Location, location, location

Where Do You Like a Book Located?

by June Shaw

When you read a book, do you care about the location of the story? Do you care whether the location is a real place or not?

I don't care about either.

Having said that, I consider a few books where I've cared, and where I prefer for the location to be real.

There are the Barbara Colley mysteries that feature a maid in the New Orleans famed Garden District. Those of us fortunate enough to have been in that area around the gorgeous monstrous homes can envision each house even more beautiful than the next one -- and a maid discovering what happens within their confines. These cozies are excellent reads for the stories and their unique people and setting.

Tell us only that a mystery is set in New Orleans, and readers' minds conjure various expectations. If it includes Bourbon Street, we have one mindset of what will occur and what we'll see. Tell us part of your story will take place in one of the cemeteries with large, above-ground tombs, and we'll envision one thing. Maybe shootings around the tombs. Maybe witches coming from them. Or zombies. How about voodoo?

Almost all of us can list large numbers of mysteries set in Los Angeles. New York. Chicago. Are any of them cozies? I haven't read one yet. A large majority of stories set in those states feature detectives and real, well-known streets and buildings.

Okay, it seems I do know what to expect from mysteries in many real places, and I do enjoy knowing what to expect.

I also realize I enjoy stories in which the author creates a setting, a community, the town's stores and streets. I have done both in my mystery series. I set the first book in a town I created outside Chicago, where I've enjoyed visiting. I love the Gatlinberg area and set the second book in a fictional place near there. I adore taking cruies, especially to Alaska, so gosh, guess the most recent place I needed to bring my spunky widowed protagonist and the hunky lover she tries to avoid so she can rediscover herself? (Of course the cruise line is fictional, although the ship's staff members enjoyed answering my questions like, "Where's a good place to find a body?")

Lots of readers here in south Louisiana have asked why I haven't set my books down here. Gosh, would it be more fun researching my city or a cruise ship?

We'll see. I am considering writing a future book or so set down here. And since Swamp People on the History Channel has become so popular, I might even give names of the real locations. Of course that's one of the things that's so enjoyable with writing fiction. We can decide and discover where we are and what will happen. I can't wait to find out what's coming up next in my books.

How about you? Do you like to read -- or write -- about a real location?

Men of Misery

By Mark W. Danielson

Recently, I attended the Men of Mystery event in Irvine, California. It has been my privilege to attend the last seven, and is my favorite author event. Over fifty authors gather to discuss mysteries and the writing business over lunch with five hundred guests. This year, Michael Connelly and Tim Dorsey were the key speakers. Michael was the Men of Mystery’s very first speaker, and graciously returned for its tenth anniversary. He offered some interesting comments on writing that are worth sharing.

He began with the description that the authors in attendance were actually “Men of Misery”. Not in the sense of Stephen King’s thriller, Misery, but rather in the dedication that it takes to create suspenseful mysteries. He spoke of writing several manuscripts where he was well into them and then shelved them because he “wasn’t feeling it”. He also spoke about his spending hours on a paragraph or two. In this regard, the misery he was referring to isn’t in the writing process, but rather in its re-writes.

Another item Michael stressed was daily writing. One of his mentors said you should write at least fifteen minutes a day to mentally keep you in the loop. Fifteen minutes doesn’t sound like much, but I agree with the principle. When I sit down at the computer, I hope to be there for at least an hour or two.

What I found most interesting about Michael’s presentation is in spite of his success and years of perfecting the craft, he still deals with the same writing issues as the rest of us. Although he writes numerous sequels, he is not a formula writer, so every book requires the same scrutiny as the first in his series. And while his readers may skim through the pages, every word has been carefully chosen, every setting has been visualized, and every breath from his characters has purpose. In writing, it is never acceptable to say, “It’ll do”. There may not be a prescription for successful writing, but Michael’s is as close as it gets.

There are plenty of successful authors among those attending the Men of Mystery or Women of Mystery events. Some are also screen writers and producers. Some names are more familiar than others, but every author there is equally dedicated to writing quality material. If you wish to check out some new material, try browsing the names of these other authors by visiting the Men of Mystery link: http://64.23.9.69/mom/ Most have their own web sites with chapter previews. Their mysteries are waiting.