Birthdays: Euripides (480 BC), Emmuska Orczy (1865), Jaroslav Seifert (1901), Anne Desclos (1907), Jerry B. Jenkins (1949), Bruce Brooks (1950), Peter David (1956), Jennie Shortridge (1959), Frank Cottrell Boyce (1959), Bill Phillips (1964), Justine Larbalestier (1967), Wesley Chu (1976),

Jaroslav Seifert won the 1984 Nobel Prize for Literature for his poetry.

Emmuska Orczy is best known for her books on “The Scarlet Pimpernel”

Quote: “To the brave crew and passengers of the Kobayshi Maru…sucks to be you.” ― Peter David, Stone and Anvil (and if you don’t know what this is, you haven’t watched enough Star Trek!)

“If I could write anything I wanted to, I’d write about the splendor of butter and sugar hitting your taste buds at the same time, or smooth pasta and sharp Romano, or a fat strawberry dipped in bittersweet chocolate.” ― Jennie Shortridge, Eating Heaven

“Do not despair when you are rejected. Welcome to the club. There isn’t a writer in the world who hasn’t been rejected. Many, many times.” – Justine Larbalestier

Tip: Different genres usually have different lengths. For instance, category romances tend to be around 60,000 words while a high fantasy can be 110,000 or more. Like everything, there are exceptions to this, but in general, check the standard word lengths for what you’re writing.

Jumpstart: You’ve just won a three-minute shopping spree at your favorite store. Where do you go and what do you buy?

Birthdays: Alice Meynell (1847), Esphyr Slobodkina (1908), Rosamunde Pilcher (1924),Fay Weldon (1931), Jo Beverley (1947), Elizabeth Bear (1971),

Esphyr Slobodknina is best known for her classic children’s book “Caps for Sale”

Quote: “Fiction stretches our sensibilities and our understanding, as mere information never can.” – Fay Weldon

“The greatest things are accomplished by individual people, not by committees or companies.” – Fay Weldon

“You don’t stop doing things because you get old. You get old because you stop doing things.” – Rosamunde Pilcher

Tip: Beware of overusing profanity in your story. A few words here and there are okay, but not every sentence. You’ll risk turning off more readers than you’ll gather.

Jumpstart: You’ve been stuck in meetings all morning and are starving. When you get back to your desk, you find a plate of cookies there with a note that says: for emergencies only. Do you eat them? What kind are they? Who sent them?

Birthdays: H.G. Wells (1866), Leonard Cohen (1934), Fannie Flagg (1944), Kay Ryan (1945), Stephen King (1947), Marsha Norman (1947), Kelley Eskridge (1960), Samantha Power (1970), Sarah Rees Brennan (1983)

H.G. Wells is best known as the “Father of Science Fiction”

Kay Ryan was the US Poet Laureate from 2008-2010

Samantha Power won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction for “A Problem from Hell”

Quote: “We all have our time machines, don’t we. Those that take us back are memories…And those that carry us forward, are dreams.” ― H.G. Wells

“Strangely enough, the first character in Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe was the café, and the town. I think a place can be as much a character in a novel as the people.” – Fannie Flagg

“Before I was published, I really had no idea what  being published entailed: how suddenly I would have to learn, and come to care passionately about, covers and distributions and awards and what hills to die on when you’re editing and how to coax marketing departments and promotional items, and so much else I never dreamed of. It’s like a life-long apprenticeship: you keep on learning. Be ready for the learning!” – Sarah Rees Brennan

Tip: Put together a media kit for when your book is published. This should contain cover art, blurbs, author bio, excerpts, buy links and personal links. Anything you think someone might want for the purpose of promoting your work.

Jumpstart: Write ten of the best pickup lines. Then ten of the worst. Which one would your character use? Write a situation where they use one and the result.

Birthdays: Charles Williams (1886), Donald Hall (1928), Arthur Geisert (1941), Jude Deveraux (1947), George R.R. Martin (1948), A.A. Attanasio (1951), Upton Sinclair (1968), Chris Mooney (1977),

Quote: “There are no new stories. It all depends on how you handle them. In romances the characters are going to fall in love with each other; you know that when you see the syrupy cover. It’s how you get there that’s the fun.” – Jude Devereau

“My advice to young poets is pretty standard—read the old people. Read the 17th century. Don’t just read 20th century. Sometimes you get the impression that people think that poetry began in 1984 or something. And read the old boys and revise. Revise endlessly.” – Donald Hall

Tip: When creating a title, keep it short, use common words…and check online to make sure there aren’t thousands of other books out there with your title.

Jumpstart: You’re playing an online game that gets successively harder, but you stick with it…and win. The next thing you know, the FBI knocks on your door and say you have to come with them…

READING, WRITING, AND MURDER by Joyce Proell & Brenda Whiteside

#2 in Chocolate Martini Sisters Mysteries

Fiction, Cozy Mystery, 273 pages

4****

Blurb: At the writers’ conference, murder tops the program. Aspiring mystery author Emma Banefield and travel writer Nicole Earp are excited to attend a writers’ conference during their latest sisters’ getaway. Nic’s birthday should be all about relaxation, writing, and a chocolate martini to toast another trip around the sun, but the climate at the gathering rumbles like a sudden desert thunderstorm. When sparks fly between the keynote speaker and her timid assistant over a handsome mystery author, the subtitle on this anticipated tranquil weekend spells drama. If a heated love triangle, bruised egos, and betrayal aren’t enough to upset the atmosphere, the conference banquet erupts into a drunken brawl and sends the place spinning. After a body is discovered, Nic and Em do what they do best—snoop—and become embroiled in a mystery that jumps off the pages of a true-crime bestseller. With more than enough suspects and little time, the amateur sleuths have their hands full finding the killer. But can the competitive Chocolate Martini Sisters solve the crime before the prickly chief detective does, or will a murderer outwit them all?

Thoughts: This is a different type of cozy than I am used to. First, there are two sleuths – older sisters. Which is really nice. Second, usually in cozies, the sleuth gets into a really tough situation at the end when they face the killer. That doesn’t happen here. Yes, the sisters are instrumental in catching the perp, but they don’t actually face the killer. An interesting difference. The authors depict the sisters really well. They are individuals, not mirror images of each other. Nic and Em are fun and interesting — and known as the Chocolate Martini Sisters because of their love of that drink. 

In this story, they are at a writer’s conference in their town. They are staying at a hotel they stay at for their “birthday weekends” – one of which just also happens to be this weekend. The keynote speaker is a well-known romance writer who manages to alienate everyone with her attitude. And yet, fans swarm around her even when she gets drunk. Along with her, there is her “best friend”, her assistant, her ex-husband, ex-lover, ex-agent—all of whom are trying to get in her good graces. Because of the conference, there are plenty of suspects for the police—and the sisters—to check out. I had to question though, I’ve been to writing conferences and there isn’t a lot of down time (except in the evening) because of classes, pitches, panels, etc. That didn’t seem to be the case so much here. There didn’t seem to be a lot going on for the sisters. One pitch, one class, one dinner… Not a biggie, it just didn’t ring quite right for me. And the one sister’s daughter’s issues seemed to be thrown in as an aside because it didn’t really add anything to the story. 

Still, I enjoyed the story and the ending satisfied in that the killer was caught. I’ll be looking for more about the sisters.

Recommendation: recommended.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Birthdays: Samuel Johnson (1709), William March (1893), Christopher Ricks (1933), Richard Kluger (1934), Drew Gilpin Faust (1947), Lynn Abbey (1948), Anna Deavere Smith (1950), Steven Pinker (1954), Chris Hedges (1956)

Richard Kluger won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction for “Ashes to Ashes”

Drew Faust was the first female president of Harvard. Her books have been finalists for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer.

Quote: “Thanks to the redundancy of language, yxx cxn xndxrstxnd whxt x xm wrxtxng xvxn xf x rxplxcx xll thx vxwxls wxth xn “x” (t gts lttl hrdr f y dn’t vn kn whr th vwls r)” ― Steven Pinker

“There are always people willing to commit unspeakable human atrocity in exchange for a little power and privilege.” ― Chris Hedges, War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning

“Ideas aren’t magical; the only tricky part is holding on to one long enough to get it written down.” ― Lynn Abbey

Tip: When you get a contract (yay!), if you don’t have an agent, be sure you go over every clause carefully and ask about the ones you are unsure about. If nothing else, take it to a knowledgeable attorney and have them go over it for you.

Jumpstart: You’re remodeling your home, a place you’ve lived for at least a few years. While tearing out a wall, you find a skeleton…

Birthdays: William Carlos Williams (1883), John Creasey (1908), Elizabeth Enright (1909), Mary Stewart (1916), Bjorn Berg (1923), Robert B. Parker (1932), Ken Kesey (1935), Deena Metzger (1936), Carl Dennis (1939), Paul Goble (1945), Gail Carson Levine (1947), Jennifer Crusie (1949), Brian Andreas (1956), Cheryl Strayed (1968),

John Creasey was a prolific English crime and science fiction writer with over 600 books and at least 28 different pseudonyms.

William C. Williams actually wrote a book called “The Great American Novel”

Elizabeth Enright won a Newbery Medal for her book “Thimble Summer”

Mary Stewart is best known for her Merlin series including “The Crystal Cave”

Ken Kesey is best known for his novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”

Carl Dennis won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for “Practical Gods”

Gail Levine received a Newbery Honor for her book “Ella Enchanted”

Quote: “But I have noticed this about ambitious men, or men in power, that they fear even the slightest and least likely threat to it.” ― Mary Stewart, The Crystal Cave

“Writing is part intuition and part trial and error, but mostly it’s very hard work.” – Cheryl Strayed

Tip: Finish the manuscript you’re working on, put it away for a week or more, then edit it, send it out…and then start on the next one!

Jumpstart: If you had one month to live, what would you do? What if it was a week? A day?

Birthdays: Alfred Noyes (1880), Frans Eemil Sillanpaa (1888), H.A. Rey (1898), John Knowles (1926), Jules Bass (1935), Breyten Breytenbach (1939), James Alan McPherson (1943),  Julia Donaldson (1948), William McKeen (1954), Wil McCarthy (1966), Elizabeth McCracken (1966), Walt Becker (1968), Justin Haythe (1973)

Frans Sillanpaa won the 1939 Nobel Prize for Literature – the first Finnish author to do so.

H.A. Rey is best known for his “Curious George” books (along with his wife)

James McPherson was the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1978 for his short story collection “Elbow Room”

Alfred Noyes is best known for his poem “The Highwayman”

Quote: “There was no harm in taking aim, even if the target was a dream.” ― John Knowles, A Separate Peace

“Even ivory towers need central heating.” ― Breyten Breytenbach

 “I get ideas anywhere and everywhere: things that happen to my children; memories of my own childhood; things people say; places I go to; old folk tales and fairy stories. The hard part for me is not getting the idea, it is turning it into a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.” – Julia Donaldson

Tip: Write to your own strengths. You may love comedy or funny cozy mysteries, but not everyone can write funny. Or horror. Or romance. Figure out what you’re good at and go from there.

Jumpstart: As I got closer to the ramshackle house at the end of the road, I noticed…

Birthdays: Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1680), James Fenimore Cooper (1789), Agatha Christie (1890), Jean Renoir (1894), Merle Curti (1897), Betty Neels (1909), Robert McCloskey (1914), Alfred D. Chandler, Jr. (1918), Richard Gordon (1921), Tomie dePaola (1934), Normal Spinrad (1940), Jesse Andrews (1982)

Merle Curti won the 1944 Pulitzer Prize in History for “The Growth of American Thought”

Quote: “An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets the more interested he is in her.” – Agatha Christie

“No persons are more frequently wrong than those who will not admit they are wrong.” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld

“There was a moment when I changed from an amateur to a professional. I assumed the burden of a profession, which is to write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you’re writing, and aren’t writing particularly well.” – Agatha Christie

Tip: Beware of anyone who says “this is the only way to get published.” There are many ways, including self-publishing. No one way works for everyone. In fact, many authors use multiple ways. The thing to stay away from is “vanity publishing” – those places that make you pay thousands of dollars to “publish” your book and then don’t produce anything or it’s of such poor quality that it can’t be used. Do your homework. Check out who to work with.

Jumpstart: You have to evacuate your home. What do you take? Would it make a difference if you had an hour or two vs. a few minutes?

Birthdays: Hamlin Garland (1860), William H. Armstrong (1914), Eric Bentley (1916), Larry Collins (1929), Anne Bernays (1930), Bernard MacLaverty (1942), Marc Reisner (1948), Elizabeth Winthrop (1948), Diane Goode (1949), John Steptoe (1950), Geraldine Brooks (1955), Henrietta Rose-Innes (1971),

William Armstrong is best known for his Newbery Medal winner “Sounder”

Geraldine Brooks on the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel “March”

Quote: “Book burnings. Always the forerunners. Heralds of the stake, the ovens, the mass graves.” ― Geraldine Brooks, People of the Book

“No writer was ever born published.” – J. Martin

“Provoke the reader. Astonish the reader. Writing that has no surprises is as bland as oatmeal. Surprise the reader with the unexpected verb or adjective. Use one startling adjective per page.” – Anne Bernays

Tip: Things to include on your author website: A books page (including buy links, reviews, etc.), a page for series; a bio page (about you), contact page, links.

Jumpstart: Write about a vacation you took where everything that could go wrong, did. What happened? What did you do?