NaNoWriMo and Other Stuff

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

So, brief update this week.

LUCKY CHARMS: 12 CRIME TALES

Well, I might be jumping the gun just a bit, but a release date has been set for Lucky Charms - December 2, 2013. That's Cyber Monday for all you holiday shopping types (books of all types make superb gifts). The book will be available via all e-book outlets (Amazon, B&N, Apple, Kobo) and in print from CreateSpace. And, I'm sorry, but the cover is to die for (pun intended).

Cover for Lucky Charms

My story Batter Down is included (written as Liz Milliron), along with eleven other fantastic stories. A little bit of suspense, a little bit of police-procedural, a little bit of paranormal. I am so honored to be included in such fantastic company!

My major contribution to the project (aside from the writing) is formatting and compilation of the book files, a task I've been hard at work at all weekend. I'm pleased that we have a pretty solid print file, and only a few tweaks to make to ebook files. It's been quite the learning experience. At the same time, I've learned a ton so I can (maybe) use it for my own writing some day.

Launch festivities are in the works, so stay tuned!

NaNoWriMo Starts this Friday!

So, NaNoWriMo kicks off this Friday. I've got my outline, and I've got my scenes mapped. I'll be drafting the first novel in The Laurel Highlands Mysteries and I'm super-excited to start. I'll be posting weekly word count updates here on the blog, so check back to keep up to date on my progress. And feel free to crack that virtual whip if I'm slacking! To be a NaNo "winner," I need to put down 1,667 words per day, every day from November 1 to November 30.

Wish me luck - should be a wild month!

The Time has Come

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

The Youghiogheny River

By george, I think I've got it.

If you've been following me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that I've had random, episodic scenes coming to me for, oh, the last month or so. The story has, I think, finally come to together.

It is time to move Jim Duncan and Sally Castle from the world of short fiction to the novel. My main project for October will be plotting and writing the synopsis/summary for the first Laurel Highlands Mysteries novel, tentatively titled Every Other Monday is Murder.

I've been reading a lot of Don Maass as the lead-in to this project. Honestly, I feel a little intimidated. Who am I to think I can actually pull this off? But when you wake up with scenes for a story running through your head, well, it's a story begging to be written, right? And I get the feeling that this one is bigger than a short story.

So, here I go. Wish me luck. And check in at the end of October to ask if I'm done (if nothing else, knowing people will be checking up on me will keep me honest).

Random Updates

By Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

I had a lot of posts last week (well, a lot for me), so some random updates.

Wedding Bells: Hero's Sword Vol. 3 is with the publisher. I do not have a release date yet for this, but if I get one, you'll know. In the meantime, I am hard at work on Lightning Strike: Hero's Sword Vol 4.

I am so close to being able to share the cover of Lucky Charms: 12 Crime Tales, which is the short-story anthology that will be published by my Sisters in Crime chapter this December. It is so gorgeous; I think you'll think so too. My story in the anthology is part of The Laurel Highlands mysteries, and will be published under my crime fiction pen name, Liz Milliron. There are so many great authors in this anthology, you're going to want to get a copy. And we've decided to do a print edition as well, so those of you who don't read ebooks will be able to get in on the fun!

Speaking of The Laurel Highlands Mysteries, you may have noticed that summer has come and gone. I keep checking Mysterical-e, but they have not published the Spring/Summer 2013 issue yet. I'll keep checking.

And if you follow my Facebook page, you'll know that random scenes for a Laurel Highlands novel have been coming to me sporadically over the last month or so. I admit, it's a weird way to work on a novel. Usually my stories are much more linear. But the book finally has a working title, Every Other Monday is Murder, and a plot. So I expect to be spending more dedicated time on the first draft. Hmm, maybe I've found my NaNoWriMo project?

Anyway, keep watching this space for more updates. And if you want those updates delivered right to your email inbox, go ahead and sign-up to get the newsletter (that box, right up there on top of the right-hand column).

Image courtesy of Jim Kelly, used under Creative Commons

Goals for 2013 - at halftime

by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

It's hard to believe, but 2013 is half over. The weather is warm, the kids are out of school, and it's time for me to review how far I've come with my goals for this year.

As with any year-long plan, there have been some adjustments, but I think that's a good thing, right? Shows that I'm flexible and willing to change to meet new priorities. So, here's where I stand.

Submit my second Laurel Highlands story.

This is done. I sent it off earlier in June. Now it's just waiting to hear whether Mysterical-e will accept it (they accepted the first, so I'm hopeful).

Complete and submit my Black Orchid Novella Award contest entry.

This is done. There was some nail-biting ("Is it good enough?"), but I finally stuck it in the mail. The confirmation postcard is hanging on my fridge. Now to wait until December when the results are announced.

Read at least one craft book per month.

I don't know if I've done one per month. Well, that's a lie. I do know, and I haven't done one per month. But I've continued to read and I'm in the middle of a class on short fiction. So I'm making good progress. Right now I'm still in Plot and Structure; I think Donald Maass' Writing 21st Century Fiction will be next.

Complete the SFD of Hero's Sword 4 by May 31 and first revisions by July 31.

Because of the other commitments, this one had to be reset. Target for completion of the SFD is now July 31 (I am doing Camp Nanowrimo to help make that reality). And since I let things sit for a while post-completion, I probably won't get to first revisions until late August/early September.

Complete and submit two more Laurel Highlands stories by end of summer.

I've completed the SFD of a third story. But it won't be ready for submission by end of summer, and I won't have another one. So I'm going to have to move this to end of year.

Plan an anthology release of the Laurel Highlands Mysteries by the end of 2013

Another one I'm going to have to reset. This won't get done until Q1 of 2014 at the earliest now, so I'm going to put it on the back-burner for the time being.

And because I forgot yet another commitment...

Finish edits on my Sisters in Crime anthology story by June 24

I hit this one. I'm kind of proud, too. When I submitted the story I was only 6 words under the upper word limit. After receiving revisions from the first round of edits, I needed to shore up the ending, and I went almost 200 words over. But I managed to get it all back under count (by the original 6 words) all by my lonesome. But since I hadn't planned on the work (silly me), that kind of messed with the schedule. But it's all good.

So there I am. 2013 half over and I'm looking pretty good. Stay tuned for another update at the end of September!

Goals for 2013: Update

 by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73

So, a while ago, I posted about my writing goals for 2013. I figured I'd give an update.

Submit my second Laurel Highlands Mystery story. 

I admit, I haven't done this one yet. Mostly because I've been bogged down in other things. See, when I wrote the original list, I forgot a very important goal, which is...

Complete and submit my Black Orchid Novella Contest entry.

How this slipped my mind I have no idea. But it did. The contest deadline is 31 May, so there is time. I'm finishing up review of comments from my critique partners now (yay for critique partners) and should finish this week. Which means I'll have some time to let it simmer again while I work on other things (namely the synopsis for Hero's Sword #5 and started the SFD of Hero's Sword #4). This shouldn't derail me too much, but really, I should just submit that story and get it done.

Read at least one craft book per month.

This one I'm making good progress on. I completed Fiction Attack! and am working my way through Revision & Self-Editing. I usually read a chapter and then apply it, which has been working really well. Next up will be Plot & Structure, also by James Scott Bell. And if you're thinking I'm a huge JSB fan, you're right. If you are a writer, I seriously urge you to pick up some of his books (notably P&S and Revision). He's got a great writing and teaching style.

Complete revisions of Hero's Sword 3 by tax day (4/15).

Ha! One that I completed! Well, sort of. I need to do another read through, I think, looking for more stuff from Revision & Self-Editing. But I did complete another two rounds and trimmed another 2,000 words by the end of March, so I'm going to call this a "win."

Complete the SFD of Hero's Sword 4 by May 31 and first revisions by July 31.

Haven't started - mainly because I was struggling with an idea for book #5. But I've got that now, so I'll probably tackle that synopsis next, which will set me up to start the SFD.

Complete and submit two more Laurel Highlands Mystery stories by the end of summer.

Not started yet. These are generally between 8,000 and 15,000 words (long story story to novelette). I've got at least two ideas sketched out. If I can get two more complete and submitted by fall, that gives me four. A fifth is scheduled to come out in an anthology at the end of the year. That allows me to...

Plan an anthology release of the Laurel Highlands Mysteries by the end of 2013

Not started yet. This is not to say that the anthology will be released at the end of this year - but I will have a plan. I've got decent hopes that I can get the next two sent to Mysterical-e and since they say they like series, there's a decent chance they'll be accepted. If so, the anthology may include a brand new story. Timing of the release TBD, but I can have a plan by year end (especially since one of my targeted craft/business reads is exactly how to make a plan).

So there I am - a little status update. Because part of setting goals is being accountable. So if you've read to the end, thanks for helping me stay on track. I owe you one. =)

Next Big Thing Blog Hop: Laurel Highlands Mysteries

Yeah, yeah, I know. Didn't I do this already? Yes, I did here, but when Sisters in Crime Sib Annette Dashofy put out the call, how could I say no? And I've got a new book (long short story really) to talk about.

You can read all about Annette's work here.

Without further ado - round two of The Next Big Thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. What is the working title of your book(s)?

This story is called "An Idyllic Place for Murder." It is the first in my Laurel Highlands Mysteries series.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

In October 2011 I attended my first "Escape to the Woods" writing retreat with the Mary Roberts Rinehart chapter of Sisters in Crime. It was my first writing retreat and I was going with a group of people who were virtually strangers (I had met two of my sibs exactly once). The retreat was held in Confluence, PA which is in the Laurel Highlands, the area that gives the name to the series. Well, we stayed in a rental house, not quite a cabin, but definitely not a hotel. As we read the guest register, there was mention of "be careful of the Creeper." Apparently, the gentleman who owned the trailer neighboring the rental property was a bit cranky. Well, I was with a group of crime writers, so of course we couldn't resist talking up the potential story lines for a character known as "the Creeper." I conceived of the victim, a woman escaping a messy divorce, and my protagonist, a PA State Trooper. And of course the suspect, a slightly crazy old man known to locals as "the Creeper." And voila! a story was born.

3. What genre does your book come under?

This one is pure crime fiction, a police procedural  (not what I intended to write, but I fell in love with my State Trooper Jim Duncan and my feisty public defender Sally Castle, so I was stuck).

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Oh, that's easy. Jim Duncan is a younger Mark Harmon, no question. And Sally Castle looks exactly like Angie Harmon. I've known that from the minute the story was finished (as I talk about in a previous post about character love).

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

The Laurel Highlands become anything but idyllic for PA State Trooper Jim Duncan when the body of a young woman is found in a local rental house - but was she the victim of the crazy Creeper or someone else?

6. Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

I'm thrilled to say that the story will appear in the Spring/Summer issue of Mysterical-E, an online crime fiction magazine. Since I have more stories for these characters, I can see an anthology being published someday, probably self-published (since very few markets do reprints for this particular genre/length).

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I think it honestly took longer to plot it out than write it. After the story line and characters coalesced in my mind, I wrote the first draft in maybe 7-10 days.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I think it's a pretty standard police procedural story, so maybe LJ Seller's "Detective Jackson" series or maybe Diana Stabenow's "Liam Campbell" series (not that I am comparing myself to either writer - at least not yet!).

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Well, apart from the entry in the guest book, I think I'd have to credit my sibs in the Mary Roberts Rinehard chapter. I've loved reading mysteries for as long as I can remember, and this group of fantastic "sisters" (and "misters") really taught me a lot about how to write and plot crime fiction. And I have to give thanks to Ramona Defelice Long who read an early version of the story, clued me in to the fact that I had unwittingly written a police procedural, and gave me the confidence to keep polishing and submitting it.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

Aside from the crime fiction/police procedural aspect, I think anyone who is familiar with the Laurel Highlands, either from pictures or first-hand experience, would enjoy the local references. Turns out there are a lot of good places to find bodies in and around Uniontown. Who knew?