Free book from CJ West

CJ West is offering BookBitch readers a free PDF version of Sin & Vengeance to celebrate the completion of the screenplay by Marla Cukor.

You can download it here:

http://www.22wb.com/freesinbook.htm

password: cjwest

Enjoy!

Guest Blogger: JUDITH RYAN HENDRICKS

The Laws of Harmony is bit of a departure for me in several ways, although, having said that, the themes I wanted to explore in the book are some of the same themes that have always interested me…the way the past shapes the present and drives the future…the ways in which children grow up differently in the same family…the family dynamics of loss and grief…and most particularly, how the ties that bind mother and daughter—however we might struggle against them—are not easily undone.

One difference lies in the tone of the book, which I think is just a shade darker than my first three books, although there is plenty of what Publishers Weekly called “gentle humor.” I can’t really write a story without humor, anymore than I can write a story without food and music.

The other difference is that The Laws of Harmony has more plot than my earlier work, which some readers will like more than others. But on the whole, I still feel that the story is driven by the main character’s conflicting needs to escape the past and to come to terms with it. The book is really about her discovering that those two things are one and the same.

On my website, www.judihendricks.com, you can watch a video trailer for the book, as well as a video I taped at the HarperCollins studios in New York last fall that details the true incident that sparked the idea for the story.

Sleuthfest & Scandinavia

Current trends in the mystery field was a hot topic of discussion throughout the entire Sleuthfest weekend. Oline Cogdill mentioned Scandinavian mysteries becoming more and more popular. Today, I read this in Publishers Lunch:

"Patterson's Latest Collaborator
James Patterson is reaching across the ocean for his latest writing partner, working on a new thriller set primarily in Stockholm with Scandinavian crime writer Liza Marklund, best known for her Annika Bengtzon series. The book will be published in Sweden in 2010 with Marklund's regular publisher Piratförlaget (of which she is a part owner), but that is the only territory sold so far. It's a bilingual collaboration as well. Marklund will write in Swedish, which will then be translated for Patterson, who will work in English as usual.

Robert Barnett at Williams & Connolly is representing rights for the US and the UK and has "a great deal of interest" from Patterson's existing publishers in both territories. Linda Michaels, who was the "driving force in brokering the collaboration," represents rights for the rest of the world for Barnett, except for Sweden where The Salomonsson Agency represented Marklund.

Barnett sees it as "another example of Jim being innovative" as well as "an opportunity to introduce him to a whole new area of fans [internationally[ who might not be aware of him" while doing the same for Marklund.

Marklund says in a brief statement, "Writing this book is so much fun. The story is violent, emotional, and fast paced. It’s very exciting to work with such an intelligent and creative writer. James Patterson is not only exceptionally smart and funny, he is also incredibly humble."

Sleuthfest Day Two: The Plot Thickens

It seemed the crowds were bigger today, or maybe I was just attending more popular panels. First up was Oline Cogdill moderating a panel of new authors. This was definitely geared towards the writers in the room and the discussion ranged from naming your characters (be careful not to use the same first initial for all your characters!) the importance of setting and the always popular, write what you know. That panel was followed by the standing-room-only "Editors' Roundtable" with Putnam VP/Editor Neil Nyren, St. Martins Press/Minotaur editor Toni Plummer and Benjamin LeRoy, the editor/owner of the excellent small press, Bleak House Books.

First was the slightly depressing news that book sales are definitely down 10-20%. Editors are a bit more cautious about what they are buying and are looking at books 2-3 times before acquiring. The good news is that isn't really all that different than any other time. Publishers are in business to sell books, so they have to buy books. So what are they buying?

Nyren is the king of the thriller with a stable of authors that includes some of the biggest names in the business: Clive Cussler, Robert B. Parker, John Sandford, Tom Clancy, to name a few. On the other hand, LeRoy explained that Bleak House has a different approach to purchasing; if turning your book into a movie "would require a large special effects budget" than it probably isn't the right book for Bleak House. Plummer is buying all kinds of mysteries from cozies to gritty noir, but passing on the international spy thrillers.

Things to avoid? Nyren begged for no more alcoholic ex-contenders, ex-cops, or dogs. What does he want? "Something extra." A fresh voice. Something that "makes me sit up straighter in my chair, makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up"; "something that I haven't read a million times before" or if he has, then it has to be "so damn good I want it anyway." Bleak House is buying from authors who have terrific series that have been dropped from the big publishing houses. They have different goals with their numbers. Bleak House was also the only publisher on this panel that still accepts manuscripts from authors rather than agents.

The discussion meandered into James Patterson territory. For many years, it was considered "cannibalization" if an author wanted to put out more than one book a year, the thinking was they would be stealing their own sales. Patterson blew that theory out of the water and did it anyway. Now many of the top bestselling authors are producing 2, 3 or even 4 books a year.

Finally, the secret to selling books was revealed: word of mouth. Reviews, media attention and personal appearances all help spread word of mouth. The other secret to sales is a "subterranean cost" called "co-op". That's where the publisher pays to put your book on the front table at Borders or on the ladder displays at the front of your local Barnes & Noble, or even having Amazon send out emails offering your book for 30% off.

Sleuthfest: John Hart, Guest of Honor

This year Sleuthfest had two guests of honor, John Hart and Brad Meltzer. John gave a terrific talk at the Friday luncheon. He was engaging, entertaining and I think all the writers in attendance - most of the room - really took away some important lessons. Believe in yourself. Listen to your editor but also trust your gut. And if your father-in-law offers to feed your family for a year while you write your novel, find out if he is including you in that offer!

I've been lucky enough to review all of John's books for Library Journal. His first book, The King of Lies, was nominated for several awards. His second novel, Down River, won the Edgar award for best novel. His latest novel, The Last Child, doesn't come out until May but my review went out yesterday. It's a starred review, and it's his best book yet. It's a bit darker than his previous books, but it's the protagonist, a 13 year old boy, that really got to me and will stay with me, in much the same way Scout did in To Kill A Mockingbird.

I am a fast reader, and normally I read a book, especially a thriller, straight through in a night or two. With The Last Child, I was reading a bit, then stopping to savor it, putting it down to save some for the next day. It was a very unusual reading experience for me. By the third day, I couldn't take it anymore and just ripped through the rest. When I was done, I walked around my house hugging the book, I didn't want to put it down. So then I read it again. And I loved it even more. John signed it for me and that book will have a place of honor on my bookshelf - that means on a bookshelf somewhere instead of in one of the piles of books or boxes of books that are all over my house. I know I am totally romanticizing the whole reading experience but when you fall in love with a book, that's what happens. So now you all know.

After lunch, there were more panels. I went to a panel on how to get press with Oline Cogdil, the mystery reviewer for the Sun Sentinel newspaper, Sharon Potts who has her first novel coming out in a few months, and Cheryl Solimini, whose first novel, Across the River, was published last year. It was a good mix of people with very different perspectives, and there was a lot of interesting ideas and good advice. The bottom line is that authors need to promote themselves, publishers don't have the resources (read: money) to do much for new authors. Some suggestions included writing an article about something you've researched for the book that may be of interest to a specific group or location, for specialty magazines or local newspapers. Make sure your press release is well written - if it isn't, people will wonder how well written your book could possibly be. Finally, a website is crucial.

There was a last minute cancellation when one of the presenters had to appear in court, but Joann Sinchuk, manager of the Murder on the Beach bookstore filled in with a presentation designed to answer the question, "Now that you're published, what next?" Neil Nyren, Putnam VP/editor was in the audience and participated a great deal, offering a lot of good advice (Book trailers? Don't do them.) Joann let all the budding authors know a couple of really important terms: "sell-through", when most of the books that have been printed have sold is very important. Nyren pointed out that no one really expects 100% sell-through, but 80% within 6 months is a good guarantee of another book contract.

Joann also pointed out that an author has an obligation to try and sell their books. Some authors think they can turn in a manusript and be done with it, but that is just the beginning. She suggested attending conferences, arranging book signings, especially at libraries where you are more likely to get newspaper coverage, and that all important website. Also of note: every author has a publicist, but not every author has a publicity budget. The other term she mentioned was "sell sheet;" every book has one that is given to the sales staff. The sell sheet includes things like a plot summary, author bio including comments like "tireless promoter" (hint, hint) and quotes & reviews. The books that don't sell are remaindered, and authors don't get royalties on remaindered books.

The next panel was the politically incorrect "Book Broads", hosted by Randy Rawls. Christine Kling, Joann Sinchuk, Kris Montee (PJ Parrish), SJ Rozan and Elaine Viets sat around drinking wine and shooting the breeze about the book biz. This panel had the best stories. First was how PJ Parrish got their name. Kris writes with her sister, Kelly, but their publisher didn't want two names on the book. The sisters were on vacation in Paris, and were quite drunk when they got the inspiration to call themselves, "Paris". They called their agent and in slurred speech said "we know our name - Paris" which translated in drunken English to "Parrish" and the award winning writing duo were on their way.

Then Elaine Viets explained the "small penis theory of revenge." Elaine was "spectacularly fired" from her newspaper job and started writing novels. She would have a character suspiciously like the jerk who fired her, and she would give that character a small penis. That way she figured no one would want to sue her, go to court and tell the judge, "I'm the jerk in the book with a small penis." So she's had her way in her novels with everyone who ever wronged her.

I ended my day enjoying a drink with John Hart, Neil Nyren, and a couple of aspiring writers in the hotel bar, looking forward to day two of Sleuthfest.

Sleuthfest Guest Blogger: NEIL PLAKCY

I will have lots more to say about my adventure at Sleuthfest, but this is from Neil Plakcy:

This year the big focus at Sleuthfest was on writing, and the people I spoke with indicated that paid off. Several writers I spoke with said that they got their money’s worth from the first day—“Third Degree Thursday.”

That afternoon I led a group of writers through some exercises to clarify their “elevator pitches” – those one or two sentence summaries of your book that you need to be able to make while riding in an elevator. Or while trying to convince an agent or editor to take a look at your manuscript.

That led to a lot of discussion of character motivation. What makes your amateur sleuth press on in her investigation against resistance from the police, or the danger posed by the villain? Her childhood love of Nancy Drew isn’t enough. What drives your killer to take a human life? You have to know those things to write a good book, and you have to be able to articulate them to make a strong pitch.

Vicki Hendricks, Miriam Auerbach, PJ Parrish, and Christine Kling gave hands-on help with manuscripts, from starts, to humor, to “Why am I stuck?” Even on Friday and Saturday, when panel discussions dominated, we kept up the pressure on writing well, with Vincent O’Neil, Joan Johnston, SJ Rozan, and Martha Powers getting down to nuts and bolts.

Jim Born’s presentation on guns was a standout; he showed us three different types of holsters, let us get a grip on a plastic gun that was an excellent replica of the real thing, and tossed out a few do’s and don’ts. Don’t have your hero use a shoulder holster, for example; it’s too easy for the bad guy to get the gun away. If your hero uses an in-pants holster, he might suffer from a skin rash, or have to distract the villain before drawing on him.

Sun-Sentinel mystery reviewer Oline Cogdill provided a few insights into book publicity from the newspaper perspective, encouraging writers to schedule library events, because papers often want to publicize libraries. She also pointed out that deadlines are getting longer and longer; the book page at the Sun-Sentinel is worked out a month before publication, and reviews are often tied to local appearances, so advance planning is imperative.

At the editors’ panel, we heard that book sales are down 10-20% across the board at Putnam, and that an editor can’t “kind of like a book”—he or she has to really like it to get it published. They are looking at books three times before making publication decisions. But Neil Nyren pointed out that has always been true—it’s not just due to the current economic environment.

The forecast isn’t completely gloomy, though. Publishers have to keep buying books to stay in business, and unlike many of the large New York houses, boutique imprint Bleak House is growing. As the big houses reorganize, many mid-list authors may have to move to small independent presses to stay in print.

There is still a great appetite for hardback books; however there are lots of authors whose natural market is the paperback. It’s often better to introduce authors in paperback because of the lower price point. Some publishers are considering doing hard/soft releases simultaneously, rather than waiting a year after the hardcover to bring a book out in trade or mass market paperback.

No one felt that e-books will replace paper, but all agreed that it will be an important additional source of income, like audio books. At Putnam, e-book revenue is way up this year, but it’s still a very small part of the total. Editors are using e-book readers to review new manuscripts, and sales people are using them instead of carrying around armloads of books.

All the editors and agents agreed that their biggest turnoffs in query letters are phrases like “guaranteed best-seller” “My mother/friends/critique group love the book” and “Oprah is sure to want me on her show.” Skip the gimmicks too; no green ink on pink paper, for example.

Finally, and most important, all the editors agreed that the most valuable tool for selling books is still word of mouth—media, reviews, friend recommendations, coupled with co-op promotion—publishers paying to have books displayed prominently in bookstores, on front tables or step ladders, or through email blasts. So if you read a book you love, tell everyone about it!

SLEUTHFEST: DAY ONE

If you're not familiar with Sleuthfest, it's the annual writers' conference sponsored by the Florida chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. This year's event is being held in Deerfield Beach, a stone's throw from my home so how could I not attend? Not to mention this year's Guests of Honor are two of my favorite writers, John Hart and Brad Meltzer, along with 220+ mystery writers, agents, editors and readers.

While the conference is geared towards writers, there are plenty of panels that fans would enjoy as well. My first panel of the day was something called "How to Read Like a Writer" and featured authors Vicki Hendricks, Caro Soles and Susan Froetchel. I found the discussion very interesting and for anyone who has an interest in writing, there was lots of good advice offered. Susan talked about outlining someone else's novel as a good exercise in how it works. Vicki talked about her experience studying with James Hall. He had her use a novel as a model to writer her own. She used The Postman Always Rings Twice and noted things like the number of chapters, pages per chapter, when characters were introduced, and so forth. It must have paid off because one of her reviews said, "Vicki Hendricks is Jim Thompson in a g-string." Finally, all the authors agreed that you should write a book that you'd want to read.

The next panel I attended was the Legal Eagles panel and featured recovering attorneys John Hart and Julie Compton, as well as prosecutor Jerry Sanford, Judge Barbara Levenson and was moderated by retired Judge Miette Burnstein. Hart didn't like his work as a criminal defense attorney, and the breaking point came when he was asked to defend a child molester a few weeks after his first child was born. With the support of his family, he quit his law practice and wrote the multiple-award nominated King of Lies. There was much more from John during his keynote address at lunch, post to follow shortly.

Maeve Binchy on YouTube

Maeve Binchy has a new book out, Heart and Soul. While the 68 year old isn't well enough to tour, she is savvy enough to use YouTube to discuss her how the world has changed since she started writing:



as well as her new book:

AGATHA AWARDS

The 2008 Agatha Awards will be given for materials first published in the United States by a living author during the calendar year 2008 (January 1-December 31), either in hardcover, as a paperback original, or e-published by an e-publishing firm.

The Agatha Awards honor the "traditional mystery." That is to say, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie as well as others. The genre is loosely defined as mysteries that:

-contain no explicit sex
-contain no excessive gore or gratuitous violence
-usually feature an amateur detective
-take place in a confined setting and contain characters who know one another

Novels and stories featuring police officers and private detectives may qualify for the awards, but materials generally classified as "hard-boiled" are not appropriate.

This explains why I haven't read any of the books on this list; in general, I read thrillers, suspense and hardboiled mysteries.

FYI, a ballot listing each category's nominees will be given to all attendees of Malice Domestic 21, which will be held May 1-3, 2009. Attendees will vote by secret ballot, the ballots will be tabulated and the winners will be announced at the 2008 Agatha Awards banquet to be held on Saturday, May 2, 2009.

2008 Agatha Nominees

Best Novel:

Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews (St. Martin's Minotaur)
A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen (Penguin Group)
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (St. Martin's Press)
Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry (Random House)
I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best First Novel:

Through a Glass, Deadly by Sarah Atwell (Berkley Trade)
The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis (Penguin Group)
Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris (St. Martin's Press)
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet (Midnight Ink)
Paper, Scissors, Death by Joanna Campbell Slan (Midnight Ink)

Best Non-fiction:

African American Mystery Writers: A Historical & Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey (McFarland & Co.)
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson (Perseverance Press)
Anthony Boucher, A Bibliography by Jeff Marks (McFarland & Co.)
Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Dr. Harry Lee Poe (Metro Books)
The Suspicions of Mr. Whitcher by Kate Summerscale (Walker & Co.)

Best Short Story:
"The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron, Wolfsbane & Mistletoe (Penguin Group)
"Killing Time" by Jane Cleland, Alfred Hitchock Mystery Magazine - November 2008
"Dangerous Crossing" by Carla Coupe, Chesapeake Crimes 3 (Wildside Press)
"Skull & Cross Examination" by Toni Kelner, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - February 2008
"A Nice Old Guy" by Nancy Pickard, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - August 2008

Best Children's/Young Adult:

Into the Dark by Peter Abrahams (Harper Collins)
A Thief in the Theater (A Kit Mystery) by Sarah Masters Buckey (American Girl Publishers)
The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein (Random House Children's Books)
The Great Circus Train Robbery by Nancy Means Wright (Hilliard & Harris)

Sleuthfest Guest Blogger: KATHRYN JOHNSON

Why am I looking forward to Sleuthfest 2009, you ask? First, it’s been years since I’ve given myself this treat. Because I love and write mysteries for both young readers and adults, but also write in other genres, I feel torn between conferences every year. Who can afford to travel to them all? So I have to choose, which is always hard. Sleuthfest, though, is a cherished favorite.

But there’s another reason for anticipating Sleuthfest. In the few years since I last set foot on Florida sand, I’ve increased my teaching time, developing creative writing courses for The Writer’s Center, in Washington, D.C., and established a mentoring service for writers of all experience levels. Write by You has brought me immense satisfaction, and I’ve had the pleasure of advising and guiding many new writers, as well as some old hands, toward their publication goals. What does this have to do with Sleuthfest? Whenever I attend a conference, I do so knowing I’ll always come away with new information I can use to further my own career, as well as pass along to my clients. But I also make a practice of returning the favor and giving back to the conference by volunteering my time in several ways. One is by gifting as many attendees as possible at least 20 minutes of my time in the form of a private career chat or work-in-progress review.

Obviously, I can’t do a one-on-one with everyone who registers. But I’m offering to meet, at no charge or obligation, with the first 10 Sleuthfesters who contact me. If you just want to talk through your publication goals and drain my publishing-experienced brain over a cup of coffee, that’s fine. Or you can send me the opening 5 pages of your WIP, or a brief plot summary, and I’ll edit and annotate it for strengths and weaknesses. I know the conference has already arranged a wonderful opportunity for a paid critique by pros, and I’d definitely recommend that service to anyone who can afford it. But no matter how much valuable feedback you get from speakers, writing buddies, or professionals in the field…you can never have too much. So if gathering a little more information to help you on your journey toward publication, or to further your established writing career, sounds appealing, dash off an email introducing yourself and letting me know how I can best help you. You can reach me thus: Kathryn@writebyyou.com. Feel free to check out my website for my bio and details on how I work with my clients. See you at the Hilton! Kathryn


Kathryn M. Johnson
Write by You
Kathryn also writes as K.M. Kimball (an Agatha Award Finalist), Kathryn Jensen, and Nicole Davidson

GUEST BLOGGER: Lily Koppel

Calling All Mothers, Daughters and Grandmothers to Journey Within the Pages of The Red Leather Diary
By Lily Koppel

When I first opened the red leather diary, I had no idea of the world that was about to unfold before me and change the course of my life and that of 90-year-old Florence Wolfson Howitt. One morning in 2003, I left my Manhattan apartment and encountered a Dumpster full of old steamer trunks. Unhesitatingly, I climbed up and into what felt like my own movie, a real life Titanic. Among old photographs, a collection of handbags, a flapper dress, and a stunning tangerine bouclé coat with an iridescent lining and single Bakelite button, I recovered the diary, discarded after years of languishing in my building’s storage unit, kept by a young woman in New York, from 1929 to 1934, between the ages of 14 and 19. “This book belongs to,” read the frontispiece, followed by “Florence Wolfson.”

Back in my room, holding my breath, I released the brass latch. Despite the rusted keyhole, the diary was unlocked. Little pieces of red leather sprinkled onto my white comforter. For five years, not a single day’s entry had been skipped. I was transported to a bygone New York—glamorous nights at El Morocco and elegant teas at Schrafft’s during the 1920s and ’30s—and of the headstrong, endearing teenager who filled its pages with her hopes, heartaches, and vivid recollections.

Florence loved Baudelaire, Central Park and men and women with equal abandon. What jumped out of the pages to me was how ahead of her time was (and has since been likened by reviewers to a “pre-war Carrie Bradshaw” from Sex and The City). Its nearly 2,000 entries, written in faded black ink, captured the passions and ambitious of an intensely creative young woman. The journal painted a vivid picture of horseback riding in Central Park, summer excursions to the Catskills and an obsession with a famous avant-garde actress, Eva Le Gallienne. Brief, breathless dispatches filled every page of the five-year chronicle, unfurling into a fairy tale.
“Mile Stones Five Year Diary” was written in gold letters across the book’s worn cover. Inside, a blue vine grew around the frontispiece, stamped with a zodiac wheel. The diary seemed to respond to being back in warm hands, its pages becoming unstuck and fanning out. I flipped through the entries, dense with girlish cursive. I could tell the journal had been cherished. I located the date that Florence began writing: August 11, 1929, the day she received the diary as a gift for her 14th birthday.

A brittle scrap of newsprint floated out of the pages. On it was Florence’s picture. But for her waved blonde hair, she appeared completely contemporary. Eerily, we looked alike. Her eyes were alert and intelligent. I could see myself in her face; we were both writers and painters. Florence appeared so alive, intensely internal and fully engaged with the world around her.

I read her entries as if they were personal letters to me. Florence and I had so much in common, the same longing for love, someone to understand us, the desire to carve out our own path. At the time, I was reporting for The New York Times celebrity column, traipsing nightly from red carpet movie premiere to party to after-party interviewing hundreds of boldfaced names. The diary took me far away from the ephemeral world of celebrity to the enduring story of a young woman in search of herself.

Florence and I shared so many of the same longings for love, and the desire to make our own way. I was drawn into Florence’s day-to-day existence, trips to the theater and escapes to the Museum of Modern Art, which opened in 1929. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, free and almost deserted during the week, was a temple that she wandered in, solitary and content, for hours without seeing a soul.

As a writer, Florence loved England and the Lake Country poets--Wordsworth and Coleridge. She sailed to Europe in 1936. She visited Oxford, where I studied, and embarked on her own romances along the way. She traveled alone from London to Paris to Rome, where she fell for an Italian Count, Filippo Caneletti Gaudenti da Sirola, who was a poet and pilot and composed love verses to her, which were published.
As I read, my lavender bedroom filled with an orange glow from the streetlamp outside my second-story windows. The diary was a portal into a lost world. I felt as if we were one, this young woman from the ’30s and I.

There is something so hopeful about a diary, a journal, a new notebook, which Joan Didion and Virginia Woolf both wrote about. In this age of Facebook and blogs, a journal is one of the last private spaces, where you are the solitary actor on your lone stage performing for your own audience. I have kept dozens of diaries over the years, which I keep on a high shelf in my West Village Manhattan loft, where I am writing this. Perhaps we all are waiting for someone to discover us. “Find me, find me,” Florence seemed to be saying.

I could already see the headlines in my mind, “Celebrity reporter finds a discarded 75-year-old diary, in it, the biggest story of her career.” But I couldn't help asking myself, because I genuinely cared about this story, who was Florence Wolfson? Her eyes wouldn’t let go.

Three years later, I received a chance phone call from a private investigator, with whom I shared the diary. Searching the city’s birth records, he found one Florence Wolfson, born in New York City on August 11, 1915, to a pair of immigrants from Russia, a doctor and his wife. He led me to Florence Howitt, a 90-year-old woman living with her husband of 67 years, with homes in Westport, Conn., and Pompano Beach, Fla.

One Sunday afternoon in April 2006, eagerly and a bit nervously, I dialed Florence’s Florida number on my cell. After two rings, a refined voice with the command of a stage actress answered. “Hello?” “Florence?”

I met Florence for the first time in May 2006 in Westport, where she lived with her 95-year-old husband, Nathan Howitt, a retired oral surgeon who was one of many admirers from her youth.

Florence hugged me. She was an ageless phenom, full of spunk. During weekly Sunday visits, we got to know each other. Reunited with her diary, Florence journeyed back to the girl she had been, rediscovering a lost self that had burned with creative fervor.

Florence was one of a generation of Depression-stamped young men and women who longed to cultivate a creative life. As a 19-year-old Columbia University graduate student, she hosted a literary salon in her parents’ apartment. Her friends, the young poets Delmore Schwartz and John Berryman, were members.

During our talks, Florence showed me old photographs. Scalloped-edged black-and-white images recreated the half-forgotten world of the sophisticated young Manhattanite who grew up on the Upper East Side. In the snapshots, Florence is outfitted in clothes designed by her mother, a couture dressmaker with a shop on Madison Avenue. Her mother had come to America alone as a teenager and worked her way up to being a respected business owner, a rare accomplishment in those days.
After Florence married, she drifted from her art and admitted that later in life she took on “a country club mentality.” As she fingered the pages of the leather-bound book crumbling in her hands, she reflected on the young woman brought to life so vividly in its pages.

“What made you do this, Lily?” Florence asked. I knew from the diary’s pages she had wanted to be a writer. “If I had remained true to myself, would I have ended up living this ordinary life?”

Last April, Florence’s husband died. I learned from her diary that they had met when she was 13 in the country at his parent’s hotel. I flew down to Florida to be with her. “Lily and her new grandmother,” Florence said, as we took a photo. “You’ve brought back my life.”

From being hidden inside a diary with a tiny key, Florence has been revealed in a book. How does Florence feel about that? She writes about her feelings in the forward to the book, as well as the death of her husband of 67 years last spring. Their first kiss, when Florence was 13, was also recorded in her diary.

Today, Florence and I gab like teenagers on the phone. She said, “My friends have to take me seriously now. I’m no longer an invisible older woman.”

Florence was a feminist even before she knew the word. She hopes she will inspire teenagers and young women today to reflect on their lives. Sixteen-year-old Florence wrote, on June 28, 1932, “Stuffed myself with Mozart and Beethoven--feel like a ripe apricot--am dizzy with the exotic.”



On April 10, 1932, Florence wrote: "Wrote all day -- and my story is still incomplete." What stood out about Florence was her fearless inward gaze and her commitment to carving out a path of her own. She was writing her story of who she was and would become while recording her daily entries. Although separated by three quarters of a century, I felt that this lovely ingénue and I were on parallel paths, both searching for love and meaning in our lives—a profound connection that readers feel as well.

“A movie star!” Florence exclaimed while sharing with me photos of her Italian Count in his white aviator’s jacket about to climb into his propeller plane.
What a journey! From diary to dumpster to a book, which is traveling the world. With the talk of the financial crisis and comparisons being made to The Great Depression, there is renewed interest in what life was really like in the 1930s as depicted in the diary.

Florence, who is unexpectedly glamorous at ninety-three, recently purchased a laptop and is writing again. In the foreword to The Red Leather Diary, where she asks, “How does it feel when a forgotten chunk of your life is handed back to you?” We are constantly emailing back and forth. The Red Leather Diary is a tribute to the tempestuous girl I came to know on paper and the older, more even-tempered woman I grew to love in real life. It’s a magical story about coming of age, following your dreams and discovering (or rediscovering) who you are, were and want to be. A world straight from the pages of a F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.

Florence says without missing a beat that she would like Meryl Streep to play her older self in the movie. Scarlett Johansson would be perfect for the young Florence (and myself). We appeared together on The Today Show, where Florence turned to me and squeezed my hand and said, “This is a fairy tale.”


Thoroughly contemporary and timeless, the book offers a rare opportunity for mothers, daughters and grandmothers to read The Red Leather Diary together and share their own experiences at a cross-generational book club meeting with the reading group guide now available: http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?authorID=32373&isbn13=9780061256776&displayType=readingGuide

Free MP3 of “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye

Happy Valentines Day! Follow the link for a free MP3 download of “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye - but this will work only today, 2/13/09 and tomorrow, 2/14/09. Enjoy!

SLEUTHFEST GUEST BLOGGER: Vincent O'Neill

Send me your openings

This is only my second Sleuthfest, but I had so much fun last year (and Randy Rawls and his henchmen did such a great job running things) that I had to come back. Besides, I live in New England and grab just about any opportunity to go someplace warm (as did the sleuth in my "Exile" series, who left the northeast for Florida and never came back).

I'll be running the "Openings" workshop at nine AM on Friday February 27th, and I'd like to open this up to as many attendees as possible. I've already got sample openings from several well-known mystery novels to use as examples, but I'd like to ask anyone who's going to be at Sleuthfest to consider submitting an opening of their own. This is open to any writer, published or not, and I promise to keep the group's critiquing professional.

My plan is to put the opening on a slide (two slides max) and then discuss it with the audience (for example: What does this opening accomplish? Is this opening geared to providing the 5 W's or does it have a different purpose?) If you're willing, please send the first page of your opening to me at exile.florida@gmail.com (not knowing how many responses I'm going to receive, I can't guarantee your segment will be used). Please let me know if you wish to remain anonymous (at least for the duration of the workshop, or until people start raving about your writing) and I will take it from there.

I hope to see you at the "Openings" workshop at 9 AM on Friday February 27th. And don't forget the mock murder trial "Twelve Angry Flamingoes" at 6:30 that evening; Vicki Landis has written a twisted plot and assembled a gifted cast (raffle tickets for jury positions will be sold at the Registration table).

Vinny O'Neil is the Malice Award-winning author of the "Frank Cole / Exile" murder mystery series published by St. Martin's Minotaur. Sample chapters of all three novels are available at his website, www.vincenthoneil.com.

Win THE AGENCY by "Ally O'Brien" - 1 week only!

Meet Tess Drake. She’s earned everything she has. Now it’s time to get what she deserves…

Sexy super-agent Tess Drake has worked hard to make a name for herself in the glamorous yet cut-throat entertainment industry. Tess works at an international agency, where she skillfully manages some of the world's biggest egos—her company, Bardwell International operates in the thrilling, fast-paced worlds of Rights, wrongs and revenge. Tess has been an agent there for longer than she cares to remember and now she's in trouble. Real trouble. After the mysterious death of the agency's senior partner, Lowell Bardwright, Tess's sworn enemy, Cosima Tate, has taken over and would do anything to send Tess's career down in flames. And Cosima is only one of the rogue’s gallery of agents in London and New York who want Tess to take a fall.

Tess has another little complication, too. She’s sleeping with men on both sides of the Atlantic who are in bed with the women who are trying to sink her.

Can Tess jump ship without losing her clients and breaking her heart? Or will she lose everything before finding out if she really has what it takes to do what she’s always wanted?

There’s risk and reward in this wickedly funny novel that turns the world of agenting inside out and lays bare all the ambition, sex, adrenaline, bad luck, and good luck at the center of one young woman’s success.

"Ally O'Brien" is a pseudonym for two writers (one publishing industry insider and one renowned mystery writer) who have written a funny, sexy book about what else - the publishing industry.

Reviews have been great --

“With an insider’s take on the book biz, and an appealingly foul-mouthed heroine, this debut is fast, funny and a bit nasty—not unlike Tess. A naughty, catty good time.”
–Kirkus

“A delicious read! Even more entertaining than Sex & the City and Lipstick Jungle combined… THE AGENCY is one hot, exciting, and sexy book, with a seductive plot that makes those pages fly. Don’t miss this exquisite jewel!”
–Publishers Weekly

It's winter, it's cold and miserable outside (even here in south Florida!) so it's the perfect time to curl up with a fun read. To win your own copy, just send an email to contest@gmail.com with THE AGENCY as the subject by next Wednesday, Feb. 11. Please include your name and snail mail address in the US or Canada only.

The publisher, St. Martins Press, is so excited about this book that they are offering my readers 25 galleys - that's the advance paperback copy for the book that just came out yesterday.

Good luck, and thanks for reading.

SLEUTHFEST GUEST BLOGGER: Susan Froetschel

Sleuthfest 2009: "Read Like a Writer"

As a writer, I used to feel guilty about reading, worrying that any time spent reading took time away from writing. But that's the thinking of an amateur - and over the years, I came to realize how much reading other works - any genre - influenced my writing. Deliberately setting out to assess the writing in other works has shaped my own voice and style for the better.

Writing teachers constantly urge their students to read, read, read to study styles and techniques. Not only does reading spark responses and even new ideas - especially when we read non-fiction or new material that tests our assumptions. Reading a range of material also prepares us to think about outlines and organization, offering a drill for our own revisions. Sometimes writers immediately grasp how another writer inserts suspense, tone or motivation, and sometimes they must read a passage two or three times to understand how the writer manipulates words for some subtle purpose.

Writers have the luxury of knowing what they like to read and why, but also understand they must sometimes plow through difficult, odd or horrible passages.

Because practicing analytical reading skills is crucial for rewriting. Reading through a first draft is a humbling experience, worse than listening to a recording of one's voice, and that may be why I spend more time rewriting than I do laying out the original draft. To finish a book, I must read to snip, shape and control my plot.

In attending conferences, I'm always amazed how much I learn from readers and writers alike, those magic moments when everyone in the room is inspired. Despite a vast range of techniques, even in the mystery genre, few people argue and insist that one way, their way, is the best or only way. The best writers are curious about new places, people and ideas, and while I prefer reading the explorers over the preachers, I cannot deny having some of the latter's tendencies.

So, I look forward to Sleuthfest 2009, meeting all, and joining the panel "Read Like a Writer," which will discuss two inextricably intertwined skills that cannot be separated. Think about the reasons you love to read and how you read, shed the guilt, and stop by to say hello.


Susan Froetschel is a journalist and the author of three mystery books, including Royal Escape, published in 2008 by Five Star/Cengage. She has taught writing at Yale and Southern Connecticut State University. Her website is www.royalescape.net, and more of her thoughts on writing can be found at Poe's Deadly Daughters