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Archive for the ‘Where There’s Smoke There’s Trouble’ Category

Holiday Craft Fair

Posted in Debi Graham-Leard, Holiday Fair, Mansfield, Marketing, Massachusetts, Merry Christmas, Published, The Uninvited Guest, Where There's Smoke There's Trouble, tagged , , , , on December 6, 2018| 2 Comments »

2018 Mansfield Craft FairThere is nothing sweeter than setting up an author table at a holiday craft fair, then waiting for the browsers to wander past, stopping to chat about my characters, the setting, the storyline.  If the two of us connect over my mystery series, another reader will  walk away with one of my books, anxious to meet my amateur sleith Gwen Andrews.

Such was the case when I purchased a table for the 4th Annual Craft Fair in Mansfield, MA, this past Saturday. Although my spot in the second room placed me away from the entrance, many shoppers made their way into my section. Young and old, male and female, mystery lovers come in all shapes and sizes.

The first story in the series ‘The Uninvited Guest’ outsold the second ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble’, simply because readers were new to the series. Several purchased one of each as a Christmas gift set. Several accepted my bookmark as a reminder to link to my Amazon page and download the eBook version.

At the end of the day, I was pleased to realize I had placed more books in the hands of mystery lovers than in any previous single event… yea!

 

 

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Local Bookstore…and more

Posted in An Unlikely Story, Bed, Breakfast, & Blackmail, Cape Cod, Conferences, Debi Graham-Leard, Largo, Florida, Massachusetts, Merry Christmas, Published, revision, Story Research, Where There's Smoke There's Trouble, Writing Process, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 7, 2018| 2 Comments »

aus books - smallThere is nothing more satisfying than to walk into a bookstore and see both of my mysteries displayed on the shelf in the local author section.

I’m referring to An Unlikely Story in Plainville, Massachusetts. Children’s book author Jeff Kinney of Wimpy Kid story  fame, built his unique bookstore on the site of the historic Falk’s Market at the intersection of Rt.106 and Rt.1A. Some of the shelving and stairs to the second floor were built using the floor boards from the old market… truly a nod to the past.

When my debut mystery ‘The Uninvited Guest’ was published,  the Strong Women Book Group at An Unlikely Story chose it as their book of the month. I joined them at their follow-up discussion for an enjoyable question and answer session. I’ll be suggesting the second story titled ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble’ and ask them to choose it as an upcoming monthly selection.

And it’s time to contact the venues located in the area around Largo, Florida. Last year, when I arrived in January as a first-time snow-birder, I was too late to be included in their calendars. Many suggested I touch base this fall as they’re preparing the calendar for 2019, promising they’d do their best to assign a date for my Author Talk.

About the daily writing efforts … re-sequencing is the word of every day as I continue to create story #3. ‘Bed, Breakfast, & Blackmail’ takes place during the days leading up to Christmas. After attending a 3-day forensics class at the Cape Cod Writers Conference last month, and then discussing the nitty-gritty details with my local police detective, I found I had to re-shuffle many activities one day earlier than I’d written them. Doing this is not as simple as it sounds. By moving a key piece of the investigation to the previous day, it impacts conversations between characters, where they go, and what they do. My opening chapters are now interspersed with green text to signify it’s been moved, and red text to signify re-writing is required. Chapter numbers are also changing as the quantity of pages in each ebbs and flows.

And so, I chug along each morning, knowing that one day, I will type ‘The End’ … and mean it!

 

 

 

 

 

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Interview on Local Cable Show

Posted in Author Talk, Be My Guest, Book Cover, Debi Graham-Leard, Massachusetts, Published, The Uninvited Guest, Where There's Smoke There's Trouble, tagged , , , , , , , on May 17, 2018| Leave a Comment »

imagesA few months ago, I was contacted by the host of “Be My Guest”, an interview show on the Upton local cable station and scheduled for May.

The show’s host … Jan Miller … is a delightful woman who asked pertinent questions about the creation of my two published mysteries, ‘The Uninvited Guest’ and ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble’. Jan also asked about my writing process and work in progress, which is titled ‘Bed, Breakfast, & Blackmail’. In addition, she touched on my volunteer effort as an audio book narrator for Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown.

The half hour flew by, and we said goodbye much too soon. She invited me to come back when my third story is published.

A delightful activity, and one that every author should pursue. Here is the link if you’d like to have a listen to the interview:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Updating My Author Talk

Posted in Author Talk, Book Cover, Book Signing Events, Debi Graham-Leard, Editor, Marketing, Massachusetts, Norton Senior Center, Published, The Uninvited Guest, Uncategorized, Where There's Smoke There's Trouble, tagged , , , , , , , on April 19, 2018| 2 Comments »

A_Woman_Reading_Papers_At_Her_DeskAfter two years of sharing my writing journey with audiences in New England, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Florida, I received a return invitation from the friends group of my local senior center to speak to them again about the current status of my writing life.

My first author talk to these volunteers explained the ins and outs of creating my debut mystery ‘The Uninvited Guest.’ Now that I’ve published my second story, ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble’, my author talk needed to focus on the challenges of writing a series. My talking points had to be updated.

To this end, I pulled out my crib notes for the original talk, opened a new file titled ‘Author Talk, The Sequel’ and updated each step of the process from the viewpoint of the second story.

  • The fictitious seaside town of Harbor Falls remains
  • My amateur sleuth Gwen Andrews again solves the mystery
  • Creating Characters becomes ‘Who Stays, Who Goes’
  • The season switches from autumn to spring
  • The location within the town switches to the local bookstore
  • The plot has to be totally unique… no repetition from the first story
  • Research and local experts change as needed to support the new storyline
  • Decision to omit expensive outside editor
  • Cover creation based on new storyline
  • Publication remains with same independent house
  • Marketing is adjusted during approach to previous venues for follow-up talk

After I share this new Author Talk the first time, I’m sure I’ll find sub-topics that need to be tweaked, but that is simply the nature of a presentation.

My writers life in my retirement years remains a fulfilling activity.  I continue to meet new and interesting people, keep my brain active, and hopefully provide enticing stories to my readers and ever-expanding base of fans.

 

 

 

 

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Creating an Author Talk Sequel

Posted in Author Talk, Book Signing Events, Debi Graham-Leard, MA, Massachusetts, Norton, Norton Senior Center, Published, revision, Where There's Smoke There's Trouble, tagged , , , , , , , on March 25, 2018| Leave a Comment »

audience-clipart-lecturer-3For the past two years, I’ve been presenting my Author Talk centered around how I learned to write a mystery. I was thrilled recently to receive an invitation from the Friends group for my local senior center to speak to them again this April with an update on my writing career and my work in progress.

Obviously, my original outline will not be appropriate for this return engagement, so I need to re-create my notes, adjusting the various aspects of writing as it now relates to a series.  Some of the topics will remain the same, but the content will be adjusted to move past the first story and into the next.

For instance, I will talk about choosing names for the characters, but for the second story, when some first story characters remain, and others drop off, I had to create new characters to support the new plot, being mindful of beginnings and endings, number of syllables. etc.

When speaking about the plot, this second talk will share that although the fictional town and main character will remain the same, the location within Harbor Falls will change, along with the season.

I need to be sure nothing from the first presentation is duplicated. Don’t want to bore audience members who attended my original Author Talk!

 

 

 

 

 

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Two Talks in One Day!

Posted in Author Talk, Book Signing Events, Largo, Florida, Published, The Uninvited Guest, Uncategorized, Where There's Smoke There's Trouble, tagged , , , , , on February 19, 2018| 1 Comment »

For my followers who live on the central Gulf Coast of Florida, I’m pleased to share that I’ll be presenting my author talk titled ‘Have you Ever Wondered How a Mystery is Written?’ not once, but twice, this Wednesday, February 21.

The afternoon presentation to the Caribbean Isles residents will begin at 2pm in the clubhouse on St. Croix.  Park addresscaribbean isles logo.png for your GPS: 10900 Walsingham Road, Largo, FL.

The evening presentation to members of the Creative Writing Group will begin at 6pm. Location: Safety Harbor Public Library, 101 2nd St N, Safety Harbor, FL.Safety Harbor Public Library.jpg

After both events, autographed copies of both ‘The Uninvited Guest’ and ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble’ will be available.

Meeting new people who are interested in a writer’s journey and appreciate a good mystery is always a satisfying venture for me.

I hope to see you there!

Debi

 

 

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Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble

Posted in Debi Graham-Leard, J B Moore High School, Marketing, Massachusetts, Norton, Published, Smyrna, Uncategorized, Where There's Smoke There's Trouble, tagged , , , , on January 8, 2018| 4 Comments »

Back in October, a week after I returned to Massachusetts from my 50th Class Reunion in Delaware, I tumbled from my bicycle into some frightful bushes edging a bike path and broke my wrist in three places. This injury put a big dent in my plans to place Gwen’s second story into the hands of readers.

Burdened with a purple cast, a swollen hand, and not a little pain, I chose to cancel three author events in November with great sadness. One of them will be rescheduled. The other two were unfortunately one-time events.

My cast is now gone, and I’m regaining strength and flexibility in my right hand. I’m finally able to grasp a pen, although a signed autograph still appears a little funky with the restriction of three stiff fingers.

For those of you who enjoyed Gwen’s debut mystery, ‘The Uninvited Guest’, you may want to follow her next adventure in ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble’, which takes place the following spring. As the story creator, I imbued Gwen with my personal dislike of cigar smoke and built a story around that aversion.

Here’s a link for your convenience:

Thanks to all of you who continue to support my writing journey!

Debi Graham-Leard

 

 

 

 

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SECOND STORY IN THE WORKS!

Posted in Book Cover, Cover Blurb, Debi Graham-Leard, Editor, MA, Massachusetts, Norton, Publishers, Where There's Smoke There's Trouble, tagged , , , , , , on August 17, 2017| 2 Comments »

So excited! My second story ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble‘ was submitted a few weeks ago to my publisher Riverhaven Books in Whitman, Massachusetts.

In addition to editing and formatting, Stephanie has already created the cover, which I’m showing you here. She suggested a continuation of the 3-word title to coordinate with my debut mystery ‘The Uninvited Guest’. After consulting several trusted readers, I tend to agree. The full title will probably be spelled out on the inside cover and tops of the story pages.

I still owe Stephanie the map of Harbor Falls, the acknowledgements list, and the back cover blurb. All are in the works and simply need some fine-tuning before I send them along.

Fingers are crossed that the finished book will be available this September as scheduled.

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The importance of Research

Posted in Debi Graham-Leard, Massachusetts, Myles Standish Monument, South Duxbury, Story Research, Where There's Smoke There's Trouble, tagged , , , , on June 28, 2017| 4 Comments »

As I finish my next story, set on the coast of Massachusetts, I’ve added a scene where two characters take a drive in a red Corvette. I thought a lighthouse would be a good destination. After climbing the steps, my characters could comment on the view from the top.

And so after writers group in Plymouth last Saturday, I took a drive to the Scituate Lighthouse to check out its details. To my surprise and disappointment, the only entrance to the lighthouse came through the private home sitting next to it. I approached two ladies in the parking lot and learned that climbing the lighthouse is possible only during the few open houses held during the summer. Since this story occurs in April, I’d never get away with faking the climb. Unfortunately, the area around the lighthouse was sparse with very few interesting attributes. Bummer.

When I arrived back home, I googled a list of coastal
lighthouses and checked their details. More disappointment…none of them are open to the public.

What to do? A different search brought up the Myles Standish Monument in South Duxbury. This looked promising! I convinced my husband to take me for a ride in… guess what? his red Corvette!… to check it out. As I suspected, the monument would not open until the first Sunday in July, Regardless, we parked at the lower entrance, walked up the steep road, and wandered around the outside of the monument. Although no climb was involved, I gathered terrific details to write into my story.

Research is not only required, but can be fun!

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Staying in Touch with Other Writers

Posted in An Unlikely Story, Author Talk, Book Signing Events, Debi Graham-Leard, Jane Green, Massachusetts, Where There's Smoke There's Trouble, tagged , , on June 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

One of the cardinal rules for writers… or perhaps guideline is a better term… is to pay attention to the efforts of other writers. The purpose of reading their novel or listening to their audio book is to fine tune your own writing techniques.

To that end,  I attended a luncheon and author talk yesterday at An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA. Visiting author Jane Green delighted the sold-out audience with her tales of her personal life, her story inspirations, her editors and publishers, and her return to more character-driven novels.

The event price included a copy of her latest book ‘The Sunshine Sisters’, which she graciously autographed before taking this photo with me.

Now I’m doubly inspired to finish writing my second Gwen Andrews story titled ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Trouble.’

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