Quiet Times

 

Quiet Times is kind of a deceptive thought. We’ve all been going through a lot over the past year. So much has been happening that I don’t need to share details. We all know things have been different.

I know that I’ve been very quiet for a long time. Maybe it’s time to come out of hiding, in a manner of speaking. Many of us have been stuck at home with only occasional trips to the grocery store or the gas station. My daughter has been working from home, so my daily schedule is different. Between us we have three dogs, and I think it confused them, at first, to find that we were both home all the time.

So, what have I been doing? I should have been posting blogs, but I haven’t done that in a long time. Instead, I’ve concentrated on writing. It turns out it was worth it.

What’s new in my world? “The Accidental Gumshoe – A Sandi Webster Mystery” has kept me busy and the research has entertained me. The gist of it is:

“Sandi Webster is stuck at home with an injured foot. Always the one to help out, her mother sends her a box of old diaries written by her Great-Great-Great-Aunt Sioux, hoping she’ll learn about their family history.

Initially Sandi is just about bored to tears while reading what the weather was like and what her aunt had for dinner on any given day. She’s ready to stop reading when she notices a diary marked 1920, with a page marked.

Aunt Sioux’s father was accused of murder, and Sandi’s seventeen-year-old aunt was determined to learn who the real killer was with the help of her cousin and two male friends, and eventually her mother. What she had for dinner is the last thing on her mind.

Sandi may learn where she developed her interest in being a private detective and her passion for solving mysteries. She may also learn that, of all things, a broom can come in quite handy in some of life’s situations.”

Maybe subconsciously I figured if I was stuck at home, Sandi should be, too, but for a different reason.

Some months ago I received a box full of diaries that one of my grandmothers wrote several years ago. I glanced through them and, honestly, they were pretty boring. Aha! What if they weren’t boring? What if someone was telling a story involving crimes and someone who wanted to solve them to absolve her wrongly accused father? And I was off to the races. It was time to have some innocent fun, or at least my main character was about to have some fun.

In the midst of everything, my daughter brought home a one-year-old rescue dog, another Chiweenie. Little did we know that Mya was pregnant. Not long after her arrival, we dealt with the arrival of three of the tiniest puppies you’ve ever seen. A lot of things were put on hold while we tried to keep things running smoothly. My daughter was working from home, the puppies soon became great escape artists, and my two big Labs wanted in on the puppy action while Mya tried to make them keep their distance. It was like a zoo around here.

Interesting side bar: one of the puppies was white, which is rare for this breed of dog. He was the only male, and we named him Bubba. If you’ve read any of my books, you know about the fictional Bubba.

This is 7-week-old Bubba with Sugar and Murphy

We found good homes for the puppies, and things finally got back to normal, whatever normal is. I sometimes wonder if things will ever be normal again.

So, if you’re looking for some entertainment while you’re stuck at home, you might try “The Accidental Gumshoe – A Sandi Webster Mystery.”

I’ll try my best to start posting again, and hopefully I can write about something that will make you smile. I may do some repeat posts, and I might do some new ones. It’ll keep me busy while I try to come up with a new story idea.

I hope you’re all healthy and dealing with your new life, and feeling positive. Hmm. Maybe I’ll even do some blog cheerleading in the future. Life goes on, and so must we.

Until next time, think some happy thoughts. My best wishes to all of you!

Marja McGraw  

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Pantser vs. Outliner

I’m what’s called a Pantser as far as writers go. I think of an idea for a story and I run with it instead of doing an outline. It seems like once I come up with an idea, each scene leads to another idea and scene. I know, in general, where the story is headed, but I often change direction midstream. If I wrote an outline, I’d end up having to rewrite it and rewrite it until I found myself out of story writing time.

It works for me, although others have a different strategy – they outline and do things the right way.

Gin Mill Grill was inspired by a newspaper story from a vintage newspaper. I started with a basic premise and built on it, keeping two word notes so I wouldn’t forget little details later in the story. I guess I’m about as unorganized as you can get. Again, it works for me.

Someone once suggested using a board and writing each idea on a small stickie note and placing it on the board chronologically. I tried that and ended up with so many stickies that I couldn’t keep track of anything. Try it. Maybe it will work for you.

Someone else said they use an oversized calendar and write brief notes on each day. I tried that, too, and it didn’t work for me because of changing directions so often. Again, it might work for you.

I’ve written two books where life got in the way and I had to set the manuscript aside for a long while. Because I didn’t have an outline to refer to, I had to read the entire story to figure out where I was. An outline might have been easier, but in these cases I was able to pick up on some flaws before I started writing again. It worked to my benefit and saved me time later in the process.

Sometimes as I write, something insinuates itself into the story that I hadn’t expected. I can surprise myself at times and then I wonder where the idea came from. Every story idea is not cut in stone, at least for me. One simple idea leads to something more involved.

I’ve even been known to think of a title and then write a story to fit that title. One of my favorites is the last book, Gin Mill Grill - A Sandi Webster Mystery. The story idea and the title seemed to come simultaneously. A cold case from the 1930s? How appropriate to include a speakeasy.

Well, those are a few thoughts for today. If you’re a writer, what’s your process? If you’re a reader, what first grabs you and encourages you to read a book? Title? Book cover? Word-of-mouth? As a reader, word-of-mouth is high on my list of enticements. If I’m shopping with nothing in particular in mind, the title usually catches my attention. The cover would be next, and then comes the back cover blurb.

Curious minds (and some authors) want to know what floats your boat.

Until next time, share the title and author’s name of a book you've recently read with friends. Word-of-mouth works.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

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A New Book for Your Entertainment

Gin Mill Grill - A Sandi Webster Mystery is now available on Amazon.com.

Sandi and Pete have earned a reputation for solving old cases, and they’re approached by a woman who’d like a 1930s crime solved. A man was brutally murdered and his brother immediately disappeared. The authorities believed the brother was their best suspect, but they weren’t able to track him down.

Case closed – or was it? A lone police officer didn’t like the results and spent the rest of his life searching for answers.

Their client’s father had tried to clear the name of Harley Glosser, the dead man’s brother, but his efforts were futile. His interest in the case? Horace and Harley Glosser were his cousins.

With the discovery of a private room in the house where the crime was committed, Sandi and Pete must change their thought processes and start running down other suspects and looking at other locations, including an old speakeasy. The potential suspects are people in their nineties, so they also have to hope they’re still living.

Why would someone in the current day try to put a halt to the investigation? After all, the murder took place in the 1930s.

Circumstances are often not as they seem, and this case is no exception.  

a little humor, a little romance, A Little Murder!

I hope you’ll give the book a try, and thank you!

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw's website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com