Writing Across Sub-Genres -- is it worth the time?

By Elaine L. Orr

I have created two series that are essentially cozies but do not feature an amateur sleuth. One is the Logland series, set in central Illinois, a small college town. The sleuth is a police chief named Elizabeth Friedman. She and her all male crew are very serious about their work but not worried about what's around every corner the way police in more urban areas have to be.

I started the project as a stand-alone and wanted to write something really funny. Among the early scenes is a call to a fraternity house that is rowdy and has a goat that munches its way through the dining room. I like the mystery and, as I tend to do, really enjoyed the characters and didn't want to let go of them.

There are two more books, Final Cycle and Final Operation. I think Final Cycle is one of the best books I've ever written. But I understand now that I can't really market the books well as police procedurals or as cozy mysteries. Readers want one or the other. The books get good reviews they just don't sell a lot. 

So, undeterred by marketing evidence, I introduced a new series last week. It's the Shore Shenanigans series, set in the same Jersey Shore town as my Jolie Gentil series. The former is a pure cozy series, albeit with a real estate appraiser as the sleuth and a bit more involvement in the town's business community than you might see in some other cozies.

The sleuth in the Shore Shenanigans series is George Winters, formerly a reporter for the local paper and now a private investigator. I actually thought it through over a couple of years and had him get fired from the paper, work with an insurance company as an investigator so he would qualify to be a PI, and then get his PI license. It's rare that I plan that far in advance.

George will find mysteries to solve among the guests at Mayor Madge's Cozy Corner B&B, as he does in the first book, Fired Up and Feisty. It features senior citizen high school alumni who seemed to have some scores to settle among themselves.

The crimes will matter as well as the people who are killed and the potential suspects. However, they can't be gruesome stories and the sleuth needs to interact with other people. I like Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries, and many others of that era, but the PIs spend a lot of time in their own heads. Readers don't necessarily look for that these days. 

Other characters from the Jolie series will appear from time to time, but won't feature in the crime solving. Those characters have well established roles in the town, and the link between the two series will create good synergy. Or so I think.

Not to compare myself to Louise Penny at all, but the Inspector Gamache books also have a cozy element by featuring the town of Three Pines and its residents. You would be hard pressed to find more quirky characters. But as a police inspector, he clearly handles more violent crimes than I intend to write about.

I would be interested in what readers and other writers think about using someone other than an amateur sleuth as the key figure in a cozy series. You are welcome to throw tomatoes, but if you have any ideas on how to make it work (and let readers know that), it would be even better.

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To learn more about Elaine, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

Senior Shenanigans Coming Up

By Elaine L. Orr

 In July, I asked readers if they would read a book with a senior sleuth. The blog post on the topic didn't engender much conversation, but a request to my mailing list drew some interest. The response was the universal one -- if it's a good story, we'll read it.

So, I kept writing. The co-protagonists (if that's a word) are Mayor Madge and George of the Jolie Gentil series. The premise is that the Aunt Madge and Harry's Cozy Corner B&B could host small tour groups of seniors who get into...interesting predicaments.

The books will likely be closer to novella length, though I've long since learned that stories go where they will. The first book is "Fired Up and Feisty." Ocean Alley High School's annual reunion weekend celebrates classes with five-year anniversaries, and always has a group of 'Golden Grads,' individuals who graduated more than forty years ago.

A fire at the Beachcomber's Alley Hotel puts its guests on the street, and local police ask Madge and Harry to bring the most senior members ti the the B&B. Problem is, one of them can't be found. 

Here are the opening paragraphs, in Madge and Harry's bedroom.

WHEN THE FIRE TRUCKS raced by the Cozy Corner Bed and Breakfast, Madge Richards had just shut her book and turned off the lamp by her side of the bed. Usually, she would drown out sounds by turning up the volume on her white noise machine, but she couldn’t ignore four or five trucks roaring by.

She nudged Harry’s shoulder. “Hey husband. Do you hear those sirens?”

He grunted. “I do now.”

They each raised on an elbow. “Can’t be good,” she said.

Harry put his head back on his pillow. “Sounds like something Mayor Madge should investigate.”

“Maybe her husband could drive her to the fire, in case there’s no place to park. You don’t have to stay.”

He sat up. “How many times have I heard that line when we head out to a parade or barbecue?”

She swung her feet to the cold floor and found her slippers. “You like the barbeques.”

And the morning after the Golden Grads arrive at the B&B:

MADGE AWOKE TO a rhythmic rumble under the bed and clicking dog collars as Mister Rogers and Miss Piggy turned in rapid circles. She opened her eyes more widely. “Is that an earthquake?:

They sat up and Harry swung his feet over his side of the bed. “Could be. We should…”

A loud voice said, “You have to stomp in rhythm!”

Madge threw back the quilt. “Good God. It’s five-forty-five. People are sleeping.”

Harry thrust his feet into slippers. “You have got to be kidding me!”

The same man’s voice called, “Five, six, seven eight. Shake your touche to find a mate.”

A woman yelled, “Cut it out, Harvey.”

As Madge and Harry lunged toward the bedroom door to get to the kitchen, footsteps thundered down the main staircase and a man, maybe Grayson Redford, shouted, “Don’t you idiots know what time it is?”

Where to Go from Here?

I've written 10,000 words. While I'm not struggling, I keep thinking I need to make everything funny. I have a quick wit for situational humor, but I need to stop worrying about the humor and tell the tale. Some humor will flow naturally, other comedic situations will grow with the story.

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When a Hobby Leads to Mysteries

 By Elaine L. Orr

Most of my mystery series come about because I'm interested in a place. The Jolie Gentil series grew from a love of Mid Atlantic beach towns, especially smaller ones, in the off-season.

The River's Edge series, set along the Des Moines Rivers in Southeast Iowa, grew from my admiration of how residents of Van Buren County, Iowa helped each other after the river flooded in 2008. I still haven't put a flood in one of the books, but I think I've captured the feel of a small, rural town.

The Logland Series was not meant to be one. Huh? I wrote Tip a Hat to Murder as kind of a lark. I'd recently moved to central Illinois and thought, "How come I've never written a book about a place I live?" (I used to live in Iowa, but wrote that series after I left.) The Logland series features a small-town police chief and a lot silly humor at times. So, different for me. Then I didn't want to let go of the characters!

Where did the name Logland come from? Illinois is famous for Abraham Lincoln, right? The first thing little kids learn about him is that he lived in a log cabin. In fact, we all played with Lincoln Logs. I know, it's a groaner.

What about the Family History Mysteries?

My sister describes a day we were all at my aunt and uncle's place on the Rhode River in Maryland. She was standing next to my cousin looking at the water and joked about how I'd become fond of tromping in cemeteries looking for long-dead ancestors. She deemed that weird.

My cousin and her adult daughter looked at each other and back to my sister. They also tromped. My sister said she realized she was the odd one out. (In fact, my cousin Barb and her kids have visited cemeteries and courthouses in six or eight states.)

The photo at right shows the result of that (joyful) work. Most people have names on their family trees. My cousin's wall has photos of ancestors going back several generations. That is a labor of love.

William Orr & two siblings, Missouri

One day late in 2019, it occurred to me I'd never written a book about the state where I lived my first 43 years (Maryland) or created a sleuth who liked to delve into family roots. Thus grew Digger and her Uncle Benjamin, and the Pandemic let me do four books rather quickly.

To get a good sense about my thoughts and how they led to the series, take a look at my post on Lois Winston's blog, Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers. The photo at the beginning was taken in the early 1930s, about 100 years after William Orr left Aghadowey in County Londonderry. The couple in front are his cousins, who stayed in Ireland.

Enjoy!

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To learn more about Elaine L. Orr, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.

Building New Interest in Older Series

I write four series, but a couple of them have been "stuck" with only three books. Hard to say why, because I like the characters. I suppose it's an analog to the saying about reading -- "so many books [to write], so little time."

Finally, I have ideas for additional books in the series, and I've actually written the fourth for the Family History Mystery Series. But how to generate more interest in the two older series -- River's Edge and Logland?

There's nothing like a free book to get readers interested.

I've been offering one book free in these two series to secure more attention. It does increase sales of all books in the series, but more important (to me) is the books get more reviews.  

I sell at all sites and have box sets of the Jolie Gentil series on Kindle Unlimited. So how can I make a book free on Amazon if it isn't in KU? I start with all sites except Amazon. I change the price on Smashwords to free and the book appear free of all the sites except Amazon -- Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, etc. If you try this, don't forget any books that you may sell, individually, on other sites.

With Amazon, I can't make the books free myself. Eventually, Amazon's computers notice a book is free on the other sites and they do a price match for Amazon. If this doesn't happen within a week or so, I go into my KDP account and send a note saying there is a lower price elsewhere. Lots of Amazon downloads begin.

After about a month (yes, one month) I move the price back to $2.99. The thousands of downloads during that month entice a lot of readers. After a couple of weeks, review numbers begin to go up.

This is not a strategy for those who want an immediate big uptick in income. But it does make a difference over time. In the meantime, you get nice notes from readers. That's the best part.

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To learn more about Elaine, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.  

Balancing Murder and Family

Balancing murder and family is a true skill -- as long as you aren't thinking about killing someone you're related to.

The 12th book in the Jolie Gentil series is underway: working title is "Sticky Fingered Books." Among the many facets of their lives. Jolie handles ordering food for the day care center their four-year old twins attend and Scoobie runs a poetry group for the kids.

Say what? Kids like to rhyme, and Scoobie is a natural clown. Most kids like clowns, as long as the make-up is friendly.

These activities are fine, but readers pick up a mystery to find out how a crime gets solved. They like some excitement along the way and a bit of humor is almost expected now.

As characters evolve, readers may come to care about them, their friends, and families. But not  if a good murder mystery takes a back seat. 

Another key factor is the amount of danger parents would put themselves in to solve a crime. Pretty dumb for a female sleuth to set her husband and kids up to be without her. Ditto for daddy.

Then there is the question of aging the kids. Mine are twins (Lance and Leah) because I find it easier to manage (in a book at least) two kids of similar age rather than a single kid. Much less need to entertain them, and more opportunity for humor. 

Mine entered the stories at age three and are now four. I don't believe they will age much more, for several reasons. Early thirties is okay for how I see Jolie and Scoobie. Forties not so much. Too staid.

The biggest reason to keep them young is that as they aged some older characters would eventually have to die. That or live to be 100+ and eat only soft food. Neither appeals to me, and I think readers would bombard me with bad reviews if Aunt Madge died.

I've written several other books since the 11th (Underground in Ocean Alley). In retrospect, one reason I've avoided #12 is addressing the kid factor. Now, it's time.

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To learn more about Elaine, go to elaineorr.com or sign up for her newsletter. 

Stories are Instinctive - Writing Well is Learned

As a lifelong reader, you recognize good fiction. Two of my favorite authors are Anne Tyler and Jeffrey Eugenides, both of whom write what is termed literary fiction. I’ve learned so much about developing characters from reading their books.

I read lots of cozy mysteries (my genre), especially M.C. Beaton, Parnell Hall, Meg Muldoon, and Carolyn Haines. You may want to write in a genre you’re very familiar with, or you may have an idea for something completely different. 

A story can come instinctively. Writing to satisfy readers can take study and practice.

 

Learning to Write Fiction

 

A verbal storyteller engages with an audience through gestures, tone of voice, and facial expressions. Your book can only compel via words on paper or on an ereader. That's harder. 

Fiction ideas often creep up on you. To bring them to fruition you need to develop a setting and cast of characters—to say nothing of a plot. 

Unless you are an exceptional writer, you need to learn a lot before publishing something good enough to earn respect -- and income. Yes, read good books by successful writers. Also read about structure, character development, setting, dialogue, and related topics. Readers deserve your best.

While you can learn a lot from books, it helps to talk about writing with others and perhaps learn in a classroom or similar environment. 

There are writing classes at community colleges, workshops offered by regional arts organizations, and writing conferences. Most years, writers' magazines such as The Writer or Poets and Writers provide lists of conferences. Check your library. 

There are many online classes now. They can be expensive, though not all are. I always prefer in-person learning, but your location or schedule may not permit that. 

Some of what you will learn in any method is basic-–in a mystery, the villain cannot be someone introduced in the last scene, nor can the reader know a character’s thoughts but not be informed of everything that character knows.  John Gilstrap (author of the Jonathan Grave books) put this aptly in a daylong course I took–-these are cheats. 

In romance, if the only thing keeping a couple apart is miscommunication, a reader will want to bop them on their heads and tell them to pick up the phone. A children’s book has to use appropriate vocabulary for the age group. 

You can probably think of important points in other genres. Personally, when I read science fiction, I want a description of the aliens. I don’t need many details on the humans. 

Resources (taken from Writing When Time is Scarce) 

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Rene Brown and Dave King
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JBI2YI

On Writing Well, William Zinsser
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060891548/

Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories That Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats, Jane Cleland. Especially good for mysteries.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C9GRT7E/