Zestful Blog Post #173
The few times a year I send out full-on Newschats, I always
make them my blog for that week. As always, apologies for the double if you’re
subscribed both there and here. If you’re one of my blog friends, you’ve been
the first to see some of these announcements and links below—but not all! Got a
freebie going, and other new stuff. Thanks for skimming down. Oh, and to join my
news group, pop over here.
Dog Days Newschat begins:
Dearest Correspondent,
The dog days are upon us—that is, the hottest part of the
year (in the northern hemi): when Sirius, or the Dog Star, positions itself
behind the sun in the summer sky. The star doesn’t make it extra hot—we
remember that correlation does not necessarily equal causation—but psychologically,
I think there’s something there.
Anyway, a dog days giveaway is at the top of my newschat
today!
The second in the
Rita Farmer series, The Extra,
is free on Amazon Kindle right now, through the weekend. The Extra opens with Rita in police costume on a movie shoot near
the Los Angeles river. She wanders away from the set to find something better
to eat than the roachy sandwiches the low-budget production company provides,
and winds up getting taken for a real cop and drawn into a real crime scene.
The ensuing mystery concerns a runaway show beagle (so, like yeah, dog days),
an inner-city charity mission with major secrets, and a creepy old crone up in
Bakersfield. Nab yourself one!
All five Lillian Byrd
crime novels are now available on Audible Books! They all have individual
links, but here’s the one for Holy Hell to get you going. The narrator, Dina
Pearlman, did a fabulous job. Here’s a little something about her:
“Dina Pearlman was born in New Jersey and raised in the fair
hamlet of Teaneck, home of the Isley Brothers. After 4 years at Carnegie Mellon
University, she came to New York to pursue acting professionally. She
languished in sorrow and Fritos for a year and half, enduring a steady stream
of rejection, broken occasionally by an appearance in a sparsely attended
showcase production of an obscure play, somewhere obscure. One day, after
having received a particularly painful rejection, she decided to get up off her
tuchis and head down to Gladys' Comedy Room to try her hand at stand-up comedy.
She wrote her act on the 2nd avenue bus whilst travelling between 81st and 53rd
streets, had two gin and tonics, got up on the stage, and killed. She then decided
that while acting would always be her first love, stand-up was a way to get her
performing jones out in the meantime. Shortly thereafter, she landed a sketch
comedy pilot on ABC, followed by some regional theater, followed by a Spike Lee
movie, followed by more theater and TV, and so it went. Somehow or another,
this ol' goofus from New Jersey had herself an acting career.”
Dina especially gets the humor of Lillian right: She doesn’t
ham it up, and you have to be a good sharp listener yourself to get it.
New novel? Crimes in
a Second Language? Yes, I’ve dangled it before you, but where the hell is
it? Short answer: I’m dicking around with it. Do stay tuned.
Meanwhile, a new
short story! Sarasota’s SCENE magazine has just published my newest in
its August issue. “Go-Go Day” is about a woman past her prime, her dangerous
backyard, and the perils of an unexamined life. You can read it for free
online. Page 83.
Writer’s Digest Books
honored me by including four chapters by me in their latest book on writing, Crafting Dynamic Dialogue: The Complete Guide to Speaking, Conversing, Arguing, and Thinking in Fiction. Other
top writing authors in the book: Jeff Gerke, James Scott Bell, and Gloria
Kempton.
Speaking of Writer’s
Digest, check out a couple of issues on the newsstand now: The September issue includes my feature on getting the little stuff right in fiction (“It’s
the Little Things.”) Because little stuff, if it’s good, can mean a lot! Also,
see my piece “Revise Like a Pro” in WD’s current Novel Writing Yearbook. That
was an especially fun one, because I excerpted before-and-after material from
my own novels.
I might add, I’ll have articles in the upcoming January and
February issues of the magazine as well.
To hear me talk about
my career, check out this recent radio interview with Bradenton’s own
Dona Lee Gould on RadioEar network. Dona Lee’s skillful editing makes me sound
so much less muddled than in real life…
The rumor is true
that I’m not taking on any new coaching/editing clients. I love the work, but
it was just taking up too much of my time. I have some new initiatives that I
hope will help me help more writers than working one-on-one. I’ll be focusing a
lot more on new writing, as well.
Upcoming appearances:
I’ll be kicking off this year’s Visiting Writers Forum at
the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota at 7 p.m. on August 23. The
event is open to all, and I’m pretty sure it’s free. I’ll read a little bit,
discuss the craft of writing, and do Q&A. Information as to venue and
parking will be posted on my blog when I get it.
And hey, consider joining me at the following upcoming
conferences, where I’ll be a presenter:
Sleuthfest on Saturday, put on by the Florida chapter of Mystery
Writers of America on October 8.
Florida Writers Association annual conference, October 20-23.
I’ve joined
Novelists, Inc., a selective organization of serious authors. I’ll be
attending the upcoming annual conference next month in St. Petersburg, Fla. and
will report about it in my blog.
Zestful Writing,
speaking of blogs, continues to cook along, my once-a-week, idiosyncratic
posting of my best ideas on writing and my experiences as a writer and learner.
A couple of weeks ago it popped up as #94 on Feedspot’s top 100 writing blogs.
OK, that’s more than enough for now!
Love,
Elizabeth
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