Introducing author Stephen Perkins

cj Sez: Today’s guest on Lyrical Pens is Stephen Perkins, another author from the upcoming Mystery Thriller Week annual event scheduled to take place on Facebook in February. 

www.mysterythrillerweek.com

Lyrical Pens:  Welcome Stephen. I’m curious, where did you get the idea for your novel, Raging Falcon?

Stephen: The idea for Raging Falcon was inspired by an event that happened right in my home town of Danvers. A young teacher was allegedly murdered by a freshman student. Much like the old television series LA Law, the inspiration for the plot was ripped straight from the headlines—imagination took care of the rest!

LP: How do you determine that all-important first sentence?

SP:  I believe the first sentence of a novel should contain the essence of the story—almost like a microcosm of the larger scenario to follow. Charles Dickens did this with Tale of Two Cities, in that the classic first line contained the essential spirit of the entire saga.

LP: What are your protagonist’s strengths and flaws? 

SP:  Raging Falcon’s protagonist is a sorcerer disguised as military officer, sort of like Harry Potter meets General Patton. Major Stacey Keogh is a tragic figure, almost Shakespearean in scope, in that he’s very well-aware of his flaws, but nonetheless finds himself again and again falling prey to negative impulses. Though he manipulates and schemes to the detriment of everyone around him, including his young son, in the end, he manages to find some measure of miraculous redemption.

LP: Are you a pantser or a plotter?

SP:  I suppose the latter, only because I tend to agonize over every detail, almost to the point of driving one insane. In the final analysis, I’m really a perfectionist who is never emotionally and artistically satisfied, until I get the story just right.  

LP: What do you consider the most important element of any story?

SP:  Any classic story is divided up into three acts. You introduce your protagonist and central themes, and then in the second act you greet an opposing antagonist, providing the friction of a central drama than unfolds in the denouement of the third act, or resolution of good versus evil. I believe that story telling isn’t just about entertainment for the reader. As a novelist one is creating not just a memorable tale, but creating myths. I’ve noticed all the best sellers possess this definable quality, in that they transcend the basic narrative, and offer something indelibly mythical.  

LP: Where and when do you like to write? Do you need silence or some sound?

SP:  I can write anywhere and at any time, whether there is peace and quiet or the surroundings are particularly noisy. But, I mostly prefer to write during the evening hours, finding the nocturnal spirit very conducive to maximum stimulation of one’s inherent imagination.

LP: Everyone's road to publication is different. Take us down yours.

SP:  I’ve travelled the road less taken, and feel I’m much the better for it. I want to stand out by remaining unique and original, rather than following commercial trends. For example, I’ve noticed that many of my fellow independent authors endeavor to create trilogies, whereas I’ve committed to creating stand-alone novels. I feel this trend is motivated solely by commercial concerns. After all, why unnecessarily spread a three-act story arc into a series, when one complete volume will more than suffice?  

LP: Are you working on anything new?

SP:  Yes, I just released a second novel entitled American Siren. This story deals with social commentary on the ephemeral nature of pop culture, and, the acquisitive nature of material society in general. It poses the question, why sacrifice the genuine love of family and friends, only to seek ephemeral mass approval from fickle strangers. I’m currently working on a third novel, which won’t be released for some time, entitled Beltane Breaking, an urban fantasy featuring satirical observations of television, the media, and mindless consumerism. There is also a newly elected first woman American president, who in finding her approval ratings plummeting, endeavors to manufacture an alien invasion from outer space, in order that she might be transformed from goat into heroic figure.  

LP: Where can readers find out about you and your events online? 

SP:  Go to my blog at http://www.Newsspellcom.org  There, one can discover a controversial perspective on global and American politics and pop culture that I’m certain they won’t encounter in too many other places online.

Stephen’s bio:  Stephen Perkins is not only a novelist, but a song writer, outspoken armchair geo-politician, and avid consumer of all sorts of coffee products, cappuccino preferably! Yum!

cj Sez: Stephen’s book, Raging Falcon, has an awesome cover, and the blurb makes the story sound fascinating:

Should the son eternally pay for the sins of the father? Is it better to accept death’s fate, or to believe there may yet be a miracle in the face of inevitable darkness? This is the story of a survivor—as indomitable as his domineering father—who, despite balancing on the edge of certain death, finds eternal solace in miraculous redemption. After imprisonment of fifty years, on the anniversary of his conviction for the brutal murder of his freshman math teacher, Old Jim surveys his tragic fate, and magically discovers that there is hope, even in a dystopian world seemingly without saviors.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Stephen, and best wishes for great sales and marvelous reviews for your novel.

Look for Raging Falcon on Amazon… https://www.amazon.com/RAGING-FALCON-STEPHEN-PERKINS-ebook/dp/B01LYJFTG2/  Available in paperback or on Kindle.    

And mark your calendars: During the week of February 12-22, 2017, about 200 international authors in the mystery/thriller genre and every sub-genre, me included, will participate in blogs, readings, takeovers, and, drum roll here, Facebook giveaways. I think you’ll have fun connecting with favorite authors and for some of you, meeting new authors, like Stephen Perkins.

Okay, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj 

PS: I’m going to publish a quarterly newsletter with writerly tips, tidbits, and occasional surprises. Drop me a note at cjpetterson@gmail and I’ll put your name on the list. 

A Valentine's Day gift goodie: The More than Friends 6-book bundle of novels by Crimson Romance is still available for under a dollar.

Amazon

cjpetterson@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

Choosing Carter -- Amazon Print  / Kindle / B&N print and Nook / KOBO / iTunes/iBooks

Deadly Star -- Amazon Print / Kindle  / B&N print and Nook / KOBO

Amazon Central Author Page:  http://amzn.to/1NIDKC0

Author Nupur Tustin stopped by today

cj Sez: When I interviewed author Nupur Tustin for this post, I discovered that she’s uniquely qualified to write her wonderful historical fiction. 

Among her many talents is being a composer, so wouldn’t you think it natural that she choose Franz Joseph Haydn as her protagonist? Okay, maybe not “natural” but it is a remarkable choice. Here are her fascinating responses to my questions:

Lyrical Pens:  When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

Nupur Tustin:  Although I've always enjoyed writing, I don't think I'd ever have considered writing a novel if it hadn't been for two people I encountered as a grad student at UConn. One was the author Scott Bradfield. I was in a creative writing workshop he taught. We critiqued short stories, but for some reason he strongly suggested I consider writing novels. That advice stayed with me, although for the longest time I had no idea what to write about.

I was also fortunate enough to encounter Janice Law, another mystery writer, at UConn. From her came the advice to write the kind of novel I most enjoyed reading. It took a while to admit to myself that I enjoyed a good mystery more than anything else.

LP: What is it like to be a historical fiction writer?

NT: Strangely enough, it's a bit like being a detective. Although there's a wealth of information on every detail from women's undergarments to the post when it comes to Britain and America, there isn't quite as much information about Europe. What there is, isn't available in easily labeled packets. So, I have to think of ingenious strategies to find tidbits of information, which I then piece together like a jigsaw puzzle. Let me explain.

When I needed information on funeral practices in Catholic Austria, the closest thing I could find on the subject was Craig Koslofsky's research on how the Reformation had changed rituals of death and dying in early modern Germany. Better than nothing given the geographic proximity of the two regions, and that both were inhabited by Germanic peoples.

Any book on the Reformation and its impact on rites and rituals would necessarily have to detail customs prior to that event, which meant I'd get some insight into Catholic funeral practices. These practices had apparently not only remained largely unchanged after the Reformation, but didn't really differ from one Catholic country to the next.

Even so I wondered if this general assumption was accurate. Would I be missing out on a singularly Austrian detail, if I didn't investigate any further?

I looked at details of Mozart's funeral, but although he had died in Vienna, he was Lutheran. My character was Catholic. Moreover, Mozart had died in 1791, and my story was set in the 1760s. Joseph II had initiated a number of changes, which, although they didn't go down too well, did affect the way Mozart was buried, giving rise to the common misconception that he received a pauper's funeral.

In an effort to limit funeral expenses, Joseph II insisted that coffins only be used to convey the dead to the burial site. The dead were to be buried only in their shrouds so that the coffin could be re-used for the next person who died. Burial was also to take place outside city limits, initially a practice adopted by Lutherans.

Then, I remembered that Vivaldi had died in Vienna. There was likely not only to be a record of the details of his death, but it would likely have been translated into English. Musicologists until quite recently believed that Haydn had sung at the older composer's funeral, a belief that would have fueled research.

National Library in Vienna  ... (awesome)

I wrote to the National Library in Vienna—a vast collection of documents and works originally owned by the Habsburgs—and received a very detailed account of Vivaldi's last days: his death in an apartment near the Carinthian Gate, the examination of the body by a medical examiner, a list of funeral expenses. No song was sung, although a fee of six gulden would have purchased an a capella rendition of Der Grimmige Tod.

A time-consuming, frustrating process at times, but always fun, in my opinion!

LP: It’s fascinating that you’ve taken Franz Joseph Haydn, an 18th century Classical composer, and imbued him with kind of a modern-day humanity that history books cannot. As a composer yourself, you have something in common, but why did you choose Haydn and what kind of feedback do you get from fans of the great musician?

NT: I knew I was going to write a mystery. I also knew it would be a historical mystery centering around a composer. My love of music, biography, and history determined those facts. But I needed someone with the right temperament.

Nosy sleuths who forcibly insert themselves into an investigation can be fun in a contemporary cozy, but don't work for a historical mystery. Take Anne Perry's Thomas Pitt, for instance. How far do you suppose he'd go, and how many cases would he solve, if he was known to have a propensity to gossip and meddle?

Precisely. Haydn's discretion and his affable nature make him the perfect protagonist. But the more I read about him, the more he captivates my heart. His eager desire to help anyone in need earned him the affectionate nickname of Papa Haydn. He remained unassuming to the end, never taking umbrage at being mistaken for a servant; taking pleasure in the mere fact of anyone, amateur or professional, performing and enjoying his music.

So, Haydn has become not just a muse for the mysteries I write about him, but a moral beacon guiding my life. Many people have achieved success. Not many, though, retain a sense of their roots in the way Haydn did.

LP:  What are you most proud of over your writing career?

NT:  I never thought I'd be able to write a novel. That I've been able to write two while having three young children to take care of—my oldest will be five, and my youngest is about 18 months—makes me quite proud. In addition to the two Haydn novels, I've written a few short stories, been a regular contributor for the SinC Guppy newsletter First Draft, I maintain a monthly blog and send out a newsletter, and I've written some music. That's a lot of writing for a woman as hard pressed for time as I am.

Apart from my writing, I'm most proud of my three beautiful children. My husband and I congratulate ourselves on this wonderful accomplishment nearly every day!

LP:  Lessons you wish you knew before starting on your quest for a career in writing?

NT:  You know, I'm actually glad I knew nothing about the publishing world when I started out. I never would have embarked on this journey if I had. Just as I would never have had children if I'd known how tough it is to be a parent.

But I can't imagine life without my children, and I can't imagine not being a writer.

There are some hard truths you have to accept when you become a writer—that it's a business and you need to market and promote your books in addition to writing them. I accept this part of it just as I accept my children's temper tantrums and frequent bouts of ill-health. No matter what the trials and tribulations, some dreams are still worth having. 

LP:  What would you tell you 20-year-old self?

NT:  Experience is a far better teacher than I could ever be, so I don't think I'd say much more than: "Follow your heart." That's a variation of Sir Philip Sidney's injunction to "look in thy heart and write." There's a deep, inner wisdom within each of us. When we learn to look within, we can use it as a compass for every endeavor.

LP:  Tell us about an important mentor in your life.

NT:  That's a tough question. I've received nuggets of wisdom from so many people: my parents and teachers, from books, from my husband, and now from my children. What can my children have taught me? Well, to let go and trust in their innate wisdom, for one thing. To hold onto my inner joy, for another.

One time I put my daughter in timeout. There were toys strewn all over the floor, and she hadn't picked them up despite repeated requests to do so. When I went into her room to check on her a few minutes after I'd put her in there, I found her, much to my surprise, playing with some odds and ends and singing to herself.

I was secretly impressed that she hadn't allowed the circumstance of being in timeout dampen her natural good spirits. "Good for you," I remember thinking. "Never let anyone steal your joy from you."

There's so much about life that we can't control. But I learn every day that we can control our attitude.

LP:  What is the best writing advice you ever received?

NT:  The best writing advice comes oddly enough from a songwriter, Pat Pattison: There are no rules; only tools. That's compelled me to look deeper into writing rules, and consider their purpose, instead of following them blindly.

There's nothing inherently wrong with adjectives or adverbs, for example, even those pesky ones that end in "ly." When it comes to describing tone of voice, for instance, adjectives and adverbs—depending on how you've phrased the sentence—are your best tools. How else do you describe the gentleness or softness or harshness of someone's tone?

But when it comes to emotional states, we use a variety of verbal and nonverbal cues to interpret, or misinterpret, a person's state of mind. In most cases, it helps to provide the reader with those cues rather than your character's perceptual interpretation of them. In the case of your character's own state of mind, you might want to consider the unbidden thoughts and feelings, the visceral state of being, that a situation can call up.

I can tell you that my daughter is delighted to see her Dad when he picks her up from school, for example,

OR

I can describe how her eyes light up when she catches sight of his truck pulling into the lot; how she immediately rushes up to the fence around the schoolyard, and, holding onto the bars, jumps excitedly up and down while yelling, "Daddy! Daddy!"  at the top of her voice. How she turns to her friends and teachers to announce that her "Daddy is here, Miss Jen! Look, it's my Daddy, Caitlin!"

LP:  What are you most excited about for the next 10 years of your career?

NT: I've never looked that far ahead in time. I try to live in the present, taking it one day at a time. I would never have guessed at some of the things life has already brought me. So, I'm eager to see what it has in store for me next.

I'll be visiting San Diego for a bookstore event in a few months. This will be my second trip to the city. But eight years ago when I was there to present my research at one of the biggest Communication conferences in the country, I had no idea I'd be back with a mystery novel, of all things. That it would be about a composer, that I would have begun composing, were not only things I couldn't have predicted, they were things I hadn't even dreamed of.

LP:  What’s on the horizon for you?

NT:  The second Haydn novel, Aria to Death, has already been written. I'm researching the third, Prussian Counterpoint, and writing short stories about a librarian named Elsa Cronin, who seems to have a propensity for danger. The first story about her was the lead story in the December 15 issue (Vol. 4, No. 11) of Heater Magazine.

LP:  Tell us about your latest book . . . where you got the idea, how long it took from concept to publication, and how you came up with the title.(The title is usually a real challenge for me.)

NT: Titles aren't exactly my forte, either. I knew I wanted a play on musical terminology, and because the minor mode is frequently used to convey negative emotions, I decided we needed that word in the title. A violinist disappears, so my first idea was: A Minor Problem for Strings.

But I wasn't entirely pleased with it. I briefly considered A Minor Study in Murder, a play on the French "étude," usually an exercise in some aspect of technique. But Haydn is confronted with something far worse, so that didn't really fit.

Bartó, the violinist who disappears, isn't just a violinist. Haydn learns that he's a dangerous man, harboring a deadly secret. His actions, unless Haydn can stop him, could jeopardize the entire Empire. As I continued to think about it, I realized deception was the key theme of the novel. It occurs on a number of different levels as well. So, I hit upon, A Minor Deception. The perfect title!

Thanks for inviting me to Lyrical Pens, Marilyn. I've really enjoyed answering your questions.

A Minor Deception is available in Print and Ebook Format at:

Amazon:    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M4HHNXT?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660

Barnes & Noble:    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Nupur+Tustin?_requestid=744712

Kobo:      https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/a-minor-deception

iBooks:     https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1164641370

A former journalist, Nupur Tustin relies upon a Ph.D. in Communication and an M.A. in English to orchestrate fictional mayhem. Childhood piano lessons and a 1903 Weber Upright share equal blame for her musical works. Learn more about this fascinating author at

Haydn Mysteries: http://ntustin.com

Music: http://ntustin.musicaneo.com

cj Sez: Thanks so much for stopping by, Nupur, and giving us some insights into your writing process. Your "showing not telling" example with your daughter's reaction was spot on. Best wishes for great success with A Minor Deception and all of Haydn's future adventures.

Lyrical Pens visitors, be sure to leave a comment . . . we authors need to know there are readers out there.

You-all guys keep on keeping on and I’ll try to do the same.
cj

cjpetterson@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

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

Deadly Star --  Kindle  / Nook  / Kobo

More Than Friends:  http://amzn.to/2dnqnLJ

Amazon Central Author Page:  http://amzn.to/1NIDKC0

Onward into 2017...and beyond

cj Sez: It seems like I haven’t posted in Lyrical Pens for a year…No, really. The holidaze were so crazy happy, I lost track of time. Now the weather is crazy, but I have to buckle down to work.

 

And more in some places.

As I throw myself headfirst into 2017, I realize I need to come up with some kind of plan to reach my goal of publishing a book or risk abject failure. You know, organized confusion instead of confused organization…oh wait. They’re the same thing. Anyway, here’s my attempt at listing some things to consider on my path to publication this year. Most of them come from recommendations by prolific authors whose work I respect.

Most important:  Read, Read, Read. Books, magazines, whatever I can find in any genre. I want to read 52 books this year. That may not seem much to avid readers, but it's enormous for me.

I'll try to go to at least one conference. Conferences are some of the best ways to keep up with the changes in the publishing industry. Ergo, advice to writers: to get the latest inside info on new technologies, new publications, and to network with colleagues new and old, go to as many craft-based conferences and workshops as you can. If you have a manuscript complete or mostly complete and the conference offers the option, pay for an editor critique of however many pages she/he will accept. Some of my top choices:

“One of the premier mystery writers’ conferences” Annual conference for mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

www.sleuthfest.com/

February 23-26, 2017

“Left Coast Crime is an annual mystery convention sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors.”

www.leftcoastcrime.org/2017

Honolulu, Hawaii, March 16-19, 2017

“The premier conference for thriller enthusiasts”

ThrillerFest XII | July 11 - 15, 2017 | Grand Hyatt | New York City ...

www.thrillerfest.com/

“If Traditional Mysteries are your cup of tea”

http://www.malicedomestic.org/

April 28-30, 2017 Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bethesda, MD

“The premiere forum for all genres incorporating mystery, thriller, and suspense”

http://www.killernashville.com/

August 24-27, 2017

The international fan and writer love fest called Bouchercon (last year in New Orleans, in Toronto in 2017) is aptly described by Lawrence Block:

“Fill a hotel with few thousand socially-challenged introverts, folks for whom the ‘I’d rather be reading’ T-shirt was created, and force them to spend a long autumn weekend together, and what have you got? Bouchercon—and you’d be a fool to miss it.”

                                 ~Lawrence Block

“The world mystery convention”

www.bouchercon.com     http://bouchercon2017.com/

Toronto, Canada October 12-15, 2017

 “The SCWC is the best writing conference in the nation.” —

SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE

www.scwconference.com/

Books and other info to have in my writer’s library (my personal list):

Chicago Manual of Style for all the questions writers need to ask.

Standard Grammar texts by Random House or Prentice Hall,

Harcourt Brace (“Harbrace”)

Other Questions about Hyphenation:  Fellow Sisters-in-Crime/Guppy member Kaye George wisely counsels writers: “Don't be afraid to use the language your own way. English is fluid. I did an essay on this once. The natural progression of two-word terms is from two words to hyphenation to combined. So, from log in to log-in to login. Eventually it'll be login everywhere. Many words are in transition, hence confusion will probably always reign.” Here’s where to find her essay: https://allthingswriting.blogspot.com/2012_08_01_archive.html

      cj ez: Scroll down to “Blue Moon” on August 27, 2012.

Point of View

The Power of Point of View by Alicia Rasley

Writing the Intimate Character by Jordan Rosenfeld

Don't Sabotage Your Submission by Chris Roerden (chapter 11)

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King

Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell

How-to Books

My favorites:  On Writing, a Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King; Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel, Hallie Ephron; Stein on Writing, Sol Stein; Writing the Breakout Novel (and the 2015 Workbook), Donald Maas

Self-publishing: 

Publishing for Beginners: What first-time authors need to know by Lourdes Venard 2014

Anthology contracts:

In late 2015, attorney and Shinobi series author Susan Spann wrote a series of posts for the Writers in the Storm blog. This link should get you to all of them:

http://writersinthestormblog.com/?s=anthology+contract&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

Be sure to stop back by Lyrical Pens on Jan 11 when our guest is composer/author Nupur Tustin who writes historical fiction mysteries with Franz Joseph Haydn (wow) as the protagonist.

Mystery Thriller Week is happening now on Facebook and at https://mysterythrillerweek.com/ 

On Jan 12, MTW author Jennifer S. Alderson is posting a cameo of me and my latest short story on her blog. http://jennifersalderson.com/  Look for recent posts on the right side of her home page. Jennifer said I’ll be under the“MysteryThrillerWeek Arts theme.” Stop by when you have a moment. I’d love to hear from you, on the post, on Lyrical Pens, on Facebook, or by email. Wherever.

cj Sez: You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same…and for 2017 and beyond, I wish you good health and many successes.

cjpetterson@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

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

Deadly Star --  Kindle  / Nook  / Kobo

Amazon Central Author Page:  http://amzn.to/1NIDKC0

More Than Friends:  http://amzn.to/2dnqnLJ

The More than Friends bundle is available until Jan 30,…6 romance novels for 99 cents!

Happy New Year, folks.

cj Sez: Sending all y'all best wishes for a safe and Happy New Year's celebration.  

Here it is . . . my New Year's Resolution.

(I think you should join me.)

I pray the lord bless you and yours 

with joy, peace, love, health, 

and great success 

as you face the challenges of the New year ahead.

cjpetterson@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

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

Deadly Star --  Kindle  / Nook  / Kobo

More Than Friends:  http://amzn.to/2dnqnLJ

Amazon Central Author Page:  http://amzn.to/1NIDKC0

Introducing author Khristina Atkinson.

cj Sez: Today, I’m excited to introduce another author from the upcoming MysteryThrillerWeek annual event scheduled to take place on Facebook in February.

Remember to mark your calendars: During the week of February 12-22, 2017, about 200 authors in the mystery/thriller genre and every sub-genre, me included, will participate in blogs, readings, takeovers, and, drum roll here, giveaways. I think you’ll have fun connecting with favorite authors and reaching out to meet new ones, like this one:

Say hello to Mystery Thriller Week author Khristina Atkinson  

Today, Lyrical Pens is featuring Khristina's hopelessly, completely, MADLY in love, book one in her “Lovin’ Lawmen Series,

Khristina says the historical romance (and mystery) is set in her paternal grandfather's home state of Kentucky, and the story starts in 1876 in Bardstown, Kentucky. 

Here’s the gist of hopelessly, completely, MADLY in love . . .

Lexi Donovan leaves home to visit her grandmother when her crush, Cooper Grayson, returns to Bardstown, Kentucky.  He immediately asks her father's permission to court her after she's already accepted an engagement ring from her best friend, Silas Reilly.  Silas hasn't yet found the courage to speak with her father, Heath.  He's a brawny man with a fiery temper, who's extremely protective of his only child.

​

Lexi comes back to town with a new husband, Luke Weston, and is about to deliver the wonderful news he's going to be a father when a shot rings out.  Is one of the men who claim to love her trying to murder her husband?

Find it on Amazon…it’s free right now on Kindle Unlimited. Can’t get a cheaper gift than that…for yourself—what the heck, for several of your BFFs.    

https://www.amazon.com/Hopelessly-Completely-MADLY-Lovin-Lawmen-ebook/dp/B01HT6KJQW/

Okay, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj    

PS: I’m going to publish a quarterly newsletter with writerly tips, tidbits, and etc. Drop me a note at cjpetterson@gmail and I’ll put your name on the list…early subscribers will receive a gift so also include a home address. AND another gift goodie: More than Friends, a 6-book bundle of novels for hours of R&R, available until Feb 2017. Click on Amazon to go directly there.

cjpetterson@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

Choosing Carter -- Amazon Print  / Kindle / B&N print and Nook / KOBO / iTunes/iBooks

Deadly Star -- Amazon Print / Kindle  / B&N print and Nook / KOBO

Amazon Central Author Page:  http://amzn.to/1NIDKC0

Exciting times ahead . . .

cj Sez: The next few weeks of Lyrical Pens will be an exciting time for me. I’m thrilled to feature fellow authors from the upcoming MysteryThrillerWeek annual event scheduled to take place on Facebook in February.

Reminder to mark your calendars: During the week of February 12-22, 2017, about 200 authors from around the world who write in the mystery/thriller genre and every sub-genre, me included, will participate in blogs, readings, takeovers, and giveaways. Ten days to have fun connecting with some of your favorite authors and reaching out to read the work of new authors…like this one:

Say hello to Mystery Thriller Week author Armaan Dhillon 

Today, Lyrical Pens is featuring Armaan’s A Nazi War Criminal in India, a story filled with mystery and international intrigue

Armaan describes his story this way: “The book is about a Nazi war criminal, Alois Brunner, who was Adolf Eichmann’s henchman. How he fled from Syria and made his way to India. The main story starts in India.”

The Amazon blurb says:

 - Just after the end of World War II, Adolf Eichmann’s best man, Alois Brunner, fled to West

Germany, then Egypt and finally lived in Syria with the help of the government in return for the torture techniques the Nazis used during their Reich. 

But did he actually die there? Simon Wiesenthal claims that he died there when the civil war started but the location of his grave was unknown. There is no substantial proof for his death! And chances are that Simon Wiesenthal assumed his death due to the on-going Civil War even though they claim source who told them about his death was genuine. What if Alois Brunner never died and in-fact fled to India with the help of his contacts in the Syrian Government to avoid the Civil War since danger to his life increased.

Alois Brunner comes to India with a new identity and settles down in New Delhi in a locality where he meets a college student (Rohan) and befriends him. Does Rohan finds about his real identity? Rohan’s only trust is his best friend Dhruv! Or maybe one Indian Army officer comes into play to get Rohan out of trouble. What will happen in the end? Who ends up getting manipulated in the whole event?

Look for it on Amazon…it’s free right now on Kindle Unlimited. “Free” makes for a great gift for yourself and for several of your friends.    

https://www.amazon.com/Nazi-War-Criminal-India-ebook/dp/B01MXPTCKY/

Okay, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. And be sure to stop by on Wednesday to read about MTW author Khristina Atkinson's latest novel.

cj 

PS: I’m going to publish a quarterly newsletter with writerly tips, tidbits, and etc. Drop me a note at cjpetterson@gmail.com and I’ll put your name on the list…early subscribers will receive a gift so also include a home address.

AND another gift goodie: The More than Friends 6-book bundle of novels for

hours of R&R is available until Feb 2017 cover

Amazon

cjpetterson@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

Choosing Carter -- Amazon Print  / Kindle / B&N print and Nook / KOBO / iTunes/iBooks

Deadly Star -- Amazon Print / Kindle  / B&N print and Nook / KOBO

Amazon Central Author Page:  http://amzn.to/1NIDKC0

Getting to be the season . . .

cj Sez: During any break in the action (shopping, decorating, wrapping, cooking), December is a month of reflection for me. What did I do this year? What did I accomplish? Or not.

Mostly, the month delivers a mixed bag of cherished memories. The following is from a short memoir I wrote for the anthology Christmas is a Season 2008, published by Linda Busby Parker’s Excalibur Press. To be clear, there are four kids in this story: My sisters Phyllis and Sonja, my brother Eric, and me. I was the only cranky one. Here is an excerpt from “The Blue-Eyed Doll.”

Christmas in Detroit was totally different from Christmas in Texas. There were no relatives to join us for Christmas in Detroit—my mother’s family remained behind in Texas, and my father’s remained in Sweden—and because Daddy wasn’t working, there was neither money for a bountiful smorgasbord table nor any money for toys. After many long and hushed-voiced conversations between my parents, Daddy added our names to a list of needy children. Although he couldn’t give us gifts, he was determined to find a perfect Christmas tree. He spent hours walking from tree lot to tree lot. He had two requirements. The tree had to be cheap, and it had to be a sweet-smelling, short-needled balsam, because his family in Sweden never used common long-needle pines as Christmas trees.

Late one night, shortly before a nearby tree lot closed for the season, Daddy paid fifty cents for a tree with a crooked trunk still holding onto a few limbs, but the tree showered needles to the floor with each touch or the least shake. We decorated our tree with multi-color construction-paper chains, red cranberry strings, and four of Daddy’s work socks. Mama and Daddy pronounced it beautiful.

Just before dinner time on a Christmas Eve so cold that the snow crunched underfoot, three smiling men in dark, thick, woolen coats knocked on the front door. One carried a cardboard box filed with government surplus food and the other had two armfuls of gifts wrapped in red and green paper.

Inside one package with my name on it was a beautiful doll with blue eyes and long, black lashes, curly blonde hair and a blue dress. It was the only doll I ever got for Christmas, and I hated it. I hated it because, suddenly, like I believed the strangers did, I saw myself as poor. The doll stayed in its box until Mama gave it to a neighbor girl several years later.

Before that first Christmas in Detroit, I had never thought of myself as needy or poor. Even when I was walking barefoot through our cotton fields in Texas, wearing a dress Mama had stitched by hand out of a flower-printed feed sack, I felt sheltered and loved, lacking nothing. That blue-eyed doll changed my perception of myself and my family and changed how I felt about Christmas for twelve more years.

My nineteenth Christmas was my first-born’s first, and I decided Christmas needed to become magical again. I spent weeks buying food and preparing desserts for my own family smorgasbord—minus the lutefisk which, happily, I couldn’t find that year in Detroit. On Christmas Eve, my mother brought her cardamom rolls, my father fixed his Swedish fruit soup, and my siblings brought friends and appetites. We read the Christmas story, exchanged small gifts, sang carols, lobbed wrapping paper balls, and giggled like kids. I re-discovered the family Christmas of my early childhood. On Christmas morning, Santa surprised my husband by filling one of his socks with an orange, an apple, a chocolate bar, a quarter, and a handful of walnuts.

Over the years, I’ve replaced the cotton work socks with velvety monogrammed Christmas stockings that Santa fills with gift cards and Godiva chocolates, but today, the only things missing from my re-claimed Christmas memories are those wonderful Swedish dishes that only my mother and father could prepare to perfection.

Having a child of my own opened my eyes to my father’s great love. I had to become a parent myself to understand the sacrifice of pride it took for him to publicly acknowledge his family as needy. It was my father’s way of ensuring that his children’s Christmas was more than just another date on the calendar. Now, when I remember my first Christmas in Detroit and the blue-eyed doll, I see those gift-giving strangers for what they really were—my father’s Magi.

If you haven’t already, write down your special memories … they’ll escape you if you don’t.

I’m in the process of starting a quarterly newsletter, more like a flyer filled with info tidbits—name to be determined. This is a huge learning curve for me because I haven’t worked with anything like MailChimp before. I’m praying for patience and an open mind. Do please send me a note at cjpetterson@gmail and I’ll make sure you receive a copy when I get it up and running. Prizes will be awarded to early sign-ups. 

cj Sez: Thanks for stopping by. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. And the More than Friends bundle of six romance novels is still available for under a buck on       Amazon 

cjpetterson@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

Choosing Carter -- Amazon Print  / Kindle / B&N print and Nook / KOBO / iTunes/iBooks

Deadly Star -- Amazon Print / Kindle  / B&N print and Nook / KOBO

Amazon Central Author Page:  http://amzn.to/1NIDKC0