
Posts Tagged ‘writing’
Counting Your Words
Posted in Bed, Breakfast, & Blackmail, Debi Graham-Leard, Editing, Massachusetts, revision, Wordcounter, tagged fiction, mystery, revision, writing on March 8, 2019| 2 Comments »

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 conference, fiction, follow-up, Happy Holidays, marketing, Massachusetts, mystery, Published, research, revision, writing on September 7, 2018| 2 Comments »
There 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!
Adding A Second Narrator
Posted in Story Research, Writing Process, tagged fiction, MA, Massachusetts, mystery, research, revision, writing on July 14, 2018| 4 Comments »

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 fiction, marketing, Massachusetts, Published, writing 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