Guest: Robin Spano!

My guest today is Robin Spano, Author of Dead Politician Society, Death Plays Poker and Death's Last Run. As a bonus, she is talking in her blog to another great Canadian writer, Deryn Collier, author of Confined Space. I've read all four of these books and loved them all. Robin's heroine, Clare Vengel, is a unique, feisty character that I know you'll fall in love with.

About Robin:

Robin grew up in downtown Toronto and now lives in Lions Bay, BC. When she’s not lost in fiction, she loves to get outside snowboarding, hiking, boating, and riding the curves of the local highways in her big black pick-up truck.

Her historical role model is Winston Churchill, more for his independent thinking than his drinking. Her secret dream was to be one of Charlie’s Angels, but since real life danger terrifies her, she writes crime fiction instead.

She’s a founding member of Off The Page Toastmasters – a public speaking group for writers.

She is married to a man who hates reading and encourages her endlessly. Which is great, because it’s Keith who drags her away from her computer to do all those fun things outside.

In this blog, Robin talks about the writing process and how she manages to keep the momentum going. Something all writers can identify with!

                                       And now - Robin's inspirational "Power Hour" blog.

Power Hour

aka How to keep your MS chugging forward even when life conspires not to let you

My friend Deryn Collier and I were texting each other a few weeks ago.

I was distracted with a workload full of promotional and volunteer projects. New tasks were coming in faster than I could complete them and my email inbox was out of control. I normally hoard the whole morning for fiction, but I felt if I didn't attack my piling up to-do list, it would mushroom into oblivion and I'd disappoint a lot of people. Writing felt selfish.

Deryn had an edit deadline for her second novel and her kids were home for March Break. She loves spending time with her boys, admiring as they land handsprings on the couch behind her desk and overseeing the invention of labour-saving devices made of Popsicle sticks and elastics. But since she works from the living room, they were more than a little distracting.

We both wanted to work on our fiction, we technically had the time, but we couldn't find the concentration.

So we started the Power Hour.

Purpose:  To find the focus it takes to write a novel.

Required Apparatus:            1 communication device

                                                1 friend who writes

                                                1 work in progress (or idea in the mulling stage)

Method:

1. Via text message, we declare our intent for one hour's work.
2. We work for one hour toward our independent goals.
3. We check back in, again via text, and say what we've accomplished.

(It should go without saying that we listen to and care about each other's goals.)

My Observations: I immediately noticed an increase in productivity.

Declaring intent helps solve the problem of staring at my manuscript wondering what to do next. If I know I have one full hour to figure out how Harriet outsmarts the old French guy in the cell phone store, I can put my mind to that, like it's a level in a video game, and either come out successful or make headway that I'm happy with.

I can shut out all the other tasks I have that day since I know that in one hour, I'll be free to attack them.

Writing this way is more fun. It's like having a colleague and a water cooler but keeping the long hours of solitude this profession requires.

Deryn's Observations:  The power hours help me with both focus and accountability. Setting a goal is key, and I know that at the end of the hour Robin's going to ask me what I got done, so that keeps me in line. I’m not going to wander away from my desk if I know that she is there, working too. I’d feel like I was deserting her!

Articulating the mini-goals also helps me realize just how much I do get done on any given day. Writing 100,000 words is a big job, and if I waited until I got to the end to celebrate it would feel like an unending grind. Plus it’s just more fun to have another writer to connect with, to give and receive encouragement on the crappy days and for the occasional kick in the pants, because we all need those sometimes.

We asked each other: What kind of writing is a power hour best suited to? Editing? New writing? Both?

Deryn: Both! I just finished a substantive edit and the power hours were great for keeping me very focused on quantifiable goals. I’m going to revise this chapter. I’m going to power through this whole section. Those were the kinds of specific goals I was setting. Now, I’m using power hours to focus on a brand new project. Who is this character? What is this setting like? How does this theme play out? The goals are more ephemeral, but at the end of the week I’m much more aware of having moved the story forward than I might be otherwise.

Robin: I've only tried it so far with my first draft stage MS, but it's been equally good for polishing as it has for generating new material.

And a perk: I've used power hours to sift through my daunting to-do pile. Picking one task at a time—one blog post, one article, one blurb for another writer—has helped me organize the chaos and feel in command of my workload again.

Conclusion: Highly recommend the power hour to help focus on your work and claim your time for fiction, guilt-free.

I highly recommend that you go to Robin's website right now and order all three books!                                              www.robinspano.com

Tradition! An Atheist Easter

 

             I am the product of a mixed marriage. Not the kind you might think of – this was according to the Catholic Church. You see, my father was not a Catholic. He was not even “religious”.  He often claimed he was an atheist, referred to himself as a heathen.

He was one of those unfortunate people, nice as they might be, whose soul was destined to descend rather than climb to heavenly heights.  After all, ‘Catholics Catholics ring the bell, Protestants Protestants go to hell’. We used to shout that over the fence between our school and theirs, even though we carefully never actually said that last, very bad word. So it must be true.

There was always hope that, surrounded by his female baptized children, my father might change his mind. His soul could still be saved.

For my sisters and me, however, having one parent who didn’t haul us off to church on Sunday opened up a huge avenue for traditions. It became a tradition to pretend you were sick. (We took turns with that.) It became a tradition to sign out of Catholicism when you were sixteen. (I’m proud to say, I started that one. I argued that I’d been marked as a baby and had no choice in the matter. By the time I was sixteen, of course, I knew everything and could make my own decisions.) The best tradition of all, though, was Easter.

My dad was witty, a prankster. He loved jokes and told them well. He also liked to entertain his daughters. Fly away Peter, fly away Paul…was one of my favourite magic tricks. He invented an Easter hunt that was unparalleled.  Using that intelligent comedic mind, he’d leave written clues all over the house. We had to read each one and figure out the riddle, which would then lead us to the next.

At the end, we’d find the biggest treasures of all: the bunnies, chocolate or furry (never real), huddled in the crawl space under the stairs or the empty bathtub or in the garage. The clues led us down the stairs, out the back door, in the front door, all over the house and the yard.

When I took over the task after my dad died far too young, I realized what a logistical test this hunt was. You had to ensure that each hint was not too transparent (e.g. “Here’s your hat, where’s your hurry?” led to the coat closet) but not too difficult, depending on the age of the participants. Every clue had to lead to the next hiding place. Then you had to make sure you put them in the right spots (e.g. clue one had to be general and lead to the first real cache, then you couldn’t get mixed up or everyone would be led astray or discover the final treasure too soon).

Now in my sixties, I still lead the hunt. I am almost ten years older than my father got to live. I too am an atheist, though I would probably say my dad and I more closely resemble agnostics than heathens. I irrevocably reject Catholicism. I believe in same sex marriage and the power of women, only two examples of why I cannot abide that religious institution. I don't much like any of the organized religions, but I also have the philosophy that if it works for someone, go for it.

My sisters and I don’t care that we might look undignified as we race around the house with the kids. We honour the memory of our parents’ mixed marriage and our heathen tradition. Our mother, stricken by dementia, looks at us as though we’re the ones who’ve lost our minds. But we know she loves us and that she loved our father enough to defy the strictures of the time and marry him anyway.

He was adopted by the many clubs and associations that came with church life, such as the Knights of Columbus. He brought life to charity dances arranged by the Catholic Women’s League (my mother was President). He walked with his daughters in religious or non-religious ceremonies. He was a passionate, thoughtful, funny, loving man. So much so that the priest endorsed Dad’s burial in the catholic cemetery.

This weekend, we’ll carry on our atheist Easter. We’ll remember a man who absolutely must have gone straight to heaven, if there is one. We’ll have a blast and embrace each and every member of our fun-loving, crazy family, who always have each other’s backs, who forgive and accept and love unconditionally. Not a bad Easter message for a bunch of heathens.

 

Three Random Things about Author Cheryl Kaye Tardif

  

 Three Random Things about Author Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Today's special guest is international bestselling author Cheryl Kaye Tardif, who is celebrating the release of her new thriller, SUBMERGED, during her official Blog Tour. I asked Cheryl to share three random things about her, and a bit about SUBMERGED.

Turns out we have a lot in common, since I too did background "acting" (in This is Wonderland).

Cathy, since we both have film connections, I thought it would be fun to share some random experiences I've had in the film industry. So here are my Three Random Things…

1.     Just over 20 years ago I worked as a background actor or "extra" in Vancouver, BC, and one of the shows I worked on was The Commish, starring Michael Chiklis (from Vegas and The Shield fame). I appeared in a few episodes, but the most memorable one was a Halloween show ("The Witches of Eastbridge" episode) where a killer was poisoning candy. I was in a scene with several cast members, including Michael—about 10 of us altogether. I think Michael thought I was one of the main actors because he introduced himself to me and shook my hand. Minutes later I met Stephen J. Cannell, producer/writer extraordinaire. Then I sat beside one of the guest actors for the scene.

2.     One of my other jobs as a background actor was for a scene on The Heights (a popular FOX show back then, similar to Melrose Place.) In my first scene on the show I was partnered with a much older man for a scene in a lounge. Since there can be a lot of waiting and retakes, I decided to make my "roll" fun and I convinced my partner that we were playing the part of older man and expensive escort. I even took off my wedding ring. When I told my husband afterward, he just rolled his eyes. He knows me well. I can make even a somewhat mundane task seem exciting. J

3.     On set for another episode of either The Heights, the director decided they didn't have enough extras for an outdoor scene on a busy city street. So we were asked to change our appearance as much as possible so they could use us more than once. Watching it back later with my husband, I pointed and said, "There I am." I had my hair down and was wearing a black jacket. A few seconds later, walking in the opposite direction, I showed up on screen again, hair up and wearing a blue jacket. I think that was also the scene where two of the main male actors had to scarf down hotdog after hotdog until the director finally said it was a wrap. I felt kind of sorry for those guys. They looked a little green…

And now I am dreaming about other movies—my movies, from my novels. One day. Until then, here's a little SUBMERGED appetizer…

From Cheryl Kaye Tardif, the international bestselling author that brought you CHILDREN OF THE FOG, comes a terrifying new thriller that will leave you breathless…

SUBMERGED

"Submerged reads like an approaching storm, full of darkness, dread and electricity. Prepare for your skin to crawl."

—Andrew Gross, New York Times bestselling author of 15 Seconds

Two strangers submerged in guilt, brought together by fate…

After a tragic car accident claims the lives of his wife, Jane, and son, Ryan, Marcus Taylor is immersed in grief. But his family isn't the only thing he has lost. An addiction to painkillers has taken away his career as a paramedic. Working as a 911 operator is now the closest he gets to redemption—until he gets a call from a woman trapped in a car.

Rebecca Kingston yearns for a quiet weekend getaway, so she can think about her impending divorce from her abusive husband. When a mysterious truck runs her off the road, she is pinned behind the steering wheel, unable to help her two children in the back seat. Her only lifeline is a cell phone with a quickly depleting battery and a stranger's calm voice on the other end telling her everything will be all right.

*SUBMERGED has a unique tie-in to Tardif`s international bestseller, CHILDREN OF THE FOG.

Get SUBMERGED today.

Learn more about Cheryl Kaye Tardif at http://www.cherylktardif.com and follow her on Twitter.

Enter Cheryl’s March Giveaway – 59 Prizes! http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com

My Guest: Internationally Best-Selling Author Cheryl Kaye Tardif

 

Submerge Yourself in the World of Cheryl Kaye Tardif

When people ask me what I do, I like to tell them: "I kill people off for a living." You can imagine the looks I get. Sometimes I'll follow with: "Fictitiously, of course. I'm a suspense writer." Sometimes I won't say anything else. Yeah, I'm bad that way.

Writing thriller, suspense, mystery and/or crime novels has always been my passion—especially if I throw a pinch of supernatural or paranormal into the mix. I've always been drawn to dark stories, ones that raise the hairs on the back of my neck or make me glance over my shoulder. The two greatest influences in my writing life have been Dean Koontz and Stephen King. Need I say more?

So what can I offer you if you choose to read my books? I hope and strive to give you a satisfying read, once that will impact you emotionally. If I can make you shudder or tremble or wince or even cry, then I've done my job.

In SUBMERGED, I share with you a very personal fear of mine—the fear of being in a car that's underwater and not being able to get out. I have traveled long distances by car hundreds of times during my life, twice from one coast of Canada to the other. Whenever we're along a stretch of highway with a body of water beside me, my fear kicks in. And I hold my breath…waiting…praying…

I want you to relate to this fear. But even more, I want my characters to come to life. I want you to feel for Marcus Taylor, a struggling recovering addict who has had his fair share of grief and guilt. I want you to admire his strength, even in the midst of his weaknesses. I want you, dear reader, to feel compassion for this man who has lost his wife and son in a terrible accident, who blames himself for their deaths, and who is searching for redemption, though he doesn't really know he is.

I want you to cheer on Rebecca Kingston, a mother on the verge of divorce who has left an abusive husband. I want you to feel empathy for her because this decision, no matter what others think, is not an easy one to make. I want you to cry with her when she realizes she is physically unable to help her children who are trapped with her in a sinking vehicle. And I want you to be holding your breath every time Rebecca does.

Marcus and Rebecca (and the others in SUBMERGED) may only be characters on paper, but they feel real to me. I gave "birth" to them and watched them grow. With every step they took, I wiped away their tears, hugged them and loved them. And, dear reader, I sincerely hope you'll love them just as much.

Happy reading…with the lights on…

Cheryl Kaye Tardif, international bestselling author

PS: The Kindle edition of SUBMERGED is available on Amazon from March 4^th – 7^th for a special price during the Killer Thriller Book Launch.

Learn more about me and connect at:

http://www.cherylktardif.com

http://www.twitter.com/cherylktardif

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheryl-Kaye-Tardif-novels/29769736630

 

Gramma Comes to Stay A While

     My daughter recently turned the same age as me. Forty. It’s weird how you start out mother and daughter and end up twins. In age at least.

     She and her partner went to Las Vegas to celebrate. Gramma came to stay for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Since Papa is still working, he gets to stay for the fun part. The weekend. Totally unfair advantage. We are amicably divorced but not sure how long that will last if this competition continues.

     When the kids get home from school, they’re really happy to see me. Really. It takes several hours before they start asking for their mom. In the meantime, we play on the computer, read books and watch TV. We eat spaghetti for dinner. It tastes good because the meat sauce was made by their mom. They have no problem pointing this out.

     Cate and I take the dog for a walk and we buy chocolate bars for everyone. Take that, meat sauce!

     While Ben has a shower Cate and I sit in the bedroom making up limericks. Gramma starts the fart ones. Cate mentions that she’s taking the notebook to school so I caution her to remove certain pages first. She’s calling me Glamma now, which I take to mean I’m glamorous. Especially when I end one limerick with “and my big fat butt in the air” and demonstrate. However, I’m not Glamma any more when I say it’s lights out. Now she wants Mommy. 

     It’s Ben’s turn for reading or limericking or whatever. We read from a giant book about the universe. It has concepts and words that I either never knew or didn’t bother remembering. He asks me rather pointedly, “But weren’t you a teacher?” We do lights out on rather frosty terms.

     Now I proceed to make their lunches. I cannot for the life of me find anything good for a kid’s snack or midday meal. I mean, yes, there’s lots of stuff that’s good for you. Like fruits and vegetables.

Back in my day as a mother, when I made lunches I filled them up with cookies and puddings and sandwiches on white bread. Maybe some chips to munch. A pop or sugar-filled juice. All we have in this house is…well, healthy stuff. Sighing, I make what I can and put the lunches in the fridge. Next morning, I have the same problem. No sugar-shocked cereals to be seen. Why would a kid bother getting up?

     Apparently they can’t eat in their rooms, either. My kids would get a tray in the morning. Or else, in the case of my son, I would carry him downstairs and set him up in front of the TV. Nothing like a little gratuitous violence in the morning! Not in this house. We talk. We walk to school!

     We are a little frazzled. Glamma is a bit overwhelmed by nutritious breakfasts and conversation. When I glance at the clock, I see the reason why. I would normally just be rolling out of bed right now ready to drink coffee and read the paper.

     I finally stumble out of the door behind them, the dog in tow. Or, I should say, with me in tow. We are slip-sliding along the ice at a rapid pace. Cate does not want to be late for school. Ben dawdles along with me. When I look down at him, I notice he doesn’t have his boots on. Or his winter coat. It’s a coat, but looks pretty light. I’m wondering if the kids washed or brushed their teeth. The teachers will shake their heads and tsk. Good thing they don’t know I used to be a teacher.

     On the way back, the dog poops all over the ice and I have to clean it up with a piece of snow and one small scoop bag.

     I hurry back and clean their rooms. They’ll be aghast because this is their responsibility. I go shopping and get some really good stuff. After all, I am competing with Papa’s impending plans to visit the dinosaur museum, while I have to get them to go to school again tomorrow. Sugarless!

    Damn, did Cate take that notebook to class?

How to Write a Review #2: Star Wars

How to Write A Review Part 2: Star Wars

As a retired teacher, I am biased in my view of ratings (pun intended). I came from the “old school”, literally. I never believed in scoring something unless there was a set of criteria laid out from the beginning. When I gave an assignment, I also gave the evaluation scheme with it. If the student wanted an A, I would describe what s/he had to do or demonstrate.

The most objective appraisals, of course, involve right or wrong answers such as 2 + 2 = 4. No debate. As for all other evaluations, some subjectivity is involved. However, when the assessor has knowledge of and experience with the task or skill being evaluated, the subjectivity is dependable.  

That brings me to Amazon reviews.

As a reader I am asked by the site to give the book I’ve just read a star rating. This score is extremely important to the author of the novel. Amazon uses the ratings to sell/promote the books. Readers most often only look at novels with a 4-5 star rating. But what are the criteria? What does the rating mean?

She loves me, she loves me not.

Well, there are no criteria. Unless you are a professional reviewer  and have studied the various genres, the rules a writer is supposed to follow, the techniques or skills to be admired, and so on, you will be completely subjective in your evaluation. You’ll have no scoring template to go by.

In fact, Amazon assumes that this is the case. Clearly the scoring guideline wants you to be totally subjective. Five stars means “I love it”. How much more biased can you be?? 4 stars = “I like it”. 3 stars = “It’s okay”. 2 stars = “I don’t like it”. 1 star = “I hate it”. You HATE a book? Oh my.

When I look at the ratings on my own books, I often cringe. The Bridgeman has a 4 star rating. I would expect that its score would be somewhat lower because the subject matter is dark. Despite the hopeful ending filled with love and community, it nevertheless describes the underbelly of society. Victim, on the other hand, is a pretty tame read. There’s lots of native philosophy, hope, and love. It has a four and a half star rating. Legacy and Seventh Fire both have 5 stars. 

 I have to admit, however, that the number of reviews is low. (Want to do a review for me??) See all the books here: My website or on Amazon .

My author rank today is 140,000 out of several million. Could be better, but still an achievement.

However – all of this ranking and promoting and highlighting and selling is partly the result of the number of stars a novel has. And the number of stars is so subjective that I don’t see how my books can possibly be compared to anyone else’s. What my readers love or hate may be polar opposite to what you love or hate. In fact, I often look at a one-star rating and wonder what planet that reader must be on in order to    despise a particular work that I loved. But that's all my own bias!

In addition, while I'm ranting, apparently some authors go into a competitors' review profile and put a one-star rating there on purpose. Huh? I sincerely hope this is some kind of urban myth, but maybe not.

So – what to do? One of my colleagues refuses to give stars at all. That might be a good strategy, except for the fact that Amazon bases its promotions and highlights on stars. My policy is that I never post a review that’s only 1 or 2-star worthy. In other words, I didn’t like the book at all. Maybe that skews my ratings, but so what? Nobody is going to look around for those lower ratings anyway. They’re going to go for the 4 & 5 star books. If there are one or two stars scattered among the other 5-star scores, the lower scores are going to be dismissed.

I will write a 3-star review if the reasons I didn’t like it are technical. Such as, the editing could be improved, but the plot and character descriptions, etc., are essentially good.

The only way to really get the low-down on the book is to read the review. Ignore or take the star rating lightly. (And I did have that previous rant on “how to write a review”, so go read that, too.) To me, it goes hand-in-hand with not bothering to post a 1 or 2 star reaction. 

Unless Amazon creates objective criteria for loving or hating a book, perhaps based on expert reviewers’ point systems, I am keeping with my policy. What about you?

On Being Nominated for a Leibster Award

My friend Alison Bruce (author of Deadly Legacy and Under a Texas Star - www.alisonbruce.ca) nominated me for a Leibster Award! What the heck's that, you say? Check it out on Ali's blog: Have Laptop, Will Travel - http://alisonebruce.blogspot.ca.

Basically, she gave me some work to do. And because I was sitting here staring at a blank page, I thought - why not? Besides, I LOVE Ali's questions. She's very funny and very smart, so I figured I'd have some fun. AND I DID!

(The other part where I find 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 questions - well, I might forget to do that.)

1. What beverage is absolutely essential for you to have by your side when writing? RED WINE
2. How important is romance to your storylines? VERY! I ALWAYS HAVE A LOVE ANGLE AND A SEX SCENE OR TWO
3. Research first, during or after the first draft? HMMM - ALL OF THE ABOVE. DEPENDS ON WHAT IT IS. IF I FIND THE RESEARCH INTERESTING, I DO IT BEFORE OR AFTER: NOT INTERESTING, RELUCTANTLY TACKLE IT AFTERWARD.
4. How much do you edit as you go along? A LOT.
5. Mystery or thriller? What do you prefer reading and what do you prefer writing? MYSTERY - BOTH READING AND WRITING
6. Adventure or romance? ROMANCE
7. Do you primarily read the genre you write? YES
8. If you had to pitch one of your stories to a TV producer for a series, which one would you pick?  THE NEWEST ONE, SWEET KAROLINE
9. If it got picked up, who would you cast in the leads? MEREDITH HENDERSON
10. Would you want to be on set for filming? DEFINITELY!
11. You've been nominated for an award for your new series. Who would you thank when you won?  MY HUSBAND, DAUGHTER AND SON, AND MY MOTHER