it doesn’t further the plot, it doesn’t go in, no matter how much you love it.

The same can be said for some of the pre-writing and planning stages. It’s always useful to get into the minds of your characters by doing something different with them. So here is a little piece which is a lot of fun, but obviously would never make it into the book. It starts with a simple premise:

What would it be like if the tables were turned on Detective Teddie McKay..?

CKM: Thanks for joining me here today. I’ve just got a few questions for you, then you can go.

TM: Hey, I’m the one who asks the questions around here.

CKM: Not tonight you don’t. Tonight you’re going to sit there and answer a couple of simple questions. Nothing too dangerous. I’m not placing you under arrest here.

TM: Like you could. Go on, ask whatever you want. Don’t be too hurt if I plead the Fifth.

CKM: I’m hoping that you won’t have to do that. There is nothing too damaging in here.

TM: Okay, okay. Just get on with it will you? I have places to be.

CKM: Places to be? As in a date?

TM: Was that one of the questions? You’re using up your time here lady.

CKM: It wasn’t going to be one of the questions, but it is now. I can tell when you’re stalling.

TM: You don’t know me.

CKM: Yes I do. Better than you think. So spill. Do you have a date? Is that why you’re in such a rush to get out of here?

TM: That’s two questions. Which do you want me to answer?

CKM: Both. quit stalling.

TM: I might be meeting someone. An old friend.

CKM: With you, that’s the safe word for romantic. Who is she?

TM: Hey, I never said it was romantic. Your words, not mine. This would never hold up in court.

CKM: We’re not in court. Nor are we likely to be. So either answer the question or I’ll get some of the other characters in here as well. They’ll make you talk. I’ve never seen you get away with not answering a question when it’s coming from Kathryn Greene.

TM: That’s a low blow there, author lady. Alright, I’ll answer your damn questions. Yes, it used to be romantic. If you count more than a couple of dates as romantic. But it’s not any more. We’re just friends.

CKM: With benefits?

TM: Maybe a handful of occasional benefits.

CKM: Is that because you don’t like to commit?

TM: Everyone make it sound like some huge thing. I’m not scared to commit. I just have chosen not to so far, that’s all. No one should have to commit until they’re at least forty.

CKM: Why do I get the feeling that when you get to forty, you’ll decide to up that to fifty to be on the safe side?

TM: Is that another question? You’re running out of time now. It’s like three wishes. You gotta choose wisely.

CKM: I never specified how many questions.

TM: And I never specified how long I’d stick around for. And don’t even think about bringing Kat into this again. Now she’s the one who you should be asking about dates. Underneath that prim and proper skirt, I reckon she’s all kinds of interesting.

CKM: Do you often think about what is under Kat’s skirt?

TM: You’re sick, you know that? That’s my friend you’re talking about.

CKM: Calm down. I’m just messing with you, that’s all. We can make that a question. No attraction at all between you and Kat? You just see yourself as friends?

TM: No attraction at all. I mean, she’s got a pretty face and her IQ is probably off the charts, but she’s never really done it for me, you know? But there’s something about her… me and her we just clicked. Right from the day I met her. I thought she was going to bust my ass when they brought her in to help out on The Crochet Killer case. That was what we were calling him back then. Seems crazy to think of him like that now. Now that… But yeah, anyway, she’s one of my closest friends. You want commitment? I’d walk to the ends of the earth for that woman. Just because I don’t want to live with someone doesn’t mean I have commitment problems.

CKM: Speaking of The Crochet Killer, do you still have nightmares about him?

TM: We don’t need to go there.

CKM: We do. Enquiring minds need to know.

TM: I don’t have any choice in this, do I? In that case, yes. Sometimes, I still have nightmares about him. Jolanta says it’s completely normal to still get freaked out sometimes. It doesn’t mean I need therapy or anything. He’s just there sometimes. Hell, for all I know, he’ll be haunting my dreams for the rest of my goddamn life. Too many women died on my watch. I should have got to him sooner. If the only price I have to pay is a few bad dreams, then I’ll take it.

CKM: That case made the news. What was your toughest case before that?

TM: Man, that’s a tough one. There’s no such thing as an easy case when you work Robbery-Homicide. Even when catching the perp is a slam dunk, then you’ve still got to deal with a victim. But if I had to pick just one, I’d go with my a homicide in my first year. I was pretty fresh back then and I didn’t catch break. It was a kid. Turned out his step-father had been beating him for awhile. Mother to drunk and beaten down herself to do anything other than throw back another fifth of Wild Turkey and look the other way. That was the first autopsy that made me want to cry and walk out the room. I’ve toughened up a lot since then. But cases with kids? They never get any easier.

CKM: Okay, let’s move onto something a bit easier. Doughnuts.

TM: Now those are my kind of questions.

CKM: People want to know, do you really eat doughnuts all the time? Or is that just a police stereotype?

TM: That’s a brush we’ve been tarnished with for a long time. Doughnut Friday, that was a thing for a while. Day to day cases, they don’t really need a doughnut quota. Now a big case, that’ll have Gary reaching straight for a party box, you know what I mean? And I care about the man. He’s my partner. It would be dereliction of duty if I let him do that to his heart. I need to take a bear claw for the team every now and again, right?

CKM: I suppose that makes sense. In a weird calorie-justifying kind of way. Okay, so flipping that over into fitness, how do you keep in shape for when you have to chase down bad guys?

TM: Contrary to popular belief, I don’t get to do much chasing these days. But I’m a swimmer. Not much else really. Most people already know that about me.

CKM: I didn’t know if you were also a secret gym bunny or anything like that.

TM: *snort*

CKM: I’ll take that as a no then. So, if we’re being open about your swimming, it’s no secret either that you nearly drowned when you were longer. So how many metres can you swim underwater these days?

TM: Never nearly as many as I’d need to feel safe. I can do about twenty metres. Enough to get me out of a tight spot, but nothing crazy. If I had to do more than that, I probably could. I just never want to find out. I love to swim, but I hate to swim. That’s never gonna change.

CKM: Okay, final question, then you can go on your not-a-date date.

TM: About time. Go on. Hit me.

CKM: Shake Shack or In-n-Out burger?

TM: Are you kidding me? How is that even a question? Shake Shack all the way baby, all the way…

You can buy the first instalment of the Teddie McKay series The Crochet Killer on Amazon, currently on offer at $3.69 (was $4.99). This is because the second book in the series A Taste To Die For will be available for download from August 27th.

Crochet Killer Cover

Back from my mini-sabbatical

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So I did the unthinkable (in blogging terms) and took a mini-sabbatical. Anyone who has read the ever-expanding number of books on platform and being an author/entrepreneur in the current world will gasp in horror that I just stopped blogging for a while. But I had a couple of reasons which made sense to me.

Firstly, I had more important stuff to do. Like finishing the actual book, looking after my health, supporting my family through a difficult and intense period. All of which came above trying to spend a couple of hours on a blog about 15 ways to groom your cat or whatever. Or how to use your cat as part of your marketing strategy. Damn, that might have been a good one. I might change the title and see how many more click throughs that gets…

Secondly, in a similar vein to the above, I didn’t actually have massive amounts of stuff to share. I like doing the practical ‘how to’ style posts on writing, but there are plenty of people out there who are already doing those. They’re making a living from it in fact (or they’re pretending they are) and that’s not what I want to compete with. I don’t want to only talk to other writers, or those with writerly aspirations. I write fiction. I want to connect with readers. They tend to care less about using your cat for marketing. They just want to know your cat’s name and if he’s going to appear in your next book.

However, I am at that point now where I do (yay) finally have some things to share. The publish date for the next Teddie McKay novel has been set for August 27th, so things can finally begin ramping up here again. I’m also going to run a couple of promos for the other books, so look out for those too. The follow up to The Crochet Killer is a little more lighthearted, so has been a lot of fun to write.

I hope you’ll find it as much fun to read.

 

Do your characters ever refuse to do what you tell them to do?

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This is definitely a question for the writers rather than the readers out there.

Sometimes it really does seem like characters are living, breathing entities with a mind of their own.

I’m hands down a planner when it comes to writing, as I’ve frequently discussed. So, on the whole, I’m not waiting for inspiration to strike in order to know what my character is going to do next. I’ve already done that kind of plotting by the time I put the first sentence on the screen. Yet sometimes, despite my best intentions, at certain points in the novel, I find my characters wanting to do something other than what I have intended for them.

Cue a tug of war between me and them. Given that both exist solely in my head, if it wasn’t part of the writing process it would clearly be a psychiatric disorder of some sort.

Some people argue that if the character isn’t completely under your writerly control, then it is merely a symptom of poor planning. I think that can sometimes be the case, but not always. After all, part of the joy of writing is the excitement of finding out what happens next. Even with deep structure and plot points, you never know until you start writing how the words are going to line up on the paper. You don’t know what new influences you will be exposed to as part of the process. After all, for most people it takes at least six months to do a first draft. Sometimes it can take years. It would be foolish to expect not to have changes in perspective during that time.

For me, working on book two of one series and book four of another, the more I go along, the more likely these characters seem to want to play their own game. Perhaps it is because as they become more rounded they become more real. Perhaps it is because that the arc I originally envisaged for them is changing. Or maybe, when you create independent women who you love because they do whatever the hell they want, then sometimes they might just do that right back at you.

I didn’t want the Teddie McKay series to be more romance than cheeky, cheesey crime with some thriller tension thrown in there. Yet, as book two draws to a close, she seems determined to have a some fun. In my head, saying ‘aw come on, how about you let me live a little, huh?’

It might not be in the plan, but you know what? I think I might just let her…

Finishing – It’s Always The Hard Part

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This is no ‘how to’ post. You won’t find any handy tips and tricks here. This is just me talking about how finishing is always the most important part of a novel, and that probably makes it the hardest.

As with writing, the same applies with life. The best things are the hardest won. The sense of satisfaction is the most rewarding. Yadda eider eider. Right now, the words ‘The End’ seem to be a moving target. Moving, apparently, further and further into the distance.

Writing is my hobby, my passion, my love. It is also my business. Therefore, it has schedules and deadlines and project plans, just like everything else. True, it may be rooted in creativity and dreams, but as anyone will tell you, it’s hard work that gets you over the line. There is no fantasy lottery win that will free me up to write in that luxury beach villa. Or the cabin on the lake. Insert your location of choice here, alongside whatever your dreams and goals are.

So, logic tells me it will be worth it. However, the child in me wants to stamp my feet and demand to know why my characters are refusing to play ball and be written according to the ideas I had originally. I knew what I needed to write to create the follow up to The Crochet Killer. While I know the new direction will all work out better in the end, it doesn’t stop things from being as frustrating as hell now!

So, when you’re reading this, I sincerely hope you’re having better luck than I am on finishing your dream project! If not, then we can carry on battling through it together!

Blood Inheritance

And if you want to read something I did manage to complete, then Blood Inheritance has been released on Amazon. Go grab yourself a copy and make me feel like this is all worthwhile!*

 

 

 

*shameless plug and plea. A writer’s first draft despair knows no bounds.

Writing and motivation: keeping the momentum going

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I find the long weekend has been perfect for a little bit of extra introspection time.

I’ve spent the past few months building up to publishing Blood Inheritance, with the crazy planning and scheduling that goes with such a big endeavour. I say that because we should not belittle our achievements. I am terrible at taking time out to celebrate when I hit my goals. I’ve been talking about getting this book out there for the best part of two years, so I’m allowed to high five myself for being brave and letting one of my babies fly the nest.

The downside in achieving something that has taken up so much of your time and attention for months is that after the excitement fades, then there is a moment when you realise the enormity of the void it has left behind. Instead of breathing a sigh of relief that you have now got so many hours of your life back each week, you sense the loss. There is only one thing to do.

You have to keep going.

There will always be another book brewing on the horizon. There will always be an idea to be captured and the seed of the idea planted so it can grow. Writing tasks will never disappear completely, but neither will the joy of those first moments of creation. So when the sigh of relief wears off and I begin to think about that sudden free time, it’s always good to know that I have several projects I can dip into.

It is good to take a break. It is good to allow yourself to recharge. It is not good to allow that to turn into sloppiness and complacency. So how do you avoid it? It’s quite simple really.

fieldnotes1. Keep a notebook. Capture your ideas somewhere safe so you don’t have to keep them in your head. Then they’ll always be there waiting for you when you need them.

2. Plan your next project before you finish your current one. In those quiet times, those moments when you find yourself twiddling your thumbs, think about what you want your next project to be and outline what next actions you’ll be taking on it. That removes the panic of having to come up with something spur of the moment.

3. Be realistic with your scheduling. Each project will be different, but each one will also take a lot of hard work. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself adequate time when planning your project. Don’t be too generous though. You want to have enough tension there to motivate you to do something, rather than having the psychological freedom to continually defer it until next week. Be sensible, but also give yourself a deadline. Even self-imposed ones carry a punch when you keep a reminder of them where you can see them.

So that’s what I’ll be doing. The first draft of the next Teddie McKay novel is nearly complete and I’m going to be working through that for the next few months. My goal is to publish it in September, so that is the deadline keeping me on track. Whilst Blood Inheritance may be published, everyone knows that is not the point at which marketing and reader engagement stops. Of course, I’ve already got the next book I’m editing decided and set up to make it easy to start.

So the void of time was relatively short; I’m back to writing again.

5 books that changed my life

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Most people have some books that fundamentally touched their soul in some way. I was discussing this with a friend the other day and it made me wonder what mine were. The list seemed endless at first, so I put some thought into it and distilled it down to five fiction books that had a great impact on me in terms of my writing, if nothing else. It was fun to remember these books again, and I firmly believe they still have the power to impact on people’s lives.

Dracula – Bram Stoker

I was in my teens when I read this for the first time and it was probably my introduction to gothic horror. It was also my introduction to vampires, which have always been my favourite fantasy creature – long before the sparkly kind came and took over the genre. It was a short jump then towards Interview with a vampire and increasingly dark fantasy. It was shortly after this that creatures that go bump in the night started to find their way into my writing. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Poet – Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly is, in my opinion, one of the consistently rewarding authors I know. This was a birthday present which I devoured in almost one sitting the day after. My intention had been to see just what this book was about, and I was instantly gripped. It is a masterpiece in plotting and pace, which is something that Connelly has really mastered right from the beginning. The technology was state of the art at the time, almost fantastical. Strange to think we’ve all got phones a thousand times more powerful now.

The Stand – Stephen King

I’d always assumed Stephen King was ‘horror’. Which is a mistake that most people make, given the fact that Carrie is always talked about in a terrifying way and even to this day you’ll still find all his books in the horror section. The Stand was breathtaking in its scope and I thank the person who forced me to read it on the insistence that it wasn’t ‘scary’. In many ways it was, but not in the ways I’d feared.

The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis

Technically more than one book, but I don’t think that I could narrow it down to a single one. I remember many nights under the sheets with a torch, unable to put them down, even though I was supposed to be asleep. Reading in the summer months was the best, when being packed off to bed before 8 meant another two hours of sufficient light to read by. I don’t think I stayed up as late as it felt most times, but every word was worth it regardless. These books first gave me the permission to imagine different worlds and beings, as well as an underlying sense of what was right and wrong.

The Eyre Affair – Jasper Fforde

This book is impossible to explain if you haven’t read it. If, for some reason, you haven’t but you love books, then you owe it to yourself to read this. I’d hit a wall with my reading when this was given to me, and I found myself drawn into the crazy world where books are more important than pretty much everything else. Check your reality at the door and embrace the suspension of disbelief.

So, that’s my top five. I would imagine most people will have read at least one of them, maybe them all (congratulations if you have – your mindset is the same as mine!), but if you haven’t then give them a go. Escape the world for a little while, reality is overrated anyway…