The #777 Challenge

I picked up the #777 challenge from Roni Loren who shared an excerpt from her current WIP, FALL INTO YOU on her blog. I’ve seen a handful of authors taking up the challenge and it’s fun to see their different styles and genres, even from only a short bit of WIP text.

Here are the rules for the #777 Challenge:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS.

2. Go to line 7.

3. Copy down the next 7 lines/sentences, and post them as they’re written. No cheating.

4. Tag 7 other authors

Here’s my entry from my current WIP, A Flame in the Wind of Death, the sequel to Dead, Without a Stone to Tell It:

Matt picked up a straight, stainless steel probe from a nearby tray. “This is easiest to show on the sternum.” As Leigh leaned in, he slid the probe carefully into the nick in the heavy bone, holding it almost vertically. “Do you see this slight angle? This means that the knife strike came from slightly below the contact point."

Leigh straightened in surprise. “From below? How tall was she?”

"Initial estimate puts her at five foot five. Give or take two to three inches as we’re estimating based on bone that’s contracted and warped from the heat."

"That’s pretty short for the blow to have come from below. And the angle’s all wrong for an upward thrust.”

Now it’s time to pass the baton. I’m tagging a bunch of my agency sisters on this one — Marianne Harden, Amanda Carlson, Amanda Flower, Melissa Landers, Lea Nolan, Cecy Robson and Marisa Cleveland. You’re up, guys!

Photo credit: Velo Steve

The Power of Persistence

Late last week, I was happy to break the news that Ann and I were offered a two-book deal — our first novel, Dead, Without a Stone to Tell It will be released in May 2013 by Five Star Publishing. I’ve been thinking a lot over the week-end about the path we chose, how long that process took, and how glad I am that we stuck with it instead of taking shortcuts.

Now, first of all, let me say that I have nothing against self-publishing. It’s a fantastic venue for those that want more control of their own process and want to see their books published faster. Many authors are very successful in this forum because they are good authors who produce a well-edited, quality product. But self-publishing also provides an author with the means to knee-jerk publish a product that might not be ready, simply because they are impatient or want the easy road.

I queried agents for seven months before I found Nicole. It was only a month from first querying her to signing with the agency, but with the number of agents out there, it took me a while to find her to add her to my list. During those seven months, I also had the false start of an offer from an agent that made me uncomfortable, and which I subsequently turned down. Was I frustrated that I’d worked so hard to find an agent and had yet to find the right one? Yes. Was I tempted to self-publish at that point because I wanted to get my work out there? Yes. But I didn’t. I hung in and kept querying. And once I found Nicole, things moved quickly, and the next thing I knew I was signed.

Had I given up and self-published during the querying stage, the manuscript would have been full of passive voice and head hopping. It wasn’t ready to be published, and neither was I. Nicole saw the promise in the writer and the manuscript, but she wisely knew both still needed work.

Next, we moved into the submission process. After a lengthy edit, we sent out the manuscript. And for those who have gone through submission, you know how long this process can take. Then a few rejections started to roll in. And because you’re human, you start to think about self-publishing again. Maybe it would be easier to do it myself. If certainly couldn’t be as painful as these rejections. But, once again, I stuck with it.

A major concern we had from the start was the length of the manuscript — it was slightly long for a crime novel. Ann and Nicole had done their best to help me cut the manuscript back, but the real problem was me. I liked the scientific detail because that’s where my own interests lie. Why would I want to kill my darlings? Then word came back from Five Star. They’d be interested in seeing it again if I’d do a significant cut back — approximately 20,000 words.

20,000 words. That definitely doesn’t qualify as ‘slightly long’. But this time the message got through loud and clear.

So we settled into one last major edit of the manuscript and sent a significantly shorter and tighter version back to Five Star. That was the manuscript they offered on.

Had I given up and self-published during the submission stage, the manuscript would have been full of over-exposition and the writing wouldn’t have been as tight as it needed to be. It wasn’t ready to be published, and neither was I.

Looking back, I can see quite clearly the points where I was tempted to throw in the towel and how disastrous that might have been. I’m still learning how to be a better writer. With each edit, I would think There! Now it’s perfect! only to realize downstream that it still needed work. Had I given up and self-published at any of those points, the manuscript wouldn’t have been anywhere close to perfect. And that would have been reflected in flat sales and likely no interest in the continuation of the series.

Is the manuscript perfect now? Of course not. I’m looking forward to working with a professional editor to make the manuscript the very best it can be. Only then will it really be ready to publish. And in the process, I’ll be ready too.

For those of you who traditionally published, did you go through the same periods of temptation? For those that are still preparing your manuscripts and are considering your options, what are your thoughts on the path you’ll take?

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I'm happy to announce the winner of last week's Amazon gift card is Paulina. Paulina, I'll be getting in touch with you today. Congratulations!

Photo credit: alpiniste

We’ve Got A Publishing Contract!

Ann and I are thrilled to announce that we have our first publishing deal! Our forensic thriller, Dead, Without a Stone to Tell It, has been sold in a two-book deal to Deni Dietz of Five Star Publishing (an imprint of Gale) for release in May 2013.

Needless to say we’re very excited. It’s been a long journey and we couldn’t have done it without agent extraordinaire, Nicole Resciniti. Thank you, Nicole, for believing in us and for having the skill and patience to help us produce a manuscript that we absolutely love, and hope others will love too. Also to our crit team — Jen, Margaret, Sharon and Lisa — you guys have always been there for us and have challenged us to be stronger writers, and we’re so thankful for your tireless efforts. Finally, from a personal standpoint, a big thank you to my husband, Rick, and my two daughters, Jessica and Jordan, for believing in me and for giving me the time and space to pursue a dream.

So what’s the book about? Here’s our blurb:

When a single human bone is found on a lonely stretch of coastline, a determined homicide detective and a reluctant scientist risk their lives when they join forces to bring a serial killer to justice.

Massachusetts State Police homicide detective Leigh Abbot, the daughter of a fallen police hero, struggles to make her way as the sole female detective in a male-dominated department even as she stands in her father’s shadow. Dr. Matthew Lowell is a forensic anthropologist with a deep distrust of the police, a man who has turned his back on his traumatic past as a Marine medic in Afghanistan to focus on the study of sterile bones instead of bloody tissue. When human remains hinting at unnatural death are discovered on the Essex coast, Leigh and Matt form an uneasy alliance as they work to discover the identity of the victim as well as the killer who took her life.

Leigh and Matt’s teamwork and skills are put to the test when the evidence leads them to a burial ground of unidentified victims. To their horror, they also find the ravaged body of a fresh victim at the site, leading them to the hard truth that the killer continues to take lives. When they interrupt a brutal revenge slaying, they suddenly find themselves in the sights of an enraged serial killer newly focused on his pursuers. Now they must find and stop the killer before one of them becomes his next victim.

In celebration of our exciting news, I’m sponsoring a giveaway. I’ll use a random generator to pick one lucky commenter to win a $25 Amazon gift card to the international Amazon outlet of their choice (draw to take place Monday, March 19 at 10pm EDT). If you haven’t signed in through Twitter, Facebook or OpenID, please leave your email address so I can let you know if you won. I’ll also announce the winner in next week’s blog post (March 20) so you’ve got until then to sign up. Good luck!

Also, just to let you guys know, I’ve recently signed up on Facebook, so if you want up-to-the-minute updates and RSS feeds aren’t your thing, feel free to ‘like’ my author page.

Thanks again to all our supporters. We’ve got some exciting times ahead but we’ll be sure keep you all in the loop as updates arise!

Photo credit: hpaich and Jess Newton

Recognizing When Your Plot Is Drifting Off Course

About nine months ago, I wrote a blog post about the planning method we used to write Dead, Without a Stone to Tell It. In that post, I discussed that instead of using our usual detailed-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life outline, Ann and I attempted something different — more of a freeform approach where we planned the beginning in detail and left the specifics loose to allow for a little more creativity, while still having a rough idea of where we wanted to go. When it came to writing A Flame in the Wind of Death, the second book in our series, we used a similar plan. The beginning of the book was well planned out and we knew the details of the murders and who was committing them, but we left ourselves some room to explore as we wrote.

Every book is different, and where that freeform style worked well for Dead, I knew last week that I was having problems with Flame. The first 60% of the book was written and I know exactly how the last 25% was going to fall. The issue was the section in between. Not knowing exactly how to link those two parts of the story together was slowing me down. The plot line I was seeing for that part of the case was simply too straightforward for a mystery. I knew the waters needed muddying, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. It wasn’t that I had writer’s block, but I knew uncertainty was getting in the way of the words flowing.

So what do you do when your plot seems to be drifting away from you?

• Stop spinning your wheels: If what you’re doing now isn’t working, stop and step away from your manuscript. The longer you bang your head against it and the more frustrated you become, the less likely you’ll be able to figure out the real problem.

• Reread from the beginning: Go back and a review what you’ve written. It’s amazing the details you can forget in even a few short weeks. Makes notes as you go to strengthen your manuscript and be open to any plot points that leap out at you. The answer to the issues that blocked you may be contained in sections you’ve already written.

• Brainstorm with a crit partner: If you’ve got a crit partner who is willing to help out, bounce your plot and some potential ideas off them, and then be open to consider their suggestions.

• Go back to the outline (if you have one), re-outline if necessary: If not having a roadmap paralyzes you, go back and fill in the blanks in your outline. Sometimes it’s easier to deal in bullet points than scenes and chapters. When you can see where the plot is going directly, you can often see the holes in it.

• Up the stakes: Sometimes you’re not feeling the love for your manuscript because there’s simply not enough at stake. If you’re bored with your vanilla plotline, just imagine how a reader will feel. Remember that tension and conflict drive plot, so go back and crank up those aspects of your storyline.

• Re-evaluate character priorities: Do your characters’ motives seem out of sync with their own personalities? The disconnect you may be feeling with your storyline may simply be your subconscious recognizing that you’re not being true to your characters. Make sure that their actions and motives seem genuine and won’t yank your reader out of your prose simply because of out-of-character behaviour.

• If all else fails, give yourself a break from the project: Sometimes the best thing you can do for your own work is give yourself some perspective on it. Often the best way to do that is to put it away for a few weeks, if not longer. Sometimes we’re simply too close to our own writing to see its flaws and distance is wonderful for allowing you to view your own work with a critical eye.

So how did I get past this block in my work-in-progress? The first thing I did was stop writing new material and then I spent last week-end rereading the 60,000 words we already had down. A few things leapt out at me right away simply from that exercise. But then Ann and I went back to basics and really nailed out the last third of the book. We spent some time brainstorming and building off each other’s ideas. Together, we worked out the kinks and outlined the final section of the book. Now it’s full steam ahead and we should have the first draft completed within a few weeks.

For the writers in the group, how do you manage when your plot starts to drift or you lose the thread? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments.

Photo credit: bigcityal

Forensics 101: Victim ID Based On Antemortem Fractures

A few weeks ago, Ann broke her ankle in a mishap with her two large and loveable dogs – she was walking in the yard while the dogs were out playing; she zigged, they zagged, and they all ended up in a pile. Her tibia and fibula were fractured in several places, requiring surgery and the use of three screws to stabilize the healing fracture. But because we’re crime writers, the very first thing that occurred to both of us upon seeing her x-rays was a blog post on the possibility of skeletal identification based this type of injury.

Antemortem fractures are fractures that occur before the time of death (‘ante’ – before; ‘mortem’ – death) as opposed to perimortem (‘peri’ – at or near the time of) or postmortem (‘post’ – after) fractures. Usually, antemortem fractures are completely healed, but even well-healed fractures leave traces. When the healing process begins, the cells within the bone start to produce cartilage which forms a preliminary fracture callus between the broken pieces of bone. Shortly thereafter, that cartilage mineralizes first into weaker woven bone and then later into strong lamellar bone. If the break is well set, once healing is complete the resulting bony callus is only visible by x-ray.

Below are the bones of an adult male. The remodeled remnants of the bony callus can be seen mid-shaft in the left humerus:

If victim identification is required, post mortem x-rays can be compared to antemortem x-rays in patient medical files to confirm the location of known fracture points.

However, sometimes a fracture requires additional stability to heal, simply because of the type or location of the break. In that case, orthopedic implants may be used. Some common implants are pictured below:

Orthopedic implants also have the added advantage of often being inscribed with a serial number, allowing investigators to trace the implant directly to the hospital and patient in question. Victim identification can come from that single piece of information alone. But even if there is no specific information on the implant, the type and positioning of that implant will assist with identification.

Armed with this information, a forensic anthropologist can make or strengthen the case for victim identification based on these individual characteristics.

A special thanks to Ann for generously sharing her personal x-rays with us. Talk about taking one for the team!

Photo credits: Ann Vanderlaan, museumoflondon and MacQ