It was a long time coming, but I've had my website redone, and I've moved my blog there. Please visit me at www.lesleyadiehl.com/blog/ and read about my newest book. You're gonna like what you see there.
Lesley
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Don't tell her relatives what she does
Here's one of the funniest writers in the business. She's sometimes called the Canadian Evanovich. And killing people is what she does best.
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| Author Melodie Campbell
KILLING PEOPLE IS WHAT I DO
By Melodie Campbell
“Why would you ever want to write about
murder?” said the horrified relative.
“Why not write a nice little romance?”
Why indeed?
As I quickly added another relative to kill
in my next book (you would be shocked how often that happens….) it occurred to
me that there were many reasons to write about murder.
1.
It’s the challenge of creating the clever
puzzle. Plotting a mystery is like
playing a chess game. You always have to
think several moves ahead. Your reader
is begging you to challenge them, and is working to beat you – meaning to guess
the killer before your detective does - to the end.
2.
It’s plot driven. Murder mysteries start with action – a murder. Yes, characterization is important, and
particularly motivation. But murder is
by nature an action, and thus something happens in the book you
are writing. And quite often, it happens
again and again.
3.
It’s important. This is murder, after all. We’re not talking about a simple threat or
theft. A lot is at stake. Murder is the final act. The worst that can happen. The end of it all.
4.
It’s a place to put all your darkest
fantasies. There are a few people I’ve
wanted to kill in my life. They did me wrong. And while I do have a bit of a
reputation for recklessness, I value my freedom more. So what I can’t do in reality, I relish doing
in fiction.
5.
Finally – it’s fun.
This is the part I don’t say in mixed company (meaning non-writers and
relatives.) I can’t explain exactly why
it’s fun – you’ll have to trust me on this part. But plotting to do away with characters in
highly original ways is a real power trip.
I’m smiling just thinking about it.
Of course, I can
understand where some of the relative angst comes from. In A PURSE TO DIE FOR, a gathering of
relatives for a funeral results in the death of one or two. It was entirely accidental, that use of
relatives. Honest. I wasn’t thinking of anyone in particular.
Not much I wasn’t.
A PURSE
TO DIE FOR
By
Melodie Campbell and Cynthia St-Pierre
What’s
more treacherous than navigating a pack of society matrons at a designer sale?
Stalking
a killer…
Top 100 Mystery, Amazon.com, Jan. 2013!
And now
on:
iTunes Kobo Nook 
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Thursday, October 3, 2013
The New Gal is Here!
She's here. Eve Appel, my newest protagonist made her appearance on September 15 in a release from Camel Press entitled A Secondhand Murder. Here's a bit about her:
Spunky and outspoken Eve Appel moves from Connecticut to rural Florida intent on starting a new life, free of drama, and more importantly, her soon-to-be ex-husband. The rural Florida town of Sabal Bay, situated only an hour from West Palm, proves to be the perfect spot for her consignment store. Thanks to the recent economic downturn, Florida’s society matrons need a place to discreetly sell their stuff and pick up expensive-looking bargains. But Eve’s life, and her business with it, is turned upside down when a wealthy customer is found stabbed to death in a fitting room.
As accusations fly and business slows, Eve decides to take things into her own hands. With the help of an unlikely bunch of friends—including her estranged ex, her best friend, a handsome private eye, and a charming mafia don—she struggles to find answers and save lives. Through a maze of distorted half-truths, dramatic cover-ups, and unrequited passions, Eve learns just how far the wealthy will go to regain what they have lost.
Spunky and outspoken Eve Appel moves from Connecticut to rural Florida intent on starting a new life, free of drama, and more importantly, her soon-to-be ex-husband. The rural Florida town of Sabal Bay, situated only an hour from West Palm, proves to be the perfect spot for her consignment store. Thanks to the recent economic downturn, Florida’s society matrons need a place to discreetly sell their stuff and pick up expensive-looking bargains. But Eve’s life, and her business with it, is turned upside down when a wealthy customer is found stabbed to death in a fitting room.
As accusations fly and business slows, Eve decides to take things into her own hands. With the help of an unlikely bunch of friends—including her estranged ex, her best friend, a handsome private eye, and a charming mafia don—she struggles to find answers and save lives. Through a maze of distorted half-truths, dramatic cover-ups, and unrequited passions, Eve learns just how far the wealthy will go to regain what they have lost.
If you want to learn more about her and me, I'm on tour for the months of October and November. Below is a list of places I'll be visiting:
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buy link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_15?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=lesley%20a.%20diehl&sprefix=Lesley+A.+Diehl%2Caps%2C256
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Keeping It Real
.jpg) |
| Author C. L. Swinney |
Author
C. L. Swinney Is Keeping It Real:
I was a reader far
before I became a writer. I read quickly
and often finish a book in a day or two.
My favorites are mystery, suspense, and thrillers. But, I’ve got a bone to pick with crime
scenes portrayed in many of these books today. I see many people get poor reviews for their
work because they make a crucial mistake when writing about a crime scene.
First, I’ll add my
“expertise” in this topic. I’m currently
a homicide/ narcotics detective, been so for five years, and I’ve been in law
enforcement for almost fifteen years.
I’ve investigated everything from street level drug dealers to cartel
leaders. I’ve wiretapped people’s phones
and listened to things that would make your blood boil. My point, I know what a cop, investigator,
detective, fireman, coroner, evidence tech, and all other folks would or should
do at a crime scene because I’ve been to hundreds of them and investigated most
of them.
Here are my tips:
A)
A clever girlfriend/reporter/significant
other that happens to be dating your protagonist wouldn’t walk through a crime
scene, manipulate evidence, then walk out without being handcuffed and stuffed
in a patrol car. Crime scenes are sacred
grounds, you do things like this in a novel and people who know what should
really happen will find it hard to believe.
This attacks your credibility. I
get fiction “isn’t real,” but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be believable.
B)
Every single element and
angle of a crime scene is labeled, photographed, cataloged, processed,
photographed again, and collected. In
major scenes, evidence technicians will do this, not a beat cop. If you want to use the beat cop, you need to
explain (or better yet, show) why s/he is doing it instead of the expert. Readers of suspense, thriller, and mystery
novels are educated and find it misleading when an author cuts out some or most
of these steps. If the evidence scene
isn’t important, take it out all together.
C)
Within the yellow lines
of a crime scene, the atmosphere is somber and the people working are
focused. Too many books have people
smoking and joking next to a dead body.
A real law enforcement official wouldn’t do that. Investigating tragedy and death is not a
funny matter. We take it very seriously
and owe it to the victim to remain professional.
D)
When writing a crime
scene, stick to common sense actions or feelings by your characters. For instance, don’t have a hardened detective
whose “seen it all” pass out or freak out when s/he sees something bizarre at a
crime scene. Most cops with any time on
have “seen it all.” Experienced cops
have been through hairy situations causing them to digest bizarre, gross,
heinous, whatever you want to throw at them with ease. I don’t even blink when I see that kind of
stuff. It’s sad really, but it’s also
the truth. If you want to say your
character is shocked or caught off guard, show why that is. Detective
X’s faced turned white as the coroner lifted the sheet revealing his brother.
I am a fiction writer but I spend a lot of time
trying to make the overwhelming majority of what I write realistic. I feel it adds to the story and I owe it to
the reader to take pride in my craft. So
please, when you want to include a crime scene in your novels, make an effort
to avoid the pitfalls I’ve listed above. I think you will find your story will be
better and people will talk about how you nailed it!
While on a fly
fishing vacation to Andros Island in the Bahamas, narcotics detectives Dix and
Peterson discover their fishing guides were killed when a sudden blast of
gunfire fractured their speedboat, Gray Ghost. Local gossip has it that Gray
Ghost went to the ocean floor with a hundred million dollars worth of cocaine
in the hull. Dix and Peterson are drawn into helping their island friends, and
chase down leads in Miami as well as the Bahamas until they identify the
diabolical plot of the man known only as The Caller…and then the trouble really
starts.
"When two Miami
narcotic officers take a fishing trip to the Bahamas, they can't leave the drug
world behind...Deftly told by the author, detective and avid fly fisher Chris
Swinney, this book will hook any reader of mystery fiction." —Sunny
Frazier, author of the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries
Links for book:
Learn more about C. L. Swinney:
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Author James Callan talks about Contrast in Writing
Please welcome author James Callan today. He has some advice for writers which will help your writing sing.
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| Author James Callan |
Contrast Is What Allows Us to See
Frequently, we receive the
advice to have things coordinated, matching. The pillows should match the
bedspread. The shirt should match the
pants. The earrings should match the necklace.
The furnishing in the house should match.
But it is the contrast that
makes the different pieces stand out.
I had two friends in
college. One was six feet four inches
tall, the center of the basketball team.
(Yes, it was a long time ago when that was actually tall.) His best friend was five feet six inches
tall. Mutt and Jeff, we sometimes called
them. But everybody noticed them when they were walking across campus.
Contrast.
Jewelers will show crystal
clear diamonds on black velvet. Contrast.
A perfectly clear blue sky is
pretty. Put a single, shinning white cloud in the middle. Both the cloud and
the sky become more beautiful, the contrast enhancing both. Bring in an angry, dark thunderhead and you
not only have contrast and beauty, but now you have added drama to the picture.
Robert Parker knew the value
of contrast. He developed a macho
protagonist in Spenser, a wise-cracking, ex-cop with his own code of
honor. But, there is a contrast in Spenser,
as he likes to cook and has a committed relationship with Susan Silverman, a
sophisticated lady and Harvard professor.
And then, to add to the contrast, Parker introduces Hawk. While Spenser
speaks well, sometimes eloquently, Hawk’s speech is abrupt, street talk. Hawk
has his own code, and is a gun for hire. Parker used these contrasts to propel forty
Spenser novels to best-seller status. (Ace
Atkins has continued the Spenser books with two since Parker’s death. Spenser
lives on.)
In my book on character
development (Character: The Heartbeat of
the Novel – Oak Tree Press 2013) I suggest that you develop a sidekick for
the protagonist and that there be a distinct contrast between the two. Make the
sidekick a carbon copy of the protagonist and all you’ve really done is add
another pair of hands. You’ve wasted an opportunity. Here is an opportunity to highlight features
of the protagonist that you’d like to emphasize. In addition, the contrast can
also add small conflicts, and we know that conflict is a core element of the
novel.
In
A Ton of Gold, I pair a street-wise
high school graduate with a near-Ph.D. research computer scientist. Both are intelligent,
but in contrasting ways. Crystal Moore, the protagonist, is highly educated.
Brandi Brewer is street smart. Periodically, Brandi will say to Crystal,
“Didn’t you learn anything as a kid?” Brandi learned a lot growing up on the
street. Crystal learned a lot in classrooms. It is Crystal who learns from
Brandi.
I
highlight their differences throughout the book. This contrast helps emphasize
features of the protagonist that I want to underscore without my beating the
reader over the head. By juxtaposing the two, I can show features without having to tell
the reader. And it is this “opposite type” character, Brandi, who helps Crystal
find her way to the solution – well, at least for the subplot.
So,
remember to use this important writer’s tool, contrast, to emphasize certain
things, to add minor (or major) conflicts, to bring additional drama into the
story, to improve your novel.
James
R. Callan
A
Ton of Gold, Oak Tree Press, 2013
Character:
The Heartbeat of the Novel, Oak
Tree Press, 2013
A
Ton of Gold
A contemporary mystery / suspense novel
Can long forgotten, old folk
tales affect the lives of people today? In A Ton of Gold, one certainly
affected young, brilliant Crystal Moore.
Two people are killed, others threatened, a house burned and an office
fire-bombed – all because of an old folk tale, greed and ignorance.
On top of that, the man who
nearly destroyed Crystal emotionally is coming back. This time he can put an end to her
career. She’ll need all the help she can
get from a former bull rider, her streetwise housemate and her feisty 76
year-old grandmother.
A Ton of Gold
By James R. Callan
From Oak Tree Press, Feb.
2013
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