Guests
by Stephanie Bond, September 28, 2007 10:35 AM
If I had a quarter for every time a friend, relative, or new acquaintance at a party told me that they've always wanted to write a book, I wouldn't have to write any books myself ? at least not for money! But does everyone have a novel in them? In my opinion, yes! At least, the raw materials are there: Any individual who has parents, siblings, ever attended school, shared a first kiss, learned to drive, gone to college, had a job, had coworkers, fell in love, got married, had in-laws, lived in an apartment, bought a home, had neighbors, had children, had pets, etc., has more than enough material to write hundreds of novels. And if that person has vices, hang-ups, dysfunctions, and general maladjustments or compulsions, then one could feasibly increase that number of potential novels to thousands! But will everyone who has the potential to write a book follow-through? No. Novelists make up a very small percentage of the population. Why? Because most people have an erroneously romantic idea of what it means to be a novelist: long, languid days of lounging on a chaise in the shade, sipping beverages and channeling the muse to write longhand on a legal yellow pad. In reality, being a novelist means putting in a lot of think-time incubating a fresh, interesting, marketable story idea, honing your skills as a writer and storyteller, learning how to effectively use a word processing package (pounding out a manuscript on a manual typewriter is no longer an option; a writer must contractually submit a digital file), and ? this is the biggie ? putting in enough butt-time in front of the computer to execute a cohesive story over the course of 400 double-spaced manuscript pages. And if a writer does have the talent and discipline to complete a manuscript, then they have to be thick-skinned and savvy enough to find an editor who's willing to take a chance and publish it! Whew! No wonder the failure rate among aspiring novelists is so high! So, while I encourage anyone who feels inclined to write a novel to give it a try (life is all about trying, isn't it?), I always qualify my enthusiasm with some information about the challenges of the business because I don't want the person to reach a point in their writing where they begin to doubt their talent, or feel overwhelmed and simply quit because they believe that their experience is different from every other aspiring writer. While it's true that some writers fall into accidental deals and become overnight successes, most writers toil for many years before they sell their first manuscript, and then toil for many more years before they make enough money writing to live on (if ever). Writing is tough! And not for sissies. And, unfortunately, writing doesn't get any easier the more you do it ? my Body Movers books mark 40+ writing projects for me, and although I love these characters more than any I've worked with, because I have so many books under my belt, I have to dig deeper and deeper for fresh ideas and plot twists. (It's good stress, I keep telling myself.) But lest you aspiring novelists begin to feel overwhelmed by the daunting prospect of writing and selling a manuscript, remember: Every person who has published a novel has beat the odds. And if you decide that writing isn't for you, and you'd rather stay on the reading end of the bookselling transaction, I have only one question for you on behalf of the book industry: May I clone you a few million times? Thanks so much for letting me blog to you this week ? it's been a pleasure. Happy reading, everyone! And don't forget to pass along your love of reading by remembering books at gift-giving time for friends and family (especially for
|
Guests
by Stephanie Bond, September 27, 2007 9:31 AM
After I finished writing the first Body Movers manuscript, my editor asked for any ideas I had for the cover art, something that would give the art department a sense of the tone of the book. Since my husband is an artist and a Photoshop whiz, I fed him a couple of ideas, and he made mock covers for me. At one point he turned to me and asked, "Isn't there usually some kind of quote across the top of the cover?" I picked up the computer keyboard and as a joke typed in: "This is the best book I've ever read!" ? Stephanie's mom (It's a running joke between me and my mom ? she calls after she reads each of my books and says it's the best book she's ever read. She's the world's most loving, most supportive mother; I'm so very lucky.) A few days after I submitted the mock covers to my editor, she called and said that marketing loved the idea of using my mom's quote for the cover to let readers know that the book is quirky and fun ? so could we? Sheepishly, I called my mother to tell her what I'd done and ask if it would be okay to use the quote. She laughed, but happily agreed, thank goodness! The quote made the book release much more exciting for my family and all my mother's friends. And I've had so many readers email to say that they picked up Body Movers because of the quote! For the second book in the series, 2 Bodies for the Price of 1, my husband lent his endorsement with: "What a great book! I'm really glad my wife made me read it." ? Stephanie's husband What a guy. (We just celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary, by the way. We were married in grade school.) For the record, my family does read my books, bless them. My husband, who is a bona fide techie and all around guy-on-the-move, reads many of my books in electronic format. Which reminds me ? did you know that many of my books are available in eBook formats? Just order, pay, and download ? so easy! Perfect if you're traveling, or if you don't live near a bookstore, or if you're so eager to read a book that you simply can't wait for it to be delivered! (If eBook technology had been available when I was growing up on a tobacco farm in rural eastern Kentucky, I wouldn't have had to resort to reading Progressive Farmer.) Speaking of where I grew up... someone very special and influential in my childhood is giving me a quote for the third book in the series, 3 Men and a Body, to be released in 2008: My first grade teacher! I can't wait until that cover is unveiled! Tomorrow, to wrap up my blog-week: Does everyone have a novel inside
|
Guests
by Stephanie Bond, September 26, 2007 10:00 AM
When I first started writing humorous romantic suspense novels, I decided I wanted more than a layperson's knowledge of crime investigation (this was before one could find a CSI show on television at any hour of the day). I decided to complete the coursework to become a private investigator/bounty hunter in the state of Georgia. The semester-long class was taught at night twice a week at a technical college. I still had my corporate job at the time, so I left my office at 5:00 p.m., sprinted to my car, and stewed in Atlanta rush-hour traffic for 90 minutes to travel about 15 miles to the campus. Then I sat in class from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., taking copious notes as professional instructors rotated in and out of the class: police officers, detectives, weapons experts, security specialists, bounty hunters, private investigators. I was in heaven... and the only person in the approximately 25-person class who wasn't attending with the intent of going "professional" as a private investigator or bounty hunter (many students were already in law enforcement or security). The coursework was comprehensive, covering the legal system, weapons handling (including shooting sessions at a handgun range), crowd control, surveillance, citizens arrest, crime scene investigation (from photography to fingerprinting), self-defense, and all the numerous and varied topics that would be covered on the state exam. (Upon completing the coursework, one has to pass a state exam in order to become a bounty hunter. In order to become a private investigator, one has to pass the state exam and also "apprentice" under another P.I. for a certain number of hours before they can open their own agency. And in the state of Georgia, P.I.s aren't licensed, they are "registered.") The class was tough, but fascinating. The handbooks alone were priceless to a writer, and the contacts, invaluable. Not to mention all the little insider tidbits the instructors shared. For instance, I learned the name of the bar in Atlanta where all P.I.s, prosecuting attorneys, and cops hang out (Manuel's Tavern). I learned that 80% of a P.I.'s job is domestic surveillance (catching cheating spouses), which requires long bouts of sitting in a car, a digital camera with a zoom lens, and few bathroom breaks. And I learned that if you're attacked from behind, don't try to turn around ? it's better to use your feet and elbows to fight back than to expose your face and chest to your attacker. So, who knows ? if this writing gig doesn't work out, maybe I'll push forward with my training and hang my shingle: Stephanie Bond, P.I. (Er, on second thought, I'd really rather keep writing, so please check out my Body Movers series!) Tomorrow: the story about how the Body Movers series became a family
|
Guests
by Stephanie Bond, September 25, 2007 10:25 AM
Over the years, I've done a lot of things to research scenes for my books, a few of them kinky (I'll spare my husband's pride by not revealing all the gadgets I've made him "try"), and some of them challenging, like training for and running a half-marathon. My main character in the Body Movers series, Carlotta Wren, works for Neiman Marcus, so I visited the department store many times to observe customers and clerks. I attended special events, like a Manolo Blahnik shoe-signing, and some trunk shoes. (I learned that Neiman Marcus accepts only American Express and their own store credit card, plus cash and checks, but no Visa, no MasterCard.) In preparation to writing scenes in the cigar bar Moody's, I visited a great cigar bar in Charleston, South Carolina and learned the proper way to cut, light, and smoke a cigar, plus all the accoutrements involved. When I was looking for an exacting hobby for my ex-coroner body mover Cooper Craft, I settled on building miniatures and spent many hours in museums and poring over books viewing miniatures. (To combine two elements, I decided that he would create miniature vignettes in cigar boxes that he gets from Moody's.) I had a pathologist friend of mine score me a body bag so I could get a feel for the real thing. (By the way, I tried to buy a body bag on eBay, but couldn't win an auction; WHO is buying all these body bags online? You can't convince me it's other fiction writers.) In Body Movers, the heroine's younger brother, Wesley Wren, is a gambler who's in debt to two loan sharks. His game of choice is Texas Hold 'Em poker, so I read several books on the game and the psyche of players, made my husband play with me ad nauseum, and I watched poker tournaments on TV until my eyes crossed. Also, when you're a fiction writer, it pays to have resources: I have a friend whose personal network is huge and includes people from all walks of life. I called him once and said, "I need to know how to rig a car to blow up, but not so bad that it would kill the occupants." Without missing a beat (or asking why), he said, "Give me ten minutes, I have to call a guy." Ten minutes later he called me back, and said, "Okay, here's what you do..." He once got me information on the best place in the Chattahoochee River to dump a car with a body inside! But one of the craziest things I've done to research a scene: ask my husband to close me up in our sofa bed to see if a body would fit. He's accustomed to my strange requests, but this time he was incredulous. "Are you insane?" he shouted, then gestured to the office building that faces our living room window. "That's all I need is for some bored employee to see me stuffing you in the sofa bed and call 911!" But he did it. And I fit! (Ladies, don't try this at home unless you really trust your husband.) For the sake of research I've even completed the coursework to become a private investigator in the state of Georgia... more on that
|
Guests
by Stephanie Bond, September 24, 2007 10:14 AM
Not much...but probably more than the average person. You see, I grew up in a tiny town in eastern Kentucky, population 1800. We had one red light, one high school, and one person who doubled as coroner and local funeral home director. (Occasionally, the coroner also operated a tow truck service since he was on the scene of most accidents anyway.) During high school I dated a guy who worked for the local funeral home as an all-around go-fer ? he helped with all the non-medical related activities, including body retrieval. And some of the stories he told me made my hair stand on end ? bodies sitting up in the hearse, for instance, from latent muscle spasms and/or rigor mortis, and scaring him so badly that he ran off the road! And a few tricks of the trade for getting bodies to look so nice for viewing ? funeral directors are part artist/part magician. Fast forward about twenty years and I was plotting the Body Movers series ? a woman who works for Neiman Marcus in an upscale Atlanta mall by day gets pulled into helping her brother move bodies from crime scenes by night! I guess those gory details my teenage boyfriend had told me planted a seed of morbid curiosity because it seemed like the perfect setup to give my main character access to crime scenes, but with no authority whatsoever to be solving them, and a great lead-in for the darkly comedic tone I was going for. I did need more to go on, however, than rusty memories of what, in hindsight, might have been embellishments of incidents to impress/scare a young girl. So I began researching body hauling/body retrieval/body carrying on the Internet... only to find that there was very little information available. You'll be somewhat comforted to know that the field of mortuary is a tightly guarded occupation ? you must belong to professional organizations to have access to certain publications and information. I was able to score a few used periodicals on eBay, but I knew I had to have something more concrete to go on in order to lend as much authority as possible to the Body Movers series. As luck would have it, a fellow I went to high school with (not the guy I dated, not sure what happened to him), had gone on to become a mortician, and coroner to boot. So I called him and arranged to go back to my home town and interview him. He was an excellent source for what is supposed to happen on a body retrieval. A good fiction writer, of course, starts with what's supposed to happen, and then twists it for their own purposes! I am loving writing this series and can't wait to see what trouble the characters get into next. Oh, and I've had people ask me for tips on moving bodies "just in case" they ever need it, so here's a tip: When lifting a body, use your legs, not your back. Tomorrow: Some crazy things I've done to research
|