Didja know?

cj Sez: Do you know the difference between a thriller and

a suspense novel?

I should, but I obviously didn’t when I chose a genre for DEADLY STAR and CHOOSING CARTER for Amazon. I thought they were romantic suspense. They’re not.

   Here’s Romance Writers of America’s definition of the two genres:

“The difference between a thriller and a suspense novel is really who is being affected by the danger. In a thriller, the protagonist(s) must stop the antagonist(s) from inflicting great bodily harm on a mass of people...an entire city or country. Maybe even the whole world!

With a suspense novel, the only ones in great peril are the hero and/or heroine (or both)...but the storyline is how they must overcome the obstacles the "villain" is throwing out at them. Sure, a few innocent victims might get bumped off along the way, but for the most part, they are pretty few in number.”

   By that definition, both DEADLY STAR and CHOOSING CARTER are really romantic thrillers. In DEADLY STAR, the entire world is in jeopardy because of the antagonist’s plot. In CHOOSING CARTER, a whole town and geographic area are the targets of terrorists.

   Why does putting a book in the correct (or best)

category make a difference? If you're not a name-brand author (and sometimes even if you are), good sales can depend on what genre is “hot” and selling well right then and thus maximize the book’s chances of higher rankings within those sales. Besides the warm glow they give an author, higher rankings also attract even more sales. Granted no story is ever one genre only. And therein lies the conundrum: Where and how to place them to their best advantage on book/sales shelves. The answer to that changes with the timing of each book launch. Just make sure you know your intended market. 

   What am I going to do about my books? I’m going to try to change the marketing thrust. I haven’t checked with Amazon yet, but I doubt I can change the category listing because Simon&Schuster owns the rights.

///

Since I didn’t have a computer for nigh unto a week, I put in a lot of time reading … as in six novels—one a loan from a friend and five were used books that I purchased at my local Friends of the Library sale in March. Intentionally, none were in the same genre. 

   One I skimmed for lack of interest after the first few chapters. In another, the female protagonist character became boring, but I made myself finish it—it was a historical romance. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the world building in David Baldacci’s first young adult fantasy, “The Finisher.” The story follows the challenges a teenaged girl named Vega Jane must face in her eerie world. I have since discovered “The Finisher” is book one in a series. I’ll have to hunt down the rest of them.

///

During the day, a cup of coffee is never far from my hand. I drink my coffee black, no sugar, but there is often something in my hand to eat, whether it’s a quasi-healthy piece of whole grain, high-fiber and high-protein toast topped with a thin smear of peanut butter and grape jam or my favorite cinnamon roll. (Yeah, I know. I’d lose weight if I quit the carbs.)

   To validate my habit, I found the following bit of info on some internet news site a while back. I think it proves (at least to me) why this Swede “needs” coffee breaks and a goodie.

“The French sip wine, the British take tea, Spaniards nibble on ham, and Germans love sausages.   For Swedes, it's all about "fika" (pronounced fee-ka), the daily coffee break with a sweet nibble that is a social institution.”

While neighbors in the United States used to get together in the afternoon in the 50s and 60s and may have called it a “Koffee Klatch,” now days, you get your coffee to go. “In Sweden, you sit down, you enjoy the moment." (cj Sez: Even if you can't put down your cellphones, I guess.)

 Swedish friends love to meet for fika. Photo: TT

"Studies show that people who take a break from their work do not do less. It's actually the opposite," says Viveka Adelsward, a professor emeritus in communications at Sweden's Linkoping University. "Efficiency at work can benefit from these kinds of get-togethers."

   Explain that to your boss if s/he questions why you’re spending time around the coffee pot.

   My fika habit started in Texas when I was about three-years old. Grandpa would pour some strong black coffee into a saucer to cool then lather a thick slice of Mama’s homemade bread with butter, dip an edge into the coffee, and feed me bites while he taught me to play checkers on top of an overturned washtub in the backyard.

   Okay, I’ve made myself hungry. Think I’ll enjoy a fika. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

Free on Kindle Unlimited at the time of this post: DEADLY STAR

Mirabel Campbell must learn how to stay alive in a covert world of political intrigue where the unexpected is the norm, and she’s not the kind of woman who’ll wait for anyone, including her CIA ex-husband whom she still loves, to make her decisions. She made a promise to a murdered friend to find out what’s so special about a mysterious point of light in the sky, and she intends to keep that promise.

Little note: Print copies of Choosing Carter and Deadly Star are becoming scarce as Simon&Schuster winds down their support of the Crimson Romance imprint. HOWEVER, you can support an indie book store and order an autographed copy of my books here: The Haunted Bookshop  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and a RITA Award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you the book(s) of your choice.

Drop me a note to sign up for my quarterly newsletter: cjpetterson@gmail.com 

cjpetterson/author on Facebook   

Amazon Central Author Page =  https://amzn.to/2v6SrAj

Simon&Schuster Author Page = https://bit.ly/2uo1M0Z

Do you believe the English language is difficult?

cj Sez:  Here are a few of the community outreach programs that Simon & Schuster is doing:

Besides partnering with storm-relief national and local nonprofit organizations to provide books for displaced adults and children AND donating 250 “Best Of” titles to Texas public schools and libraries affected by Hurricane Harvey (Librarians who need information on the offer should email education.library@simonandschuster.com ), it has been announced that S&S will be offering the same support to Florida organizations affected by Hurricane Irma.

Yay, Simon & Schuster !

A reminder of how fluid and difficult the English language is (from a 2014 post):

This quote came from fellow blogger, Sol Sanders a few years ago:  “Perhaps the glory of the English language is that it so expressive. Its remarkable heterogeneous origins have given it an almost limitless vocabulary. And American English, particularly, has used that tool with an enormous flexibility to make it the international means of communication. One is able with a minimum of linguistic dexterity to capture every meaning, or almost every nuance.”

Mr. Sanders’s comments were part of an introduction to his essay on what today’s journalism and media do with the English language. The gist of his blog was that journalism and media people over-complicate their sentences with words that muddy their meanings—changing nouns into verbs and, perhaps, calling a shovel a “hand-held, earth-moving tool.” My take is that media and journalists employ an old trick of confusing the issue to persuade readers to their (the writer/editor’s) points of view

I’ll admit to a few personal dislikes of those words with muddied meanings. One is the word “impactful;” a noun turned into a verb turned into an adjective by adding ful on the end. What the Sam Hill does that really mean?

The fact is, the English language is a living language. It’s constantly evolving as we create new words and new definitions in response to new technology. The rather sad result is that the generations cease to understand each other at an almost exponential pace. Many times I need an interpreter to understand teen-talk, and I can’t text (a noun turned into a verb because of technology), like my family does for fear I’d forget how to spell.

Still, for me as a genre writer, the gloriously expressive English language is what makes my craft so fascinating. I adore language and anyone who accurately uses a large vocabulary with familiar ease—especially if he has a warm, baritone voice and a sense of humor. Oh my.

Yes, I use nouns as verbs. Yes, I deliberately obfuscate . . . and add the disclaimer that it’s for the sake of mystery. I am drawn to the syntax, symbolism, and syncopation of a well-drafted sentence that is the hallmark of successful mystery/thriller/ suspense novelists. It’s using that “minimum of linguistic dexterity to capture every meaning, or almost every nuance” that appeals to me, and, I think, to readers of those genres. They want to try to decipher the code, find the clues, and solve the crime. Mystery writers like trying to confuse the issue.

I’m still working on my craft. How are you doing with your genre?

Okay, that’s all for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

“Bad Day at Round Rock” in The Posse Western anthology of 8 short stories @99 cents

Choosing Carter  -- Kindle  /  Nook  /  Kobo   /  iTunes/iBook

Deadly Star --  Kindle  / Nook  / Kobo

California Kisses—10 book publisher’s bundle (includes Deadly Star) @ 99 cents

The Great Outdoors  8 book publisher’s bundle (includes Choosing Carter) @99 cents

Bodies in Motion — 10 book publisher’s bundle (includes Choosing Carter) @99 cents

Note: The “look inside” invitation on the book bundles gives you a taste of the first book.

Newsletter sign-up:  cjpetterson@gmail.com

Stop by my author pages for more info . . .

Simon&Schuster Author Page

Amazon Central Author Page

Pop Quiz: The royalties on the publisher’s bundles are shared among the number of authors in the bundles. Guess how much that amounts to. (Obviously, I write for the sheer joy of writing ... I do, but I’m also thrilled to be a published author. Thank you.)