Interview with Author/Editor Denise Dietz/Mary Ellen Dennis

Interview with Author/Editor Denise Dietz/Mary Ellen Dennis
By Jacqueline Seewald


DeniseDietz is a much published author who also happens to be the acquisitions editor for Tekno Books, the book packager for Five Star/Gale. Denise recently had a new historical romance come out from Five Star/Gale entitled HEAVEN’S THUNDER: A COLORADO SAGA. You can check it out at http://www.maryellendennis.com/

You can also find ordering information on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble online and Borders.

Hi, Denise, thanks so much for joining us today at the Author Expressions blog. First, let me congratulate you on the excellent review HEAVEN’S THUNDER received from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Question: Could you tell us a little about the main characters in your new novel and also about the plot line?

I think the best way to describe Heaven’s Thunder is to quote some of the cover copy:

Mary Ellen Dennis’s spellbinding new saga encompasses the Cripple Creek Gold Rush, the union rebellions of Mother Jones, and the birth of silent movies.

Fools Gold Smith, born in the “cribs” of a mining town, raised in an elite parlor house, idolized as silent-film heroine “Flower Smith,” is the central figure in this precisely detailed chronicle. Equally memorable is John “Cat” McDonald, an outlaw’s offspring, a rodeo star, and silent-film hero “John Chinook.” Then there is Kate Lytton, wealthy, pampered granddaughter of a Denver entrepreneur, who becomes embroiled in the 1913 Ludlow coal strike. Their interwoven stories make for a compelling novel, rich with a vibrant sense of time and place.

From life on cattle ranches to the drawing rooms of the wealthy, from the bedrooms of bawdy houses to the wooden platforms of the Ludlow Tent Colony, the author paints not only rooms but intimate portraits of the husbands, wives, sons and daughters who walked their space. From parlor girl, pauper and prospector, to patriarch, plutocrat and profligate, the characters are very much alive. Filled with the essences of its setting, blending love, hate, passion, greed, self-sacrifice, human frailty and strength, Heaven’s Thunder is an authentic tapestry of its time.

Question: Do you envision this novel as a stand alone or part of a romantic series?

For now, it’s a stand alone. It took me 10 years to write my saga and 12 years to market it. The Big Pub House editors said they loved the evocative writing but, “Nobody likes sagas.” When I mentioned Lonesome Dove, The Thorn Birds, John Jakes’ North and South (Heaven’s Thunder has been compared to all three), Barbara Bradford and Anya Seton (plus a dozen other bestselling generational saga authors), NY said, “Those are the exceptions.” I said, “Why can’t I be an exception?” and was told, “Because nobody likes sagas.”

Question: What inspired this novel? How did it come about?

Widowed at age 35, I moved to Colorado Springs. I chose Colorado because of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, even though I don’t agree with her “philosophy” and didn’t know anyone who lived in Colorado. I then began researching my adopted state and learned that two actors had drowned in the Colorado River while filming a silent movie.

Wow, I thought, wouldn’t that make a good book?

My second thought: Of course, I won’t kill off my hero and heroine.

My third thought: Silent films were shot in Colorado???

I gave my characters a backstory, starting with their parents and their births. I do that for all my books, before I start writing them, but Fools Gold Smith and Cat McDonald really tugged at my heartstrings, and I knew I had to tell their stories from the very beginning—before they began their careers as silent film stars “Flower Smith” and “John Chinook.”

The “very beginning” was the 1893 Cripple Creek gold rush.

Question: Can you tell us about some of your other published novels?

My most popular mystery series stars diet guru Ellie Bernstein (in the first book, diet club members are getting killed off at goal weight), but I’ve always wanted to write romances. I started with a paranormal time-travel, HALLIE’S COMET, published by Five Star in 2004 (it’s now up at Kindle). In 2007 I reinvented myself as historical romance author Mary Ellen Dennis, whereupon Five Star published THE LANDLORD’S BLACK-EYED DAUGHTER, inspired by Alfred Noyes’ The Highwayman. “Landlord” received starred reviews and was chosen as one of Booklist’s Top 10 Romances of the year. I sold the paperback rights to Sourcebooks and the novel will be reissued this August, along with an 1875 circus historical: THE GREATEST LOVE ON EARTH.

Question: What made you start writing?

In the third grade I wrote a story called “The Pencil Who Grew Up To Be a Stub.” We were supposed to write a one-page story with an ink pen. I wrote a 5-page, first-person story with a pencil (my protagonist) and received a failing grade. In high school I wrote and illustrated a children’s book, HERBERT THE GIANT, about a giant who lived in a town of nearsighted people. No one knew he was a giant until a peddler who sold glasses came to town. Publishers told me they liked the concept but “the words were too big.”

Undeterred, I wrote short fiction and penned my first [adult] book when I was a lecturer for Weight Watchers. As people were weighing in, I thought: Wouldn’t it be funny if there was some maniac running around murdering skinny people? With that thought, THROW DARTS A CHEESECAKE, the first in my 4-book “diet club” mystery series was born. I don’t always write in my head, but I once overheard someone say that Miss America had to be very intelligent (as well as beautiful). After a silent snort/chortle, I began writing a story—in my head—called THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN BEAUTY PAGEANT about a male beauty contest (with a twist). This was 15 years before the first TV reality show. The horror/suspense story is now at Kindle for 99-cents.

Question: As acquiring editor for Tekno Books, what advice would you offer to those newbies who have novels they would like to submit for consideration?

It sounds like a cliché, but telling rather than showing will land you in the rejection pile fairly quickly. If a writer tells me about a character, I feel no emotional connection. Another no-no: Please don’t make your heroine TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) by having her check out a noise in a dark basement without, at the very least, a rottweiler by her side. Be careful about overusing a word. Check your manuscripts for “just” and “well” and “that.” Tied with overuse of a word would be dialogue tags like “You’re so funny,” he laughed. You can’t laugh and talk at the same time. Try it. Nor can you talk while you are grinning or (my favorite) exploding: “I swear I didn’t do it!” she exploded. I get an image of Wile Coyote landing at the bottom of a steep cliff. Speaking of animals, I don’t like animal tags: growled, brayed, chirped, crowed, etc, and be careful of eyes. I like them to stay on one’s face, not drop to the ground (where they could get stepped on) or sweep the room. And if your character tosses her head, make sure somebody is there to catch it.
I like to give new writers the best piece of advice I’ve ever received. I wrote a scene set in an opulent NYC apartment for my women’s fiction novel, Soap Bubbles (published by Five Star Expressions, now at Kindle). I described the living room in detail, including the eclectic collection of paintings on the wall. It was written from the POV of my soap opera star protagonist. An author I admired read the chapter and complimented me on my narrative; said she felt like she was there. Then she said, “But how does Delly FEEL when she looks at the room?” I rewrote the scene, keeping all my details. Except, when Delly looks at the wall she wishes she could step into a painting. Here’s the rewrite:
"Delly stepped into an enormous living room and blinked at the brightness. The walls and ceilings were pure yellow, the floor a highly-glossed parquet. An eclectic mixture of paintings crowded the walls. Delly recognized Andy Warhol, Peter Max and Renoir. Her gaze lingered on the Renoir, and she wished she could step into the painting. In a Renoir there were no cameras panning for a close-up, no directors screaming for another take, no rejection. Renoir’s flowers have no smell, but they don’t die. Renoir’s people have no smell, but they live forever. Once she had believed that actors lived forever."
Note that I managed to get some of her backstory into one paragraph. This is also an example of what I was talking about before: showing vs. telling. I could have said: “Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe print reminded her of her last acting role,” and that wouldn’t be wrong. But it doesn’t really tell you how Delly FEELS. Can you see the difference?

Denise, thanks so much for being our guest today. You’re a fine writer and editor and we’re honored.

Those of you who have comments and/or questions, please know that they are welcome. So feel free to join the conversation!

History of Pocket Watches

Pocket watches were manufactured as early as the sixteenth century. They were first worn around the neck, and were quite large, because of the size of the spring-driven mechanism, which required a cylindrical case.


By the 19th century, watches became smaller, and were commonly carried in the pocket, by both men and women. Because they were considered luxury items, only ladies and gentlemen of means could afford them, but toward the latter half of the century, with the advent of railroads, personal timepieces became more common, and grew to be an indispensable item for railroad engineers.

The first time that men wore wrist watches was about the time of WW I, when field officers wore them as a matter of convenience. Before that, wrist watches were considered a feminine item, even though women wore pocket watches around their necks just as men did, before the advent of wrist watches.

I have a ladies' watch, an heirloom from a 19th century relative. It resembles a man's pocket watch, with a gold chain for wearing around the neck. The design on the cover is feminine, but I'm guessing, from what little I learned about the wearer, that she never thought of the watch as anything other than what it was, a practical item to tell her when to take the roast from the oven.

Setting as Inspiration

Focusing on the setting of a book can add layers of depth. Sometimes, it's as if the setting is another character. You don't have to live there, but visiting is definitely a help. So is having someone who does live there who can answer questions, from what trees line the streets to what color the deputy sheriff's uniforms are.

It's important to be accurate with your setting. I lived in Florida for over 3 decades, in Miami and in Orlando. They're both Florida, but each has its own flavor. However, sometimes, I think authors simply want a place to plunk their characters, and they might do some rudimentary research. Google Maps can get you down to street level. You can research sunrise and sunset times, and what constellations will be visible in the night sky on any given day. But what any reference source can't give you is what it feels like to be there.

I've read numerous books set in Florida that totally ignored the climate. Trust me, the Florida climate is NOT to be ignored. For at least nine months of the year, simply walking from your front door to the street is enough to film your body in sweat. Then, there are the 3 PM thunderstorms for at least half the year. Leaving things like this out of a book will misplace the trust of reader familiar with the area. If they can't trust you to get the setting right, how much else will they not be willing to accept.

When I moved to Colorado a year ago, the change from central Florida was monumental. And, being new, I had a heightened sensitivity to the nuances of the terrain and climate. There's the altitude. Cooking pasta or boiling an egg is a totally new experience. Living in the mountains means your vehicle is covered with red dust—or mud if it's rained.

It was only logical to incorporate what I was learning about my new home into a new book by making the heroine a transplant as well. Because she's sensitive to the different environment, it's logical for her to share this information with the readers, so they can pick up on the flavor of the setting.

DANGER IN DEER RIDGE is set in a fictional town that just happens to be very much like where I'm living, but I definitely didn't want to set it specifically in my town. It's much easier to manipulate things you need to include in scenes if you're not locked into well-known landmarks. For example, if my characters go into a local restaurant and I need something on the menu that the "real" restaurant doesn't have, I can add it to my "similar" restaurant's menu. If I need a few more shops, I can create them. And I don't worry about getting the streets right.

Not to say that setting books in real places doesn't have its own advantages. Michael Connelly and Robert Crais write about Los Angeles, and I enjoy trips down memory lane when I read them.

Just remember, setting should go beyond landscapes, shops, streets and temperatures. It includes the types of people your characters will run into. How they dress, how they talk. The local population here bears little, if any, resemblance to that of central Florida. And even though these characters might only populate the background of a book, they're going to add to that sense of place.

Terry Odell writes romantic suspense. Her latest series, featuring the covert ops team of Blackthorne, Inc., includes When Danger Calls, Where Danger Hides, and Danger in Deer Ridge. Visit her website, her blog, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Special Offer Today: Free Words

In honor of Memorial Day, I'm not going to review Laura Hillenbrand's book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption.

In case you've been living under a rock, Unbroken has been discussed, reviewed, awarded and broadcasted all over the net. Words like "staggering", "mesmerizing" and "page-turner" are standard fare for this masterpiece.

The reviews lie.

The book is beyond all that. It's a must-read, in the truest sense of the phrase. Louis Zamperini's story is the story of a generation who, because of their sacrifice, I can write anything I want to on this post. Under the comments, you can write anything you want to without being afraid that you'll be censored, fined, or imprisoned. As readers and writers, we cherish essays, poetry, stories, novels--anything composed of words, we love. Today, I remind myself that because of their sacrifice, the freedom to write is mine.

Interview With Alice Duncan: Author/Editor

Interview with Author/Editor Alice Duncan

by Jacqueline Seewald

Alice Duncan is a much published, award-winning author who also happens to edit romance and mystery novels for Tekno, the book packager for Five Star/Gale. I’ve personally had the pleasure of working with Alice who has edited all five of my Five Star/Gale novels.

Like me, Alice has a new mystery coming out from Five Star/Gale this month called
Fallen Angels. You can check it out in the book catalog on the Five Star site:
http://www.gale.cengage.com/servlet/ItemDetailServlet?region=2&imprint=305&titleCode=TP906&type=3&id=255711

You can also find ordering information on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Angels-Five-Star-Mystery/dp/1594149593/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303479952&sr=1-11
as well as Barnes and Noble online and Borders Books.
***

Hi, Alice, thanks so much for joining us today at the Author Expressions blog. Congratulations on your many excellent reviews of Fallen Angels!

Question: Could you tell us a little bit about Mercy Allcutt, the heroine of Fallen Angels?

Mercy Allcutt was actually a consolation prize for me. I’d written two stories in a series set in the 1920s, featuring a phony spiritualist named Daisy Gumm Majesty. When I thought the Daisy books were dead, I decided to write a historical cozy mystery series set in the 1920s, and gave the books another heroine, Mercy. Mercy’s a privileged young woman from Boston who moves to Los Angeles, lives with her sister Chloe and Chloe’s movie-mogul husband. She gets a job (which horrifies her Brahmin mother) as secretary to a private investigator, Ernie Templeton. She loves her job! You see, Mercy wants to become a writer of gritty detective fiction, and she figures she can’t do that since she’s always lived in an ivory tower. Her Boston relations are horrified, but Mercy doesn’t care. Much.


Question: I know that this novel is part of a mystery series because I’ve read and very much enjoyed the previous Angel novels. Could you tell us about the series? How did it originate? What inspired the series?

Whoops! I guess I already answered this question. I was so bummed about not writing Daisy books any longer, I decided to write another series set in the Roaring Twenties and set in Southern California. So I moved from Pasadena (the Daisy books) to Los Angeles (the Angels books) and gave Mercy a P.I. for a boss.

Here’s a blurb for FALLEN ANGELS:

“Transplanted Boston Brahmin, Mercy Allcutt, has had some very exciting times as secretary to private investigator, Ernie Templeton. While it’s true she’s been in what she considers a wee bit of trouble (and Ernie considers out-and-out danger) a time or two, she’s determined to continue learning the ways of the “real” world.

However, when she sets out to find her wandering boss, Ernie, one hot September afternoon, she not only discovers a corpse, but she also finds Ernie, bound and gagged. Worse, when the police arrive to investigate the crime, they peg Ernie as the killer.

Well, Mercy isn’t about to let them get away with that, no matter how many times Ernie tells her to butt out of the police inquiry. The only question is whether she’ll survive her investigatorial efforts once again, or if she’ll become one more “Fallen Angel.”


Question: How does the relationship between Mercy and her private investigator boss Ernie Templeton change through the novels? Is there a glimmer of romance?

There’s a glimmer. I don’t want to pull a “Moonlighting” (if anyone remembers that TV series. Once Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis got together, all the tension died). However, Mercy and Ernie are clearly attracted to each other, even though neither one will admit it. They pretty much always drive each other nuts.

Question: Can you tell us about some of your other published novels? I know there are quite a few and that many are now available as e-books at a reasonable price.

Oh, my goodness. There are, literally, dozens of them. I’ve written historical romances under my name (Alice Duncan), Emma Craig, Rachel Wilson and Anne Robins. I also wrote a couple of westerns in the “Trailsman” series under the pseudonym Jon Sharpe, but the less said about them, the better. My very first book, ONE BRIGHT MORNING, came about because I used to get migraine headaches. They were terrible. I got to wondering what a young widow woman with a baby and a ghastly migraine would do if she lived in the 1880s in New Mexico Territory, and a gunshot stranger showed up at her door. My second book, TEXAS LONESOME, contains dachshunds. I attract dachshunds kind of like a magnet attracts steel shavings. I think it’s a curse. Daisy Majesty gave her husband a dachshund named Spike, and Mercy Allcutt has an apricot toy poodle named Buttercup. I love dogs J Anyhow, I’ve had something over forty books published under a whole bunch of names, and nobody’s ever heard of any of them. Well, that might be a bit of an understatement, but not by much.

Anyhow, all my out-of-print backlist, and some of my in-print books, and a short story, which is part of my Pecos Valley series (another cozy mystery series set in the twenties, only this one in New Mexico in 1923) are available on Kindle and Smashwords. You can read all about them here: http://aliceduncan.net/page5.html

Question: Did you always want to be a writer? What made you start writing?

Yes. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. From the time I could listen to stories, I knew I wanted to write them. Life got in the way (as it has a habit of doing), and I didn’t begin writing books until the nineteen-nineties. I tell you, life was *hard*. Sometimes I hear people say (generally disparagingly about those people who say they want to write but don’t have time) that “writers write.” That may well be true, but writers also have to live, rear children, and earn livings.


Question: As an acquisitions editor for Tekno Books, the book packager for Five Star/Gale, how do you suggest writers contact your company?

Actually, I don’t acquire for Tekno. I only recommend books I like J. Here’s the web site for Five Star, which will show you what kinds of books they like: http://www.gale.cengage.com/fivestar/

Question: What advice would you offer to those who have novels they would like to submit for consideration?

Here are the specific submission guidelines for people who want to submit to Five Star:

For previously published Five Star authors, please submit your queries directly to:

Rosalind Greenberg, Senior Acquisitions EditorTekno Bookstekno@new.rr.com

For authors new to Five Star, published or unpublished, please submit your queries directly to:

Deni Dietz, Associate Editor
Tekno Books
AssociateEditorTekno@shaw.ca

Please send a query email letter requesting the Five Star submission guidelines.
*Remember to include your name, address, and sub-genre
*Rosalind Greenberg or Deni Dietz will send you all the information and forms that you will need to submit your manuscript properly.
*Please be aware that the volume of submissions we receive is enormous. Because of this, we do not accept simultaneous submissions, hardcopy submissions, or partial manuscripts, but we will respond to you as quickly as possible.

So there you have the complete submission guidelines. Read ‘em, and follow ‘em, if you want anybody to pay attention to your submission (not that I want to sound harsh or anything, but it really is important to follow directions). As for me, don’t forget to visit my own web site: http://www.aliceduncan.net/


Alice, thanks so much for being our guest today. I’m looking forward to reading Fallen Angels. I love your unique, original style of writing and clever sense of humor.

Those of you who have comments, please know that they are very welcome. So feel free to join the conversation!

History of Debutante Balls

In doing research for my current novel, I happened upon a bit of nostalgia worth mentioning. During the 19th century, upper class European families presented their marriageable daughters at formal events called debutante balls (from French débutante, meaning “female beginner”). Such events had various names, depending on the geographic location of the ball. They were called debut balls or coming-out parties. Traditionally, the debutante invited the man (sometimes two) to escort her to the dance. She was escorted to the front of the ballroom by her father, where she was greeted by her escort(s), eligible bachelors whose social rank matched that of the debutante.

If the coming-out was at the English court, a girl would be expected to wear white or a light pastel gown. After presentation to the reigning monarch, they entered the social season by attending numerous events such as teas and more balls. In 1958, Queen Elizabeth II abolished the ceremony.

In the U.S., during the fifties in the South, it was common for even middle-class families to send their sons and daughters to Cotillions, where they learned dance steps, to be used later at debutante balls. In various parts of the U.S., debut balls have morphed into charity events, with attendees buying tickets and the money going to a designated charity.

A Book is like an Elephant

I'm excited about my new release, WHERE DANGER HIDES. Technically, the release date is May 18th, but since stores don't stock the book, that date represents when the publisher will start filling orders. Also, the book has been available for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble for some time.

Marketing for this system is a different game. It's not a matter of trying to get people into the bookstore on release day. The reality is, the publisher sells to libraries. Everything else is gravy.
Not to say it's not exciting to find that carton of author copies on your doorstep. I got mine last Saturday, and it's a thrill like no other to see the fruition of what amounts to close to two years of gestation and labor--much like an elephant. And, I confess, I don't even want to open the book for fear I'll find that I might have missed a typo, or that the publisher didn't fix everything I requested. It's a done deal, and the baby is mine, warts and all.

With sales targeting the library market, it's reviews that help sell the books. And not the reader reviews on Amazon or other web-based review sites with "volunteer" reviewers. Libraries prefer sites and publications with professional reviewers, and often the lack of a review in one of those means your book won't be considered.

Normally, I don't like posting pure promo here, but since I won't have another new book from Five Star for another year, I decided to go for it. If you want to get some glimpses of how the book came to be, and see parts that never made it past the first draft of the first chapters, I've put them up on my website, under the 'behind the scenes' tab and 'from the cutting room floor.'

Needless to say, I was delighted to get a positive review from one of the biggies—Publishers Weekly.

Odell follows 2010's When Dangers Calls with this sizzling suspense tale. Dalton, "just Dalton," is a sweet-talking Texas black ops contractor equipped with a sharp mind, big muscles, an intriguing background tragedy that makes him cry over babies, and boatloads of sex appeal. Miri Chambers, manager of a shelter for wayward teens, is just his type: "proud, strong, intelligent, compassionate, and one hundred percent female," with a past she'd rather not reveal. … the real action is in Miri and Dalton's passionate mutual attraction, and not even his cold showers and her idealistic do-gooding can douse its uncontrollable flames. Romance fans will drool over Dalton and his fellow camo-clad helicopter-riding commandos as they look for runaways and love.

I've also had positive feedback from several other reviewers, so I'm pleased that people like my baby—warts and all.

The ARC calls it Contemporary Romance. With all due deference to the press's editors, that's incorrect. Sure, there are some hot romance scenes and some highly emotional connections come and go and arrive again, but there's a gritty, powerful pulse-pounding narrative platform here that drives the novel plainly into the thriller category …With little time out for deep breathing, the plot quickly picks up a palpable sense of menace and slackening of control. Readers will be swept along to a final breathless conclusion that is eminently satisfying. Carl Brookins

Talented author Terry Odell quickly grabs our attention in her suspenseful romance, WHERE DANGER HIDES, the much awaited second novel in her Blackthorne, Inc series. The hero, Dalton, is the kind of man that any reader could easily fall for: strong, confident, and yet compassionate and sexy. His perfect match is the heroine, Miri, who is loyal, nurturing and resourceful. Ms. Odell builds the sexual tension between these two characters as skillfully as she ramps up the anticipation in her story. Readers hang on every word reaching for the climax to WHERE DANGER HIDES and are not left disappointed but eager to learn more about the fascinating group of Blackthorne, Inc. men. Thrills, romance, danger and mystery fill the pages of WHERE DANGER HIDES and thoroughly entertains. Donna, Single Titles

Odell provides a lot of sexual tension and enough hot sex to please avid romance readers. It takes front and center in the novel, but eventually the mystery of the missing people leads to a major crime operation. An exciting climax should satisfy the most demanding thriller readers. Mel Jacob, Gumshoe Reviews

For more information Terry, visit her website. She can also be found at Terry's Place blogging about writing and life in general.