A Writer's Musings

Kitty Has An Ally

2011-06-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Giving medicine to cats have always meant an all out battle of wills. Kitty knows what you are trying to force down its throat and the claws are out, curved and pointy sharp. If I could avoid the trauma, I would.

But Jazzy, my six month tabby who only weighs six pounds, just got spayed. Had to, she was in heat and with two males - her brother and an older neutered male - was after her and all she could do was writh and squirm around the floor in obvious need and a real temptation to the boys.

Jazzy was back from the vet's office who gave me two vials of medicine to give her. One to be taken twice a day and the other once a day. I got a towel and wrapped it around her body to hold her close and protect myself from those nails of hers, pried her mouth open and - she squirmed backwards and slipped out of my arms. I took after her leaving the open bottle of medicine on the table.

Finally caught her and came back only to find Smokey, my male Tonkinese, had knocked over the bottle. A pool of pink liquid spread under it, about a dose full. Guess he felt he was helping poor Jazzy.

Amazingly, however, the next time the dosage was due, Jazzy seemed calm in my lap. So instead of wrapping her up and terrifying her again, I filled the plunger, stuck it in her mouth and let the liquid go in. I could hardly believe it. She took it without a fight, and for the most part she has been calm and agreeable ever since.

I've had other cats that I literally had to sit on to force feed medicine. The worst is when it's in pill form. That never seems to work.

But liquid? Something else. It was as if she trusted me. Nothing to it.

My Neighborhood Library is Alive

2011-05-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Linda Stevens of the Harris County Public Library spoke to the Southwest Chapter of Mystery Writers of America in Houston at our monthly luncheon.

I was amazed at the changes going on. I meakly admit I haven't visited my local library in a while so I was delighted to find that the libraries have been updated. By that I mean they are no longer the "no talking" quiet room that we expected in the past. Although they do provide a quiet room if you wish.

The new library has several computers which are free for card holding members. They welcome writers groups, talks from writers, even signings. They welcome children and have a children's hour during which someone reads aloud to them. They also hold classes, such as the free computer classes in my neighborhood branch.

To cut down on expenses, several close on Saturdays or Sundays or shortened their hours. I'm glad to report that my library, the Everett D. Collier Branch on Pinemont near Bingle in the Northwest is open on the weekends.

Another addition is Overdrive where you can rent e-books and load them on your computer. When the rental period is up, the e-book magically disappears. I'm happy to say that even my books are available to read on Overdrive, thanks to L&L Dreamspell, my wonderful publisher of the Niki Alexander series, Less Dead and Lost Witness.

2011-03-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

A REVIEW BY
LAURA ELVEBAK

In the white irises in the Hargrove Family Cemetery in DeWitt County, Texas, a black professor from San Antonio is murdered as he tries to dig up hidden treasure.

Caroline Hargrove Hamilton, a former journalist and recent widow from Houston, is finding new meaning to her life by returning to her roots in DeWitt County to chronicle her family's history dating back to the Civil War. Getting re-acquainted with her cousin Janet as her guide, they become amateur detectives after they stumble upon the body of Professor Harrison next to an old grave dating back to 1875, where a second body is suspected to have been buried with the original deceased. Only by digging up the past and solving an old murder can Caroline and Janet find the answer to who killed the professor. By doing so they unearth a treasure of secrets that no one could have foretold, bringing unexpected revelations about their ancestors to an exciting climax that pits Caroline with the murderer.

Well written in a leisurely and detailed style, Connie Knight uses her skill as a journalist and magazine editor to introduce us to a diverse and delightful cast of characters that could only come from the South Texas Plains. We meet Caroline's extended family as well as learning about her ancestors as she researches the past with the meticulous gathering of papers, letters and interviews. We also meet Constable Bob Bennett who is not only investigating the case but is sparking the flames of love that Caroline once thought had died with her husband. Cemetery Whites is a thoroughly enjoyable excursion into the heart of Texas and the rugged, hardy people who made it great.

What Would You Do For Love?

2010-08-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

I've given Niki Alexander a short break while I embark on a new endeavor.

Meanwhile, there is a story that has begged telling for a long time, and my muse, stubborn and insistent, refuses to stay silent and hidden. I've entitled the work, The Flawed Dance, which takes place from 1968 through 1970 in Philadelphia. I have dug into my past for a life so far away from my own present life that it must be fiction. While I wouldn't call this a memoir, per se, it takes from my memories of life back then. I've twisted reality into a darker place, a noir mystery. The result is the story of Erin Matthews, early twenties, who can't seem to stay out of trouble and makes all the wrong decisions that leads her further down a dangerous road from which escape is near impossible as she seeks love, acceptance and redemption.

A funny thing happened to me as I immerged into Erin's mind and soul. I became embroiled in a love affair that Erin would have jumped into without a second look, as she did with every challenge in her life. If it was beyond the norm, or a little risky, she might have doubts. But if it also had romance, glamour, excitement and passion, Erin would not hesitate. She is a sucker for love, needs it desperately, but will turn away as abruptly and cruelly if the object of her passion turns and bites her.

For several weeks I have become Erin, much older and, I thought, much wiser, though now I have my doubts. You see, I have fallen in love with words. The written word can be very powerful. Letters from an unknown lover, for instance, can arouse the imagination and create a passionate foreplay that could far surpass reality. Words can convey hope and promise. Words can convey a great love and ignores pending disappointment and failure.

I know which road Erin in the past will travel in The Flawed Dance. I am not sure what happens to the Erin in the present. But I will keep you apprised, dear reader, in future installments.

Review of Lost Witness in Midwest Book Review

2010-03-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

Lost Witness

Laura Elvebak
L&L Dreamspell
Friendsville, TX
9781603181440 $17.95 www.lldreamspell.com

Niki Alexander, counselor of runaway teens at the Open Palms Shelter, becomes involved in the investigation into the murder of a young woman from Mexico when Barky, a runaway, finds the woman's body near a small boy hiding behind a dumpster. Barky, afraid he will be blamed for the murder, turns the boy over to Niki. The traumatized boy refuses to talk but connects with Niki and she is reluctant to hand him over to child protective services. Not long after he is placed with a foster family, he disappears and Niki, feeling guilty, is determined to find him. So are homicide investigator Luis Perez and his partner Nelson Spalonetti, who suspect the dead woman was a drug mule and that the small boy may have witnessed her murder. Niki turns to the street for answers to the boy's whereabouts while peripherally teaming up with Nelson Spalonetti. As they follow clues to a case that becomes more complex as it develops, the attraction between Niki and Nelson heats up, as does the unknown danger awaiting them.

Lost Witness is Elvebak's second thriller featuring teen counselor Niki Alexander. Niki is an intriguing character, a former police officer who quit the force after tragically shooting a teenage boy and now is committed to helping runaways so they don't suffer the same fate. Elvebak delivers a well-written mystery, set against the colorful backdrop of Houston, Texas. The galvanizing plot is filled with twists and turns and enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing throughout. Characters are realistic and credible, and Elvebak's portrayal of runaways insightful and empathetic.

Christy Tillery French
Reviewer

The Characters of Lost Witness

2010-02-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

Lost Witness is not just about murder and who did it. It’s about family dynamics. Five-year-old Estefan's mother was murdered in front of his eyes after they had crossed the Mexican border. The motive appears to be about the drugs she was transporting. But why take the child? And when the child disappears, more questions arise. Who does the child really belong to? In what country does he belong?

I got the idea for Lost Witness when I visited the street church while researching Less Dead. They hold evening church services outside in a parking lot across from Covenant House in Montrose. While I was there, someone mentioned that the FBI was watching them, maybe someone pretending to be homeless. Maybe he was paranoid; maybe he was right. I never found out, but this started my mind going in all directions. Why would they be watching homeless teens? Then, we had a representative from the FBI speak to us at a Mystery Writers lunch meeting and I got my answer. Of course, they would look at homeless teens. Who else would be more vulnerable to being initiated in a terrorist camp against a country who couldn’t provide shelter or healthcare for them.

I find characters everywhere. Some I can’t resist putting them in a story. Most of the time, I change their names. Funny thing, when I do, the real life person become that name. Next time I see them, I’ll want to call them by my character’s name. Why? I can’t remember their real name. Any writers out there have the same experience?

One of my daughter’s oldest friends is a woman named Tara Barlow and I asked her permission to be in Lost Witness. Throughout the fifteen years we’ve known her, she’s been either homeless lived with someone or she shared a place with her boy friend. To pay her way, she’s cleaned houses, babysat, cleaned apartments and houses, and she even painted the rooms and tiled the floors when I bought my house. Because she’s been so close to my family, she’d never forgive me if I called her a fictional name. I asked her permission to use her real name and she agreed. I reminded her several times and she would smile back at me. I used her boy friend’s name, too, and said he would be a gangster. He just shrugged when I told him. Maybe because he used to be a gangster or at least used to be in a gang until the police dumped his unconscious body on a railroad track and the train rain over his foot and now he has only half a foot. He loves telling that story whenever he gets drunk.

Tara knows the street. Her oldest daughter was homeless and that’s one of the reasons she brought me with her to the street church so she could say goodbye to the granddaughter who had been in foster care because Tara’s daughter was an addict and lived on the street. She was there to say goodbye to her daughter. I did change her name, and of course, I can’t remember her real name.

Several things happened at the street church. Tara introduced me to several of her friends. She also introduced me to the minister, who has been there for the teens on the street. She told him about my books and he got on the mic and told the group who I was and that I wanted to talk with however many kids who wanted to talk to me. I was surrounded from at the time on to the time I left. They were open and eager to tell their stories. Several were in their late teens and early twenties, Iraq vets, struggling to survive, physically as well as mentally. Many of these kids were surviving by taking odd jobs or making something with their hands to sell on the street. They were young and most of them were eager to work. They told me where they slept at night, mostly in Hermann Park or under the bridge.

There’s another character in the book who was a long-standing friend of Tara’s. His real name is Rick. For the book I dropped the “k” in Rick. Like Ric, my character, he’s in a wheelchair as a result of a shooting over a woman and I don’t know how he makes his money and I don’t ask.

How do I find these people? My kids, believe it or not. These are people they met when they were teenagers and their friendship remained over the years. Tara comparison shops for my daughter to get the best deal as she does for Niki in the book. There isn’t much she wouldn’t do for my daughter has helped her out in many ways.

My protagonist, Niki Alexander, is not always sure of herself, but she believes in taking care of the kids who don’t have anyone else to care for them. While she was a police officer, she was forced to kill a teenager, high on PCP and who was trying to kill her. This so devastated her that she quit and went to work with troubled and runaway teens.

In my first book, Less Dead, we first meet Nelson Spalonetti, the homicide investigator who took her place with her ex-partner, and toward the end saw an attraction building between him and Niki. Nelson gets a bigger role in Lost Witness because he is a hunk and Niki has been a widow for a long time and pretty much devoted to her work.

The first time Niki saw Estefan and brought him home with her and kept him over night, Niki knew she would go to the ends of the earth to see no harm came to him. When he disappears despite her good intentions, she becomes a mama bear, tenacious in her search. She is not happy at first to be working with Nelson and he’s not happy working with a civilian, but their relationship slowly revolves. While they both search for a missing child who hasn’t spoken since he witnessed his mother’s murder, they are brought together in more ways than one.

There is a story I heard recently that I’d like to finish with.

A man walking along the beach saw a boy covered with starfish. He was throwing them back into the ocean.

The man told him, “You die they are just going to end up back on the sand and die. You’re wasting your time. There are too many of them and you can’t save them all.”

The boy pulled another starfish off him and tossed it in the water and watched it float out on the waves. He turned to the man and said, “I saved that one.”

And one at a time, Niki will strive to save another one.

Is it a Job or a Scam to Steal Your Money?

2010-02-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

As a mystery writer, I am always on the lookout for crimes against person or persons. I didn't know that this time the target would be someone close to me. Here is an example of what they will try to do. Unfortunately, this is not fiction.

They are getting creative out there, folks. As bad as the economy has been, there is always someone to take advantage of those in need and out of work. Consider this real case. Shawn had been out of work for almost a year and collecting unemployment. Everyday she went online and sent out resumes, desperate for work. Finally, someone from Craig's List responded. The company claimed to be a medical firm and needed to fill a clerical position, and since she had years experience as a medical assistant in hospitals, she was excited by the prospect.

What she couldn't understand was why they were sending her a check "so she could pay customers." What customers? She was smart enough to be suspicious and to not give out her bank information or social security number.

A few days after submitting her resume and emailing back and forth to the party, she received a check for $2,850.55. For someone who is needing money and out of a job, this is very tempting. You want to cash that check. You want to believe it is real.

Here's the following email conversation between Shawn and the person who sent her the check:

Shawn: It just came.
Moore Shawan: ok nice. pls confirm the amount to me
Shawn: 2,850.55
Moore Shawan: correct
Shawn: I can open account at Chase today.
Moore Shawan: don't you have any other bank closer to you?
Shawn: That is the closest
Moore Shawan: like credit unions
Shawn: Chase is the closest
Moore Shawan: chase banking system slow, and you need this funds urgently so i'm asking if you have any other place you can get it cashed faster
Shawn: If I go to another bank it may take a while to clear.
Moore Shawan: yeah, that you can deposite it and they will give you some funds instantly
Shawn: Don't I need to get a form of credit card so I can perform payments with this money for your company
Moore Shawan: yeah, when seting up new account you will have to apply for Visa card also so you will take the chck to the bank right now and deposite it....ask the bank to give you some funds that its urgent, so you will be to carry out your assignment today...ok?
Shawn: Ok
Moore Shawan: ok go now what ever they give you let me know
Moore Shawan: how long will u be back?
Shawn: I have to take a bus to get there, I will let you know as soon as I get back
Moore Shawan: ok... make sure they give you some funds ok? cos they always do
Shawn: How much?
Moore Shawan: $1,650
Shawn: on a visa card?
Moore Shawan: the Visa card won't be ready.. that will take 2 weeks
Shawn: Cash then
Moore Shawan: when you return with the money i will instruck you on what to do but lets take one at a time
Shawn: I will get back to you when it is done
Moore Shawan: ok i ill be here - bye for now

At this point, Shawn looked up the name of the company and couldn't find any information on it. She then called Chase Bank since the check was drawn on a Chase account. They told her that the check was fraudulent and they received one of these at least twice a week.

Shawn got back online with Moore.

Shawn: I found out about your scam, you should be ashamed of yourself to pray on people that our trying to make a honest living. I have turned it over to the fraud department and contacted an attorney.
Moore Shawan: Hello
BUZZ!!!
Moore Shawan: what do mean
Shawn: You know exactly what I mean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Moore Shawan: pls expland
Moore Shawan: explain whats exactly thats going on
Shawn: how dare u prey on people that r trying 2 do good 4 their family. the check is fraudulent i called the bank in arizona
Moore Shawan: bullshit.....why calling the bank? were you to pay yourself
Moore Shawan: i told u take check to bank...let them do their jobs
Moore Shawan: pls stop telling me shit
Moore Shawan: go get the chech cashed
Shawn: cause this clerk position is bullshit along with you and ur bullshit check.
Moore Shawan: f...k that the check is ok
Shawn Collins: no f...k u u cash it

Is nothing sacred? The scammers are out there, so beware. If someone sends you a check that you haven't earned and haven't requested, it is a fraud. These people are innovative and resourceful. Never give out your bank info or your social to anyone. The bad guys are out there, folks, just waiting to take advantage. Don't let them win. I wish this was fiction. It would make a good thriller. Unfortunately, it's real.

Texas Education Code – Section 25.093

2010-01-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

Please forgive the rant, but when an injustice is done, I have to write about it. The Texas Education Code- Section 25.093 is grossly unfair to parents.

My daughter is a single mother with two children in the Spring Branch School District, a girl that just turned eight and a fifteen-year-old boy. She has been accused of contributing to her children’s nonattendance: Texas Education Code—Section 25.093 and ordered to pay an exorbitant amount in fees.

Texas Education Code—Section 25.093 does not detail the circumstances of whether she kept the child at home for no good reason or if the child was too sick to go to school; i.e., fever, vomiting, stomach pain, headache, etc. According to this Section, the parent is criminally negligent for keeping a sick child at home instead of sending the child to school.

My daughter has a good job, but has to struggle every month to pay her bills. When the children are sick – and they have been sick a lot through the cold winter with the flu prevalent in our city—she had to miss work and stay home with them. Everyone is told not to send sick children to school so they won’t infect others. They must be a lot of sick kids still going to school and spreading the germs. But this law says that if the children miss school, regardless of the reason, the parent has committed an offense punishable by fines.

Once the school children are well enough, they return to school. But according to the Texas Education Code—Section 25.093, they should have gone to school sick. Each day they are sick, the parents have to pay. Not only does the parent miss work, the parent is charged fines for keeping their sick kids at home and taking care of them. I remember the time when the child was made responsible and had to make up the time he or she missed by staying after school or taking extra work home. At least it teaches the child responsibility instead of punishing the parent.

What constitutes an excused absence? Nowhere in the code does it specify what constitutes an excused absence. If the parent forgets to write a note, or doesn’t have health insurance to take the child to the doctor, or if the child loses the note on the way to school, then the parent gets punished and has to pay a fine.

If a child is late for any reason, this constitutes nonattendance and the parent has to pay. There could be many reasons for being tardy to class that a parent has no control over. Does a teacher have to pay if he or she is late to class? What is the parent’s defense? For a single parent, these fines can constitute a paycheck. How does this serve the child or the family? Maybe if the state would accept the government’s stimulus for the school districts, they wouldn’t have to rob the parents.

Radio Interview with Baron Ron Herron

2009-12-03T10:05:00.000-08:00

I was interviewed this morning at 7:35 PST today by KZSB AM 1290 in Santa Barbara, California, on Baron Ron Herron's radio. We talked about Lost Witness, the second Niki Alexander mystery following Less Dead. The program airs in Santa Barbara , Goleta , Carpinteria, Ventura , Thousand Oaks and Los Angeles County . In addition, the show is rebroadcast on KNRY AM 1240 in Monterey , Salinas , Santa Cruz and Pebble Beach ; KNWZ-II AM 1270 in Palm Desert, Palm Springs , Indio and Rancho Mirage. The program is delayed broadcast in Australia on 99.7 FM in Queensland and to another 30+ radio stations via ComRadSat. Have no idea when the delayed broadcasts air.

Getting Busy Writing Anew After Promotion

2009-11-29T13:24:00.000-08:00

I wrote the first three chapters of the third Niki Alexander mystery several months ago. Seems like ages ago. Everytime I revisited the work, I stalled. With the second book, Lost Witness, just out in October - actually the night before I went to Bouchercon in Indianapolis - I knew I had to promote the book. Too late, I told myself, to get my publicist, PJ Nunn, involved. But I had to do something - get reviews, get signings. Just before Lost Witness came out, A Box of Texas Chocolates, The Final Twist Anthology, which carried my story, "Dying for Chocolate" was released and the authors were promoting. Then, of course, I had my full time job at Black Pearl Exploration.

To tell you the truth, I felt overwhelmed. I've done a few signing for A Box of Texas Chocolates and none for Lost Witness. I'm waiting for a date with Murder By The Book. By word of month, I've sold several copies - not enough - and sent my book out for reviews, put up my author page on Amazon and Goodreads, let people know on Facebook, but there's always more to do.

At the same time I was finishing a short story for next year's Final Twist Anthology with the Texas Landmark theme. Once I finished, I was given the opportunity to edit other stories which would be included. That took time.

Don't let me forget Mystery Writers of America and getting out the Sleuth Sayer for the Southwest Chapter and doing my Treasurer duties, and being on the nominating committee for next year's election. A lot of work for a national organization who won't even recognize my published books. But that's another story for another day. No more whining.

All this time, the third book is calling me. I'm always thinking of the plot and the characters and what goes next. I read over the three chapters. I didn't have a clue where to go next. I bought 3x5 cards. I set my eisel in the office next to my writing desk so I could do a story board. Materials were ready, but I was not. Darn!

So finally, I got most of the other stuff done and out of the way. Thanksgiving is finally over with, thank God! We won't even go there. Too personal. Maybe another day I'll write about my family's dysfunction. For now I'll write fiction.

So I spent most of the weekend rehashing the backstory of Niki and the characters that people my untitled manuscript. I found something I didn't expect. I found my original character sketch of Niki Alexander. She wasn't the same person I wrote in Less Dead and Lost Witness. Most of her character was there, but several paragraphs of her past had never come up. In fact, I'd forgotten the character I had imagined back then. Maybe that part belonged to another character whose story I haven't written yet and but will someday. So I rewrote her biography the way she turned out in my books. Now I had to face the actual writing.

It took quite a while and then I realized what was wrong. I didn't like the first three chapters. It had a good hook, but I couldn't make sense of it. What I had didn't go where I wanted, or how I had planned in the beginning. I needed it to start with a problem that I could fix. The new problem that I discovered by doing the synopsis. I had to kick life into the characters and get to the main plot. So the first three chapters went away.

I've only written three pages so far, but I like what I have and I'll keep writing. I still have several hours of writing time today. So until later, I bid you adieu. No more procrastinating.

Talent Show

2009-11-10T16:58:00.000-08:00

The talent show at Bouchercon was fantastic. Anyone there will tell you the same. Above is my roommate for the festivities, Roberta Rogow, a wonderful singer.

When Don Brun emailed everyone for volunteers to be a part of a talent show at Bouchercon 2009, I plunged ahead without even thinking. What was I thinking? Good gravy! It's been 40-some years and a good 40 pounds less since I performed as a dancer. But I couldn't resist. I still love to dance, but haven't in public in a very long time. Still, when the music plays, I sway. My feet move, my hips swivel, my hands take off on their own. What the heck? Why not? My new book came out the night I left Houston, so how else would I get recognized? Darn, I'm a writer, not a dancer.

Here is Parnell Hall, Peter Lovesey and friends, and Don Brun.

And then there was me.

I was the only dancer.

2009 Bouchercon

2009-11-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

Indianapolis was a delightful town, though I didn't see much of it. The cool weather, however, was welcome after the 90 degrees Houston experienced during that time.

I arrived by plane from Houston on Wednesday in time for the SinC Workshop with Donald Maass. What a wealth of information. I scribbled, I scratched, I disappeared into my story and emerged with new ideas, hardly able to wait to get back to my laptop and let my fingers flow my brain. I was ignited, mind filled eratically. Could I possibly remember everything before I flew back home and captured it all in my computer? Well, I'm back now, with so much to do and to catch up with job, family, and other writing commitments. Yes, it is still in my head somewhere, simmering, growing, almost ready for birth.

Thursday, the panels began. So many to choose from, each filled with information I had to have. I had to decide which best fit my writing, my story, my mystery and my characters. This could be hard because so many panels fit perfectly. Men, Women & Murder Through the Ages. Okay, I don't write historicals, but I wanted to meet Tony Hays, a new member in the Southwest Chapter of MWA. Well worth the hour, and I got his book.

Heroes for our Times sounded like another relevant one. After all, isn't Niki Alexander a hero to the teenagers she counsels? Murder, Therapy and Social Work. Now that fit Niki. She was a social worker, therapist, counselor. This led to Suddenly I'm Thirsty with Con Lehane, Chris Knopf, J.A. Konrath, Jason Pinter and Tom Schreck. All their characters drank. Niki's an ex-drinker, so I figured she would fit right in. I couldn't help but notice that Joe Konrath and Tom Schreck both had bottles of beer in front of them and drank without shame during the panel. They fit right in.

Then there was Adaptation. Novels to Screen and back. I'm also a screenwriter. Did I ever mention that? These guys know what they're talking about. Sean Chercover has a movie in the works. They made a movie from one of Joe Finder's books, too. Paul Guyot is a screenwriter working with Sean's book.

Them came the presentation of the Barry, Macavity, Derringer and Crime Spree Awards. The night ended at the Gameworks in Circle Center Mall. I spend my time there performing in the Talent Show. Pictures will follow.

Friday came early, but I was ready for the panels, especially since some of my favorite authors were on first. More Noir Than You Are featured Christa Faust, Victor Gischler, Charlie Newton and Jeri Westerson. These folks portray a world that's gritty and real as the cops and the streets make it. What is more natural to follow them than The Dark Side of the Fair Sex with Megan Abbott, Chelsea Cain, Sophie Littlefield and Derek Nikitas. Woman can write noir, too.

A treat was in store following lunch. Michael Connelly interviewed by Michael Koryta.

The afternoon continued with P.J. Parrish, Charlaine Harris and Julie Kramer, among others, talking about How I Met My Protagonist, and finished with a bang with Michelle Gagnon, Linwood Barclay, Andrew Gross, Erica Spindler and Michael Robotham for The Fabled One-Sitting Read. But who can read that fast? These are authors whose characters I like to spend time with and really lose myself in their stories.

The evening ended, for me, with the Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe Banquet. Five courses, each with their own wine, prepared by the chefs Nero Wolfe himself would laud, served by the finest servers, one to each table. But we all had to participate. Some little rhyme or song each table had to come up with and perform for the room. Luckily, our table was blessed by several of the Wolfe pack and P.J. Parrish, who came up with a fitting song and which we performed brillantly.

Saturday we were up early again to meet David Morrell, Laura Benedict, Lee Child and Gayle Lynds for Thrillers! Following them notable authors were none other than Michael Connelly, Sue Grafton, Peter Lovesey, John Lutz and Sara Paretsky celebrating Edgar Allen Poe.

The afternoon continued with Issues, Entertainment or Both? The answers came from Carl Brookins, Cara Black, Mark Coggins, Libby Fischer Hellmann and Mark T. Sullivan. I like to write about issues, sometimes want to chew them up to the point of sounding preachy. But then I stop myself. Have to find the right tone. Speaking of tone, what about Dark Books For Dark Times with Reed Farrel Coleman, Larry Beinhart, J.T. Ellison, Michael Lister and Duane Swiercynski. What more could you ask for?

Answer? Anthony Awards Ceremony. You all know by now who won, right? Later, I was swept up by Sophie Littlefield and her friends for dinner at the Wine Tasting and party at a blues club, where I caught a dance with Joe Konrath. (He probably wouldn't remember, but I do.)

The Bazaar finished us up on Sunday. Rows and rows of tables filled with free books, and fans lined up through the lobby end to end. A fitting climax to a wonderful four days.

LOST WITNESS Raises the Stakes

2009-10-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

LOST WITNESS is now available on Amazon, Fictionwise and Barnes&Noble.
ISBN-10: 160318144X
ISBN-13: 978-1603181440

A lost little boy wound up in the world of homeless teens and in the arms of counselor Niki Alexander. Did he witness a gruesome murder?

Homicide Investigators Luis Perez and Nelson Spalonetti suspected a woman found murdered in an alley was a drug mule from Mexico. Could the child who appeared at the same time be her son? The traumatized boy wouldn't speak; the police needed to find and question Barky, the street teen who found him.

Several years ago Niki quit the police force to work with troubled teens like Barky, not young children, but she couldn't help getting involved in the case of this sad little boy. Working at the Open Palms shelter gave her connections to street-wise people like Tara Barlow. The teens trusted Tara and they might provide helpful information she could share with the police.

Clues leading to the drug world brought Niki to some old friends for help. This also brought increased danger as she got closer to the truth. At the same time, Niki also got a lot closer to Nelson Spalonetti, Luis Perez- new partner. She had avoided close relationships since her husband died, yet there was no denying their mutual attraction.

It seemed strange to Niki and Nelson that so many people were interested in finding the lost child. They had to sort out the complicated case fast, before the boy disappeared forever.

Researching this book took me deep in the world of homeless teens. I wanted to know how they managed to survive. One evening, a friend invited me to join her at the street church across from Covenant House. On a vacant parking lot on a Wednesday night, teens and young adults, some with their own children, came to listen and be counseled and comforted by the non-denominational preacher, have a free meal, do some dealing of various wares, and commiserate with each other. Some laughter, some tears, some recriminations.

This night made such an impression on me that I had to include what I saw and heard and felt in Lost Witness. It represented, to me, a piece of their world that I wanted to understand. I knew some of these people. My own son ran away for a short time when he was about fifteen, an age that is filled with angst and rebellion, a breaking away from the familiar, hoping to find an identity of their own by flailing out like blind puppies. He came back home, but others weren't so lucky. Some didn't have a home to which they could return. Some fell into the abyss from which there is no escape.

I could not ignore the ever present world of illegal drugs and the desperate men and women who are willing to kill for power and money. Trust and betrayal in a life that turns brother against brother, friend against friend. Those who seem invincible or above the dangers of the drug underworld can be crushed in the system.

Throughout the life and death dramas that Niki deals with every day, she needs a personal life as well. She craves love, while at the same time, brakes at the caution signs. As a young widow, she is not eager to fall in love with another cop, but she can't deny the physical attraction she feels for the homicide investigator who replaced her in the homicide division of HPD. Only fulfilling a need, she tells herself, dreading the inevitable knock on the door and the words "officer down." If she doesn't commit, she can't be burned. Again. Yet, how can she stop her heart from feeling?

The Hero I Live With

2009-08-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

Niki Alexander had to fight for everything she achieved in life. Her college education was cut short when her father stabbed a member of the Mexican Mafia and they had to run for their lives. After her father went to trial and was released because no one showed up to prosecute, they left California for Houston, Texas. Niki applied to the Houston police academy. There she met and fell in love with a motorcycle cop. A year after they married he was killed in a traffic accident. She worked hard to overcome the initial hostility from fellow officers, but she finally applied to homicide and partnered with an older officer who became her friend and mentor and the father she never really had.

Then the unthinkable happened. A shootout with a 17-year-old, high on PCP carrying a gun, who aimed at her and she shot first, killing him. Everyone told her it was a righteous shoot, but she couldn't live with it. She quit the force, got in her car and roamed the country for six months, stopping only to blot out the memory with booze. She finally return, sobered, and went back to school to finish her education and become a psychologist.

But fate intervened when she took a part time position as a counselor for a teen shelter. Part time quickly became full time as she realized why she ended up there. She was meant to save the children so they would never end up facing the wrong end of a gun. Her whole life had purpose now. Her calling in life was to counsel the runaways and throwaways, teach them self defense, and rescue them when they got into trouble.

To her kids, she became a hero.

Procrastination - or as I call it, Organizing

2009-07-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've started the third book in the Niki Alexander series. I have so many ideas for it and really want to storyboard the plot so I have a visual.

Speaking of visuals, you should have seen my writing office at home. Stacks of paper everywhere. Books tumbling out of the book shelves two-deep and crammed to the top of the shelves. Totally unworkable. Boxes of stuff in the way of getting to my trusty laptop. When I finally opened my computer, there were hundreds of emails to go through.

You see, I set priorities. I couldn't organize or clean house while writing the first two books and two short stories. They were my priorities. On one hand there was cleaning the house. On the other, writing the books. What would you choose? Working a day job left only so many hours in a day or a week to finish the writing projects.

Now straightening up my office became my priority because I couldn't find anything - like bills, contracts, research, mail, CDs. And I can only concentrate on one project at a time. Reminds me of when I took up sewing years ago when the children were small. I couldn't write while I was sewing an outfit until I finished that particular project. I couldn't sew until I finished a writing project.

So after four weekends of cleaining, I had eight hefty bags and eight paper bags of files that I discarded because they were years old and never looked at anymore. I took out all my books from the shelves and re-arranged them. I alphabetized all the hardcovers, but not the paperbacks. Gee, I can now see what I have. And what I have is no more room for books on my four bookshelves. I couldn't buy another book. (Of course, I just bought James Rollins' newest and Megan Abbott's, because I went to their signings. How could I not???) Signings and Murder By The Book are my weaknesses.

After I cleaned and vacuumed my newly organized office, I checked out my bedroom, closet, bathroom and kitchen. Had to do those, too. Actually that only took one weekend, believe it or not.

So now I'm ready to write. Well . . . there is the pictures in my office to hang, getting the clothes together to give to Goodwill, getting my bank statement to match my checkbook, and the mid-year financial statement to prepare and send to Mystery Writers of America.

Then I can start writing. Or, at least outlining or storyboarding. (Is that as bad as waterboarding?)

To Outline or Not

2009-03-24T13:18:00.001-07:00

I have begun writing the third book in the Niki Alexander series and, after much deliberation over how I wrote the last two books, and the unpublished before that, I decided to do go about the process differently. Normally I would plow into the story after getting a rush of inspiration. Then by page 50, I would brake, because I had nowhere to go.

Finally I would start the outline, draw of graph of plot points and beats, write characters studies, motives and goals for my main characters, especially for the villain. Then I could continue, and track my progress with chapter outlines - after I write them. By then, I found I needed to change the first 50 pages and rethink that first rush of inspiration.

This time I made the decision to plot first, write later. Sounds logical, doesn't it? But I know many writers who don't outline, just go where the story takes them. I've done that in the past and would end up writing 30 or more drafts until I figured it all out. A couple of times I got so stuck and confused, I never finished the manuscript. So maybe I'm an outline-type writer. Maybe because I'm a Virgo.

And since I made that decision, my thoughts have never strayed far from my plot. Questions, some answers, arguments, maybe a different direction have consumed my thoughts - during the day when I'm driving, working, eating. Even my dreams get the backlash. I write down my thoughts when I can and the seeds of these ideas spring forth more ideas. Scratch one, add two. The more I work at it, the more sense it starts to make and I can see a novel developing.

I'm not finished plotting yet, far from it. But I'm hoping that when I am, the story in its full incarnation will spill onto the page effortlessly. Yeah, that'll happen. Well, maybe it will. I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, what are your thoughts about outlining first?

A Look Back With The Future In Sight

2008-12-22T10:04:00.000-08:00

Where did this year go? It flew past so quickly I missed contacting dear friends, my home office grew piles of paper, my books-to-read jumped into book shelves unread. Someday I'll get around to cleaning and organizing. My book's been published and I've signed and been interviewed, plus I've written the second Niki Alexander mystery, Lost Witness.
This while working a full time job and taking care of newsletter and treasurer duties at Mystery Writers of America. I've made time to usher for lots of wonderful plays at the Alley Theater.

We had a hurricane named Ike. Fortunately, I was one of the few who didn't have any damage. Just loss of food and a few inconveniences while the lights were off for a few days. Nothing like what many of my fellow Texans went through.

Plans for the new year? Write another book and few short stories. Do more volunteering. Stay close to my children and grandchildren. Travel to book conferences and conventions. Visit friends, read books, continue to be a part of the writing community and give back what I can.

I am grateful for my job and the wonderful partners who steer our ship. They work hard and inspire their staff to work with them because of their respect for their employees. They know where they are headed and how to travel the road to get there. Too bad so many bosses and managers out there haven't learned these principles. Maybe our economy would look better if more leaders had integrity.

I am grateful for my family. We're a close knit bunch who pull together. They are my inspiration.

I always feel hopeful at this time of the year. Especially this year when we will have a leader in the White House that will make this country proud. We haven't had that in a long time. Change in good. Integrity is awesome.

The Lessons I Learned from My Children

2008-09-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

Someone might ask why I chose troubled and lost teenagers as characters for my books. LESS DEAD is the first of the Niki Alexander series. She deals with runaways and throwaway teenagers. They are called the "less dead" because no one cares when they disappear or are the unidentified lost.

I was a teenager once. My children were teenagers. My grandchildren are teenagers. Weren't you? Do I understand them? Not completely. I'm trying.

My children are grown now, but I was a single mother. Yes, I was married a few times and they tried to be fathers in their way, but not satisfactorily. My kids came first. As a family we told ourselves it was us against the world. But it wasn't easy for them, I have to admit. My son hit the streets when he was 14. He found Covenant House when he stayed until he called me to pick him up and bring him home.

My daughters were independent at an early age. My oldest daughter took up karate and entered tournaments. While she attended high school, she also worked nights at a Dairy Queen. A man accosted her one night as she walked home. He had a knife. Did he do anything to her? Never had a chance. The knife really pissed her off. She threw a karate kick at him, knocked the knife out of his hand, and he bolted.

My youngest ran away for a brief time to her girlfriend's house. The girl's mother was an alcoholic and a drug addict, but she took the time to talk to the girls, and listen to them. I had to learn that lesson from her before my daughter would come home. Later my daughter brought home friends who had run away. She knew they would be safe with me. Now as an adult with a teenage son and a six-year-old daughter, she still takes care of her friends when they need help, and her children are learning from her.

The "less dead" have transient lives and are basically ignored by society. They want more than life gave them but were thrown out before they had the "legs" to stand on and the ability to walk alone. They survive any way they can. They sleep in the park or in all night fast food restaurants or in door steps. Some go to shelters, but others cringe from authority and rules because they have "adjusted" to a certain way of survival. But they are prey to the worst type of predators and some are never found again.

I created Niki Alexander to be their champion, to fight for them when they could not win by themselves. She used to be a cop until one terrible day she came up against a PCP-addicted teenager who would have killed her if she had not acted. She quit the force to become a counselor at a teen shelter. It became more than a job to her. It was her life and purpose to save the children

I have met many of the teens she deals with everyday. I have listened to them at the street church which gathers every Wednesday night and provides food, drink and counseling. I have met them through my children when they were teens. I try to reach and listen to my teenage grandchildren as they struggle through these tumultuous years. The future generation should never been thrown out and abandoned.

We have to be responsible for our youth because they will soon be adults. Who do you want to lead our country?

Hardboiled Heroes & Cozy Cats Conference

2008-06-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hardboiled Heroes and Cozy Cats is the annual conference for Mystery Writers of America, Southwest Chapter. What a terrific success. So many talented people giving up their time and expertise to impart wisdom and speak from the heart.

Jeffrey Marks, moderator of Murder Must Advertise, gave helpful advise delivered in a warm, friendly tone. Easy to approach with any questions, he was generous in his replies. I wanted to rush to Murder By The Book, who were set up to sell the books of the presenters and everyone else who attended and had a book. David Thompson and McKenna are a great couple. You can tell they love books and authors and do everything possible to encourage sales and spotlight the authors.

I learned the different ways of marketing from Jeffrey Marks, Body and Mind from Kara Lennox, writing query letters and marketing your book and from my wonderful publicist, PJ Nunn, getting past the dreaded middle from Sandy Steen, poisons from The Poison Lady, Lucy Hansson Zahray, and how to write action scenes from Rob Preece and his assistant. I missed a few others - Jeff Crilley, Dee Sturart, Patricia Springer, Jan Blankenship, Jim Gaskin and Dep-Wah Davis, but you can't be in two places at once.

I really enjoyed my friend Sylvia Dickey Smith and learning how to write settings. The rest of the time we gathered in the bar and discussed the writing life.

Lunch and dinner were punctuated with motivation from Jeff Marks, Jan Burke (one of my favorite people and a great mystery author), and our lovely and talented Chapter President, Deborah LeBlanc who flew in just in time for the Saturday banquet.

What about Kristen Weber, editor from Penguin NAL Obsidian, and Jim McCarthy, agent with Dystel and Goodrich? Both so young, so eager and passionate about their work. Kristen wants paranormal and cosies with a hook. Jim is open for anything. They will get submissions from practically everyone at the conference. That's the reason most go to conferences like this. But I went to mingle, talk, get inspiration with fellow writers who are struggling the same as I. It was worth every moment.

The Final Twist at Murder By The Book

2008-06-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

What a great time we had May 24 at Murder By The Book. Friends, writers and readers filled the bookstore meet the writers of The Final Twist, Houston chapter of Sisters In Crime. We celebrated Texas Mystery Month with delicious snacks - veggies, cheese, crackers, cookies and awesome red velvet cake balls. Wine was served at the end.

They came to hear us view our opinions and answer their questions as a panel. The subject was "What Came First ..." We covered characters, plot, location, past experiences, and writing styles. Mark and Charlotte Phillips write, fight and live together as a husband and wife team, and explained how they were able to work together with very different styles. Loretta Wheeler acts out scenes - sometimes violent - with her Aussie husband, sometimes shocking their neighbors who can view their antics through open windows. Gayle Wigglesworth writes off travel expenses when she sets her mysteries in exotic locales. Pauline Baird Jones prefers to write her way, and explains why she doesn't go the way of the New York publishing houses. I explained how the locale of my book, LESS DEAD, affected the story and told how my go-go dancing years gave me story ideas. Cash Anthony writes screenplays and knows just the right questions to ask to bring out interesting facts about the authors.

I look foward to seeing The Final Twist anthology "A Death In Texas" come out in September with a short story by yours truly entitled, "Searching for Rachel" about teen runaways and the sex trade. I'm betting the launch party at Murder By The Book will be a big success.

Remembering My Three Mothers on Mother's Day

2008-05-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

I just received a call from my oldest daughter wishing me Happy Mother's Day. She's 43. The youngest is 33 and I know she will call soon. They both tell me that I am their hero. I don't know why. Motherhood! What did I know about being a mother? I flew by the seat of my pants the whole time they were young.

I was a single mom when I wasn't supporting a husband along with my kids and myself. I made up the rules as we went along.

My memories of my mother were scarce. My first recollection was at the Quonset hut where we lived when I was about 2 or 3 and my father was still in the Army. I remember one instance telling her I needed a clothes hanger with which to spank my doll. She asked me how I would like it if she spanked me. I wouldn't, I said. "Your baby doll wouldn't like it either," she said. I don't remember any time she ever spanked me.

My next recollection was visiting her in the back bedroom of my grandmother's house in Los Angeles where we were living at the time. I was only allowed short visits because she was very weak and ill with cancer. The morning my grandfather took me to church without my grandmother, I knew I would never see my mother again. She was gone by the time we got home. I was five years old.

For the next three years I was raised by my grandparents while my father went to San Francisco because he couldn't to face the loss of his beloved wife. I used to have a reoccurring nightmare about crossing our street, crawling because I was too weak to walk, and there was a car bearing on me and I felt so heavy I could barely move, terrified that the car would run me down. I always awoke before that happened.

My grandmother was everything a mother could be. She was loving and always there for me. She listened and gave practical advice. She helped me with school work and taught me penmanship. Any good mothering skills I learned came from her. She baked wonderful breads and pies, sewed my clothes and tried to teach me to do both. Of course I wasn't interested in cooking or sewing, but I learned the basics. My grandfather was a gentle man, but very quiet. He hardly ever spoke to me, but I knew he loved me.

I did read, though. Constantly. I'd read during classes, in the afternoons after school, in the evenings in front of the fireplace (grandpa said I would ruin my eyes), at night under the covers with a flashlight when I was supposed to be asleep. It became my greatest escape. With my best and only girlfriend, Vida, who lived across the street with her grandmother and had beautiful corkscrew curls and looked like a doll, we would act out some of the stories. Vida's mother died also. When her father remarried, she refused to live with them. Hated her stepmother. Her grandmother was a widow and Vida was her whole world.

When I turned eight, my father returned with a new wife and a new mother for me. She tried hard to be a good mother. She had lost her mother when she was same age as I was when I lost mine. She understood what it was like to have a substitute. The thing was, I knew my father only married her so I could have a mother. They fought often, but stayed together until I was grown and left home.

I did not plan to have children. I was going to be a writer. I planned to move to Paris and study at the Sorbonne and ride around Europe in a motorcyle with a side car which would carry my typewriter and papers. Instead I fell in love - more than once - and had three wonderful children by three unlikely husbands. Even during the bad times when it was me and the kids against the world, they learned how important it was to stick together and protect each other. Now they call me hero, but I'm not. I love them for who they are and they know they could come to me with anything and I will understand and help in any way I can. I think that's what being a mother is for.

Drawing From Life

2008-04-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

I've been told writers should have interesting life experiences from which to draw their creative juices. My six husbands made great characters - a motorcycle racer, a hard-hat diver, an actor/bartender, a Hawaiian chef...unfortunately none were very good husband material!

I lived in a variety of places - New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, six cities in Florida, and six months in Baja California before returning to California and finally moving to Texas in 1981.

To subsidize my writing I found work as a waitress, bookkeeper, go-go dancer, car salesperson, retail salesperson, a psychiatric assistant, and legal and corporate secretary.

All I wanted to do is write mysteries and screenplays from the age of reason and dreams. I optioned three screenplays to a production company and a fourth was a finalist in the Empire Screenwriting Contest. I served two busy years as chapter president of Mystery Writers of America, Southwest Chapter, and currently serves as their treasurer and newsletter editor. I'm also a member of The Final Twist, the Houston chapter of Sisters in Crime.