IS TRUTH REALLY STRANGER THAN FICTION? by Penny Hutson

 

On a recent sojourn to one of my favorite places, Barnes and Noble, I found the most unusual book. While searching for anything I could find on Joan of Arc, the history of France and the Hundred Years War, I stumbled upon Bad Days in History: A Gleefully Grim Chronicle of Misfortune, Mayhem, and Misery for Every Day of the Year by Michael Farquhar. The cover depicted a cartoon drawing of a wooden Trojan Horse and an ancient Greek soldier tentatively holding an apple up to its mouth. It made me smile, so I added it to my other finds and headed to the on-site Starbucks. With a cappuccino in one hand and a stack of paperbacks and hardcovers cradled in my other arm, I commandeered a table to peruse my treasures.

In the Bad Days in History, the author chronicles the epic misfortunes and terrible bad luck of some of the most absurd and often little-known occurrences of our time with a touch of light-hearted humor. Plucked from the ancient days of yore to the 2000s, this tome consists of 365 uproarious blunders and catastrophes from around the world.

With short accounts spanning anywhere from a few sentences to three pages, you can read several stories in just a few minutes. Clever titles adorn each one. Some of my favorites are “The Spy Who Mugged Me” and “Double-Lacrossed” and “Oh, Now You Tell Her . . .” Others reveal more of its subject matter, like “RFK to LBJ: You’re no JFK” or “Burning Up Old Hickory: Andrew Jackson’s Dixie Nemesis.” To tell the truth, I had fun just reading the titles but had to visit the index to find something on Joan of Arc. It was just two sentences and, unfortunately, nothing I didn’t already know.

I was just about to drop this selection onto my “No Purchase” pile when it hit me. This could be an awesome resource for historical writers like me. Before I chose the time-period for my first fictional piece, I spent hours over many days scouring tons of sources for lesser-known events in the past in which to set my novel. Now, I have 365 of them at my fingertips! And after reading a few dozen or so, I believe any writer could use these bizarre yet true occurrences as a basis for starting or perking up a story in any genre.

Here are just a few examples I found particularly fun or amusing.

On January 28, 1393, the “Costume Drama: The Worst Burning Man Festival Ever” tells of a masquerade ball, attended by King Charles VI of France along with five of his knights. They were all dressed as shaggy, hairy creatures in costumes made of linen soaked with resin and covered in flax, including the King. Then, his younger brother, Louis, Duke of Orleans, arrived late, drunk and with a torch. Oh yes, you’ve probably guessed it already. Four of the knights burned to death. One survived by throwing himself into a vat of wine. And the King? He lived. Saved from the flames by the voluminous skirts of his aunt. They say, “the French sovereign was never the same again.” Overcome by madness, he was later rendered unfit to rule.

Here's another gem. On August 4, 1983 a Yankee’s ball player was arrested for killing a seagull with a basball in “Murder Mysteries? The A-Girl and the Seagull.” He claimed it was an unfortunate accident while playing catch with the left fielder during warmups, but several eyewitness accounts swore it was deliberate. He was released on bail the same day.

Wouldn’t a masked ball or party with an epic failure of some kind or an absurd action that gets your character arrested spice up your plot? Maybe you pick the fourteenth century royal court of King Charles to set your next story. There are so many ways to use Farguhar’s unique collection.

So, is truth really stranger than fiction? I believe this work supports that maxim.

And, if you liked Michael Farquhar’s Bad Days in History, try his latest release, More Bad Days in History: The Delightfully Dismal, Day-by-Day Saga of Ignominy, Idiocy, and Incompetence Continues.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT APRIL? by Michael Rigg

Remember the soothsayer’s warning about the Ides of March? Well, history teaches us that we should be more wary about the Ides (and other days) of April, notwithstanding that old saw about April showers bringing May flowers. Consider this list: Abraham Lincoln murdered by John Wilkes Booth, the Titanic’s unplanned meeting with an iceberg, the 1927 Great Mississippi River Flood (the worst flood in U.S. history), the San Franciso earthquake, the Virginia Tech shooting, the Oklahoma City Bombing, and Columbine High School—which happened on April 20^th, the birthday of that little Austrian Corporal who caused such death and destruction in the Second World War. Each of these horrific events, and likely many others, occurred in April.

And you don’t need to take my word that April is a Disaster-O-Rama. For a more comprehensive listing of events and a comparison of April with other months, see the post: Does More Tragedy Happen In April? - GeekDad. I suspect that you might need a bit of bourbon as the spark of recognition, and perhaps fear, makes the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention.

But we can’t just stay under the covers for an entire month, can we? We have lives to lead. Books to write. Families to raise. So, despite what challenges April may bring, we must do our best to cope, to deal with each hurdle that presents itself. Right?

So, you think your April has been rough? This blog highlights a book one of the most challenging months of April ever to face us as Americans, a month that could have brought about the destruction of our nation—and of government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

In April 1865: The Month That Saved America, Jay Winik delivers a compelling narrative detailing the last days of the American Civil War and our first steps toward national reconciliation. Our experiment with disunion didn’t happen overnight. The cannonade against Fort Sumter in 1861—another April event—might have been the final spark, but, as Winik painstakingly details, threats of secession—from every geographic quarter, not just the South—haunted our nation almost immediately after John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence.

However we got there, four wars of civil war took their toll. Over 600,000 Americans—nearly one-twelfth of the Northern states’ population and one-fifth of the Southern states’ population—lay dead. Southern cities smoldered in ruin. An attempt to behead the government, including President Lincoln’s assassination and attacks on the Vice President and Secretary of State, had nearly succeeded. Bitterness from the brother-versus-brother conflict could have easily plunged our country into an ongoing Hatfield-McCoy nightmare. But that future didn’t come to pass. Why?

According to Winik:

April 1865 was incontestably one of America’s finest hours: for it was not the deranged spirit of an assassin that defined the country at the war’s end, but the conciliatory spirit of the leaders who led as much as in peace as in war, warriors and politicians who, by their example, their exhortation, and their deeds, overcame their personal rancor, their heartache, and spoke as citizens of not two lands but one, thereby bringing the country together. True, much hard work remained. But much, too, had already been accomplished.

As is often the case, books like April 1865: The Month That Saved America, provide perspective and lessons beyond the historical situation discussed. Some might argue that we, today, face another crisis of national identity and unity. I’ll let you reach your own judgment on that point. But I’ll leave you with this disturbing question: One-hundred years hence, will a college history professor write a book called April 2024: The Month that Doomed America?

I hope not. Mirroring Winik’s basic premise, I pray that our current batch of leaders and politicians may “. . . by their example, their exhortation, and their deeds, overcame their personal rancor, [and] their heartache,” to recall that we are citizens of a single nation, with a single flag, and a common commitment to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Oh my! This is supposed to be a blog about mystery writing by the sea. Why are we even thinking about the calamities of April and the potential destruction of our way of life? It’s the story. April 1865: The Month That Saved America is both great history and a great story. And, April 1865 unfolded, no one knew how it would end. Once you read this book, I think you will agree that it reads like a novel, full of twists-and-turns and cliff hangers. Fiction or non-fiction, a great narrative is a thing to behold. Fiction speculates about what characters—people invented in the writer’s imagination—will do in response to circumstances. Non-fiction tells us how real people reacted.

Here's wishing you a happy and uneventful remainder of April. Those May flowers will be with us soon, I hope.  

 

UPDATE: COASTAL CRIMES, VOLUME II By the Sand in Our Shorts Gang

We're inching ever closer! Coastal Crimes, Volume II: Death Takes a Vacation is more than just a vision at this point. We've gathered submissions and are completing our internal review and making edits. Soon, we'll ship the manuscript off to Wildside Press, for another round of edits and formatting changes. This are exciting times as we approach the home stretch for our anticipated late winter/early spring 2024 release date.   

True to our by-the-sea vibe, this next anthology features short stories by some of your favorite local authors, centered around a common theme: mysterious deaths involving a vacation destination in the Coastal Plain of Virginia or North Carolina east of Interstate-95. 

So, for those tourists among you who come here to enjoy a respite from the hustle and bustle of your ordinary lives? BEWARE! And for locals? Maybe it's time to call a moving company...  

More details to follow, including a cover reveal, when the time is right. Stay tuned!      

MARDI GRAS – WIMPS NEED NOT APPLY by Michael Rigg

Krewe of ALLA Parade 2023. 

I write short stories and novels set in two disparate locations: Virginia (mostly Hampton Roads) and New Orleans. I live in Virginia Beach, so local research in/around Hampton Roads is relatively easy. But New Orleans? While the Internet’s great, there’s nothing like visiting the proverbial “scene of the crime.” Computer-based research gives you a one-dimensional view; you can read about events, look at maps, and view photos and videos. New Orleans is not a one-dimensional place. The Big Easy involves all five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. And there’s only one way to experience the mix—be there.

IS THE PEN STILL MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD? AGATHA CHRISTIE PART 3: YOU DON’T KNOW AGATHA! BY KIMBERLY THORN

Happy New Year from all of us here at the Sand in Our Shorts blog!  We thank you for your continued support and wish you many blessings for 2024!

 

Up until now all of the information I have shared with you is from Lucy Worsley’s Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman.  Today I’m going to take you on a bit of an adventure.  Actually this adventure is going to be led by someone who is another huge Christie fan.  Today’s post will come from the BritBox special television series, Alan Carr’s Adventure with Agatha Christie.  In this three part series, Carr takes us on a true adventure learning more about Christie.  It should be on every Christie fan’s list of must watch.  While I will not give all of the surprises away, I will share with you some of the top most fascinating things that I learned in this wonderful series.  Won’t you come along with Alan Carr and me to learn some shocking things about Christie!

 

Itinerary #1.    The British Museum 

Wait, what?  Why are we stoping here for Christie?  I’m ever so glad that you asked.  Christie’s second husband, Max was an archeologist.  Ok, I know what you’re thinking.  Yeah, you knew that, right?  But did you know that while Agatha was with Max at his work, that “Christie is very connected to the early days of British archeology,” said Rakesha Dave, British Museum archeologist.  Yes, it is true, I was surprised to learn that Christie has ‘a gallery of objects that she, herself, conserved and found,’ Dave continued.  

 

Dave explained that ‘Christie was very intrigued by the conservation process.’  In fact Dave points out in the gallery that there are two pieces of ivory, one light and one darker in pigment.  Dave advises that the one that is darker is because Christie used her own face cream to clean it which left it darker in appearance than the one next to it.

 

Itinerary #2.    Barts Pathology Museum

Come on in, don’t be afraid. 

 

This pathology museum holds over 5000 specimens of the human bodies used for medical teaching. Sadly, it includes many specimens from victims of violent crimes.  The reason we are here is because Carr introduces us to Carla Valentine who is an author, and a qualified Anatomical Pathology Technologist.  It also happens that she is another huge fan of Agatha Christie. It is here with her pathology work that Valentine realizes the depth of Christie’s knowledge of pathology by her continued contributions.

 

“She’s contributed to the forensic landscape as we know it today.  She’s the person that coined the phrase the ‘scene of the crime’ before anybody else ever used it. She even invented a crime scene examiners kit and she gave it to Hercule Poirot in The Mysterious Affair at Styles.  It didn’t even get invented in real life until 1924.  So she was way ahead of the curve with that,” Carla Valentine explains.

  

Conclusion

I hope that you have enjoyed this short exploration of some interesting and I think, little known facts about Christie.  I have left it short for two reasons.  One, I don’t want to give you too many spoilers. You need to watch Alan Carr’s Adventures with Agatha Christie.  Please do and tell me what you think.  The second reason is that I’m still not feeling 100% well.  Anyways, take care and best wishes for a wonderful new year! 

 

‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE MURDER by Penny Hutson

 ‘Twas the night before murder when all through the book,

Not a character was plotting, not even the crook.

Reading page after page and absorbed with delight,

Every chapter expecting a murderous sight.

There I sat nestled all snug in my chair,

Reading my mystery book without care

My husband lay snoring aloud on the couch,

As I continued to read in a deepening slouch.

 

A DAY AT DAME AGATHA’S SUMMER HOME by Maria Hudgins

 

A few years ago, I left my guided tour of Southwest England, Devon and Cornwall, and made my way down the River Dart to visit Greenway, the home of my hero, Agatha Christie. This is the beautiful Georgian house where Dame Agatha and her family spent many summers. In the photo, you can see the house nestled in woods with the Dart nearby. Grand as it is, it was not her only house. That's what good writing can get you.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA COBOL! By Sand in Our Shorts Administrators

Rear Admiral Grace Hopper

“Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow.” This proverb is often attributed to 14^th Century England. But I suspect the sentiment is of a much more ancient origin. And its message to never give up, regardless of how “small” you are, is universal.

Perhaps there’s no better example of this than Grace Hopper. Grace Brewster Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906 to January 1, 1992) was a computer pioneer and naval officer. She earned a master’s degree (1930) and a Ph.D. (1934) in mathematics from Yale. Hopper is best known for her trailblazing contributions to computer programming, software development, and the design and implementation of programming languages. A maverick and an innovator, she enjoyed long and influential careers in the U.S. Navy and the computer industry.

And she was stubborn as a mule, some might say, and determined to leave her mark on the United States Navy, whether that often-hidebound organization cared to acknowledge it or not.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States’ entry into World War II, Hopper decided to join the war effort. She was initially rejected because of her age and diminutive size, but she persisted and eventually received a waiver to join the U.S. Naval Reserve (Women’s Reserve). In December 1943, she took a leave of absence from Vassar, where she was an associate professor, and completed sixty days of intensive training at the Midshipmen’s School for Women at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

After receiving her commission (lieutenant junior grade), Hopper was assigned to the Bureau of Ships Computation Project at Harvard University. There, she joined a team working on the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, better known as the MARK I. Hopper's work on the Harvard Mark I computer, an early electromechanical computer, led her to realize the need for a more user-friendly programming language. This insight drove her to develop the first compiler, known as A-0, which enabled programmers to write code using more human-readable language instead of machine code or assembly language.

The origin of the term "debugging" in computer programming is often attributed to Grace Hopper during her work on the Harvard Mark II computer in 1947. While troubleshooting a malfunction, Hopper and her team discovered a moth trapped in one of the computer's relays, causing the issue. After removing the moth, Hopper logged the incident in the computer's logbook, noting that they had "first actual case of a bug being found" and that they had "debugged" the computer.

In the late 1950s, Grace Hopper played a key role in the development of COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language), one of the first high-level programming languages designed for business applications. COBOL became widely adopted and is still in use today. Hopper's work in computer programming and her contributions to the development of compilers and COBOL have left a lasting impact on the field, earning her the nicknames "Amazing Grace" and "Grandma COBOL."

Throughout her career in the computer industry, Hopper remained a Navy reservist. In 1966, age restrictions forced her to retire from the Navy as a commander. She later called it “the saddest day of my life.” Just months later, however, she was recalled to active service to help standardize the Navy’s multiple computer languages and programs. She retired from UNIVAC, a division of Sperry Rand, in 1971.

An optimist as well as a visionary, Hopper celebrated the potential of computers. “I think we consistently…underestimate what we can do with computers if we really try,” she once said. In a 1983 interview on “60 Minutes,” host Morely Safer asked if the computer revolution was over. Hopper replied, “No, we’re only at the beginning…We’ve got the Model-T.” Until the end of her life, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper looked forward with confidence to new technologies and their problem-solving capabilities.

Hopper remained on active duty for nineteen years. She retired from the Navy as a rear admiral at the age of 79—the oldest serving officer in the U.S. armed forces. That same year she went to work as a senior consultant in public relations at the Digital Equipment Corporation, where she worked until her death in 1992. Hopper was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.

So, as writers, just think where we'd be without Amazing Grace's contributions to computer science and, ultimately, the word processing programs we depend on today. 

(Sources: Biography of Grace Murray Hopper | Office of the President (yale.edu) and Grace Hopper (Computer Scientist and Admiral) - On This Day.)

 

LOCARD’S EXCHANGE PRINCIPLE by Michael Rigg

Edmond Locard (1877-1966)

No doubt, you’ve seen or heard the saying, “Take only memories, leave only footprints.” It’s a shorthand way of telling humans to minimize their impact on nature. If you see something, leave it for someone else to see and enjoy. If you eat a Milky Way, don’t throw away the wrapper. Take it with you.

What a wonderful sentiment. What an exceptional goal. But to those of us who write mysteries, especially those involving crimes, it’s sheer, absolute, and utter nonsense. Pure baloney. Leave only footprints? Give me a break.

Those of us “in the know,” accept the “Gospel According to Dr. Locard.” Developed by Dr. Edmond Locard (1877 – 1966), Locard’s Exchange Principle, which forms the foundation of forensic science, holds that the perpetrator of a crime will bring something to the crime scene and will leave with something from it. At its core, the concept is that every contact leaves a trace and that with contact between two items, there will always be an exchange. To quote Dr. Locard, “It is impossible for a criminal to act, especially considering the intensity of a crime without leaving traces of this presence.”    

Think about it. It makes sense.

Wherever a criminal (or even a totally innocent, law-abiding citizen) goes, he will leave something behind. At the same time, he will also take something back with him. Our criminal (or law-abiding citizen) can leave all sorts of evidence, like fingerprints, footprints, hair, skin, blood, bodily fluids, pieces of clothing—and more. By coming into contact with others, or things, at the location in question, our criminal (or law-abiding citizen) takes part of that location with him when he leaves, whether it’s dirt, hair, or other types of trace evidence.

During an investigation in 1912, a Frenchwoman named Marie Latelle was found dead in her parents’ home. Her boyfriend, Emile Gourbin, claimed he had been playing cards with friends on the night of the murder. Absent evidence to the contrary, police concluded Gourbin was telling the truth.

Not deterred, Dr. Locard looked at Marie’s corpse and questioned Gourbin’s alibi. Locard found clear evidence that Marie had been strangled. He then scraped underneath Gourbin’s fingernails and examined the results under a microscope. Locard noticed a pink dust among the samples, which he calculated must be ladies’ makeup. In that era, makeup was not mass produced. Locard located a chemist who developed a custom powder for Marie. It matched the fingernail scrapings. Ultimately, Gourbin confessed to the murder. He had tricked his friends into believing his alibi by setting the clock in the game room ahead. But he couldn’t trick Locard. When he strangled his girlfriend, he took some of her—skin cells with traces of makeup—with him.

Pretty convincing, right? Most likely, we can all think of “modern day” cases that were solved as a result of Locard’s Exchange Principle. What’s your favorite example?

So, trust me. No matter how hard you try or how well-intentioned you may be, wherever you go you’ll never just leave footprints and you’ll always take away more than just memories. Mystery writers depend on it. 

MEMORIES OF REMEMBRANCE DAY by Michael Rigg

A few years ago, I made several business trips to London and other parts of the United Kingdom. One trip to London occurred in November, right after a very historic U.S. Presidential election (if I remember correctly) and as the U.K. began to commemorate what the nation refers to as Remembrance Day. My visit that November was brief, but I’ve though often about what I saw and the emotions I experienced.

Beginning with the guns of August in 1914 and finally ending at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the First World War—the Great War—exacted a horrific toll on human life—more than any previous conflict. The carnage was so vast, involving soldiers and civilians from so many different nations, that historians cannot agree on exactly how many people lost their lives.

 A study conducted on behalf of the Carnegie Endowment estimated that more than 9.7 million military personnel from more than two dozen nations lost their lives. Adding to the tragedy, more than 6.8 million civilians died from war-related maladies such as starvation and disease. In all, about 16.5 million people perished during the “War to End All Wars.”

Great Britain and Ireland, with a combined population of 46.1 million, mobilized 6.1 million army and navy personnel. More than 750,000 military and 600,000 civilians—a total of 1.35 million—died.

After the conflict ended, the United States designated November 11^th, the day hostilities ceased in World War I, as Armistice Day. Later that special observance morphed into a more general celebration of those who have served in uniform—Veterans Day.

In Great Britain, November 11^th is referred to as Remembrance Day. And the Sunday nearest November 11^th is referred to as Remembrance Sunday. Originally a response to World War I, Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday now honor those who have fallen in battle in the defense of their nation—similar to Memorial Day in the U.S. Red paper poppies serve as a visual—and visceral—symbol of “remembrance” to the British.

Along with the cost in human life, the First World War decimated the landscape of Western Europe, which had seen bloody back-and-forth offensives and the murderous stalemate of trench warfare. Yet a singular sight gave one man hope. John McCrae, a military doctor from Canada, viewed the battlegrounds and penned a poem, In Flanders Fields:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Based largely on the imagery of McCrae’s poem, efforts by various individuals resulted in the red poppy becoming an iconic emblem of Remembrance Day.

Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday bring with them parades, speeches, and sermons. But what was most remarkable to me were the rows and rows of red poppies attached to crosses, Stars of David, and other artifacts that were then placed in church yards and parks throughout the city. I remember the fields of honor at Westminster Abby the most. Many of the poppy-adorned artifacts contained pictures or other tributes to the fallen and were viewed in thoughtful, silent reverence by thousands. 

The photograph above gives a hint of the emotional impact of visiting this solemn place, where, to paraphrase, the poppies still blow “. . . Between the crosses, row on row.”

 

 

POINT OF VIEW by Judy Fowler

In romantic fiction, opposing points of view often threaten a couple's future. Here are three real-world point-of-view obstacles. Will romance prevail? Answer key at the bottom.

1. Hanging pictures 

A widower new to dating offered to hang wall art in his ladyfriend's apartment. 

She: "I've had bad experiences with men helping me hang pictures. I'm very particular about the height of each piece."

He: Don't worry. I've brought a level and a pencil. Show me how high you want them."

She watches as picture after picture goes up. "They're all too high. I have to crane my neck to see them."

He: "I hung them at eye level." 

She: "Not my eye level." 

He: "I marked the top of each where you said to mark it."

She: (under her breath) "I'll have to paint that whole wall to cover the holes."

He (gruffly): "Don't forget to buy spackle." 

2. Purchasing power 

Two singles about to merge family lives walk on the beach in summer. The couple hold hands and stare out at boats on the water.   

"You know, at the end of the season, we could get one of those for three hundred dollars."

"Really?" the other asks. "How great would that be? We could have all the kids on it for parties. We could swim off the sides. They could invite their friends!"

"What the hell are you looking at?"

The other points to a pontoon boat.

"I'm looking at that rowboat!" 

3. Wedding day priorities

"Chris wanted a band," my balance instructor Jacqui said last week. "I thought that was great, even if it ate up a lot of our budget. I looked for things to cut back on—like flowers. I'm repurposing artificial bouquets for table arrangements."

She showed me a photo of her arrangements. "And here's a picture of Tucker trying on his tuxedo." 

I've never met Chris but have spent many hours in the Cova Church gym with the pretty bride-to-be and her Brittany spaniel. I'd just thrown Tucker a chew toy to chase. "What does Chris think of you spending money dressing Tucker for the wedding?" I asked. 

"You can't go naked to the wedding, can you, Tucker?" Jacqui cooed. "It was Chris's idea to make him Best Dog."

Jacqui worried she wouldn't get everything done, and Chris needed to be sure tablecloths were a vital line item. I worried about the dog, a pointer that's always in motion. "I doubt he can walk calmly down the aisle even on a leash, Jacqui," I said.

"No worries," she assured me. "He's practicing every day. He'll be fine."

"Does Chris have a best man?"

"Of course. He'll stand next to Tucker."

At that moment, the 'best dog' held a spit-slathered toy in his mouth. 

"He's not holding the ring, is he?" I asked.

I swear Tucker gave me a dirty look. 

Answers. Romance prevailed in all three scenarios. 1. When she realized she should tell men where she wanted the bottom of the picture rather than the top, the woman apologized. We're still dating. 2. Twenty years later, whenever financial reality testing is needed, one or the other will say, "Never mind. It's a three-hundred-dollar boat." 3. The wedding is today. I hope Tucker's ready.

 

IT’S COMING! COASTAL CRIMES, VOLUME II By the Sand in Our Shorts Gang

Ready to continue the adventure?

If you liked Coastal Crimes, Volume I: Mysteries by the Sea, you have a treat in store. Members of Mystery by the Sea (MBTS), the Virginia Beach chapter of Sisters in Crime, are hard at work on a sequel: Coastal Crimes, Volume II: Death Takes a Vacation. True to our by-the-sea vibe, this next anthology features short stories by some of your favorite local authors, centered around a common theme: mysterious deaths involving a vacation destination in the Coastal Plain of Virginia or North Carolina east of Interstate-95. 

So, for those tourists among you who come here to enjoy a respite from the hustle and bustle of your ordinary lives? BEWARE! And for locals? Maybe it's time to call a moving company...  

As this blog goes to press, our chapter's wrapping up the submissions process. We anticipate approximately fifteen stories averaging around 5,000 words each. Soon, we’ll start our internal editing process, with Teresa Inge and Yvonne Saxon leading the way. Wildside Press has agreed to publish Coastal Crimes, Volume II, with an anticipated release date in late winter/early spring 2024.

More details to follow, including a cover reveal, as we progress. Stay tuned!      

RECIPES TO READ BY By Angela G. Slevin

 

Ah, September…late summer with its hot days, cooler nights, punctuated by bursts of crisp early fall air. Perfect outdoor or indoor reading weather. And since no reading session is complete without a satisfying beverage to sip, here are some drink and book pairings to try.

Cold Drinks

Pair with Camino Winds by John Grisham. This read is unlike most of his work. It’s a lighthearted caper novel set in the rare book business world. When a hurricane knocks out power to an island resort in Florida and a body is found, was it just a tragic accident, or was it murder?

AUTHOR WEBSITES: IS IT A MUST HAVE FOR ALL WRITERS? by Sheryl Jordan

 

I keep putting off building up my author’s website. Recently, I decided I need to get it fully up and running soon. I have my domain and have had it for several years. I added ‘stuff’ to it years ago but haven’t kept it up to date. I didn’t like it and made some changes, but it still isn’t where I want and need it to be. So, I just let it sit dormant (I know this is terrible for a writer to do). I obviously have no experience in creating a website, so I started researching how to create a fabulous website that is user-friendly and fully functional as well as showing who I am and what I do.

LEARNING FROM THE BEST WRITERS by Maria Hudgins

 There must be a thousand books on "How to Write." If you read them all you wouldn't have time to write.So what are a few really good ones? How do you know if a book on writing is good? How do you know this author's advice is right or wrong? That's easy. Read a bit of it and if you are having a hard time putting it down--the author knows what he's doing. This topic, after all, is dry as dirt. It's right up there with "How to change the duvet cover," or "How to clean a bathroom," or "Filling out your 1040 form."

The best book on writing I have ever read is Stephen King's "On Writing" which, by now, has probably gone through a dozen editions. I couldn't put it down. I've read it more than once and not because I didn't remember his advice. It's wonderfully entertaining. I can't forget his description of pretending to be a circus strong man when he was two years old.

I've been looking at a website called Master Class and I see a lot of today's top writers are contributing their best suggestions.One click gives you samples of their advice and I have clicked on a bunch of them. I would tend to favor the words of authors that are my personal favorites. If I enjoy them, I think, so would others. My taste in stories is not unusual. I'm pretty typical. It's not free, but at $120/year, it's cheap for what you can get if you really use it.

This may sound stupid, but I learn a lot from listening to a favorite author on audio. It doesn't matter if the author is doing the reading or not. Some writers are not good readers, and some are. Listening frees your mind to think only about the story. When you aren't thinking about the words on the page or how many pages are left in this chapter, you become more aware of the structure. Why is the writer giving you all these details in one chapter but not in another one? Where is the viewpoint character and what are his eyes seeing? If she parks her car, does she immediately open the door? Does she remember to pick up her purse? Why does the writer skip over all the details sometimes with a brief, "Next morning, he flew to Chicago?" Details are tedious if they don't move the story forward.

Sometimes I can just lie in bed with my eyes closed and realize that I'm working!

RESEARCH: A CRITICAL PART OF WRITING. BUT NO ONE SAYS IT HAS TO BE BORING! By Michael Rigg

Harriet Robin 
New Orleans School of Cooking 

Any fiction writer worth their salt will acknowledge that research is a key component of our craft. We write stories that, in the long run, are not entirely true. That’s why it’s called fiction. We ask our readers to suspend belief, at least while they read what we write, and pray they will accept our premise: “what if…” But to engage the reader, to keep them turning pages, our fiction must be plausible.

In sum, fiction—the ultimate untruth—must, of necessity, be based in truth, and supported by facts. Our written untruth must be believable. Thorough research is how we attain this believable untruth. Research is the lifeblood of good fiction. If it doesn’t ring true, the reader will soon be bored and more likely to put our novel down and, worse, add us to their “do not read” list.

WRITERS UNITE: REJECT REJECTION! By Michael Rigg

Rejection Has Many Facets

 A well-known and respected periodical, which shall remain nameless,   provides a simple online mechanism for writers to submit their short   works of fiction for consideration. No need to suffer through thirty-   nine steps of instructions. And it provides an equally simple   mechanism  for tracking those submissions. Beyond a shadow of     doubt, the submission and tracking process are straightforward, not an     elastic affair with ever-changing rules. 

That simplicity belies something notorious, something to leave a hopeful author spellbound by the negativity and unable to cope. That something lies in the terms this well-known and respected periodical uses to describe the status of your submission.

Received. That’s understandable enough. They have received your magnum opus, the lifeboat to which your fragile ego clings, hoping soon to read the joyful status: Accepted. (I assume that’s what it is. None of my submissions have been chosen for publication—yet.)

But then, there’s that word they use to describe stories not selected for publication: REJECTED.

Rejection—it’s something most, perhaps all, writers have experienced. What a horrible word, rejection—in any form. What a mean-spirited, ghastly thing, rejection, a word, many-faceted, each aspect more horrific that the last.  

According to the Cambridge English Dictionary (Cambridge English Dictionary: Definitions & Meanings), rejection refers to:  

-the act of refusing to accept, use, or believe someone or something;

-a letter, etc. that tells you that you have been unsuccessful in getting a job, a place on a course of study, etc.; or

-the act of not giving someone the love and attention they want and expect.

With one hurtful word, the writer’s repulsed, like a lice-ridden enemy hoard scaling the castle walls. Like a seething bacterial infection struck down by the miracle of penicillin. Despondency reigns, emotions ripped apart, like a torn curtain. That damnable magazine and its editor. They aren’t giving us the love and attention we want and expect. Barbarians all, those who inflict rejection on us!   

I confess. I don’t understand why the editor of this esteemed periodical insists on being such a psycho, a saboteur of young and innocent writers who put their faith and trust in this publishing powerhouse that their hard work will be recognized and rewarded.

But the solution is simple, elegant perhaps. Were I a secret agent, able to enter quietly through a rear window into the periodical’s inner sanctum, I’d scurry about in a surreptitious frenzy and plant this idea:

Replace the word rejected with the word DECLINED. 

What a pleasant way to be told ‘No.’ “We received your submission, reviewed it with glee, and decline to publish it at this time. Warmest regards and best wishes for a successful writing career.” Certainly, it’s kinder and gentler that the current “Eff Off, you unworthy, spineless mendicant. Your story stinks and we REJECTED it, just as we reject YOU.” 

So please, kind editor, switch to using Declined. Where you lead, other editors (and agents) will follow! After all, wouldn’t you agree that Rejected is for the birds?