Mystery We Write Nov. 2011 Presents Anne K. Albert

Bio: Anne K. Albert’s award winning stories chill the spine, warm the heart and soothe the soul…all with a delightful touch of humor. A member of Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and married to her high school sweetheart for more than a quarter
of a century, it’s a given she’d write mystery and romantic suspense. When not writing she loves to travel, visit friends and family, and of course, read using ‘Threegio’ her cherished and much beloved Kindle 3G!

Anne is also an original member of the first 2011 Mystery We Write Blog Tour. You’ll find my interview with her here: http://www.bethanderson-hotclue.com/blog/2011/07/24/presenting-anne-k-albert-on-the-mystery-we-write-blog-tour-2011/.

Thanks for featuring me today, Beth, on Day 1 of the second 2011 Mystery We Write Blog Tour. You asked me to discuss the hardest thing I had to learn on the road to publication. Like most writers, I studied point of view, transitions, dialogue, conflict, etc., but something other than the
actual process of writing had me stumped.

Self-confidence has always been my Achilles heel. I first realized I had a major problem when at a writer’s workshop the guest speaker began by stating it’s natural for a writer to be her number one fan. Everyone clapped and applauded that statement.

Me? I realized I was my greatest and most ardent critique. Even when I placed in the top three or won writing contests, I belittled my achievements. I even caught myself rationalizing there must have been so few entries in such and such a contest that my story was simply the best of the
worst!

That all changed during the summer of 2009. It was taking me forever to get into a book written by a well known author who shall remain nameless. I didn’t care about the protagonist. The author’s use of language pulled me out of the story. Reading was work. Finally, frustrated and annoyed, I closed the book and vowed not to read another word.

“I can write better than that,” I said. For the first time I realized I meant every word. I could write a better story. In fact, I’d written five. But where were they? Collecting dust in my home office.

Why?

I undervalued my skill and ability. Who needed to worry about publishing gatekeepers when I was doing such a fantastic job of sabotaging my career before it had even begun?

I thought long and hard about this, and eventually resubmitted my work. This time I submitted with passion and conviction. Two months later, I was offered a publishing contract.

Has my self confidence soared? A little. The truth is I’ll never become an ego-maniac, but I’ve come to appreciate myself, my abilities, and my books more. This past June I received a little help when my first book, FRANK, INCENSE AND MURIEL, received the 2011 Holt Medallion Award of Merit. I felt like the actress Sally Fields when she won the Oscar. “You like me! You
really, really like me!”

All joking aside, here’s the story blurb:

FRANK, INCENSE AND MURIEL is set the week before Christmas when the stress of the holidays is enough to frazzle anyone’s nerves. Tensions increase when a friend begs Muriel to team up with a sexy private investigator to find a missing woman. Forced to deal with an embezzler, kidnapper, and femme fatale is bad enough, but add Muriel’s zany yet loveable family to the mix and their desire to win the coveted D-DAY (Death Defying Act of the Year) Award, and the situation can only get worse. This cozy, comedic mystery is recipient of the prestigious 2011 Holt Medallion Award of Merit.

To read a sample of Frank, Incense and Muriel click here: http://amzn.to/pg67sx.

Thanks again, Beth. I always enjoy dropping by and chatting
with you!

Visit Anne online at her website http://www.AnneKAlbert.com/ and blogs http://anne-k-albert.blogspot.com/ and http://muriel-reeves-mysteries.blogspot.com.
She is also on Facebook www.facebook.com/annekalbert and Twitter www.twitter.com/AnneKAlbert .

CONTEST DETAILS: Comment to WIN!
Three names will be selected at random from comments on all 14 of Anne’s Mystery
We Write Blog Tour guest appearances. Winners will receive an e-copy of FRANK,
INCENSE AND MURIEL, book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries. Visit http://tinyurl.com/3hzpqvv for her schedule and contest details. Good luck!

Here’s where you can buy Anne’s book:  http://www.amazon.com/Frank-Incense-and-Muriel-ebook/dp/B004CLYDRO/

Thanks for visiting, everyone, and don’t forget to comment for a chance to win this book.

Cheers, Beth Anderson

Guess who’s going everywhere Friday, Nov. 25?

You guessed it.  Me, of course! Lookee what I’ve gotten myself into AGAIN! I’m going on a blog tour with 14 terrific mystery writers, all of whom will be answering, for me, my interview question, “What was the hardest thing for you to learn about putting a publishable manuscript together, technical-wise, if there is such a word, and also, what finally tipped you over the edge so you knew for sure what to do and how to do it from then on out. Just pick one thing and give the reader a small lesson on writing a novel, with your toughest writing nemisis finally conquored.  As an example, was it POV or scheduling yourself or commas or any one of a hundred things you had to learn about writing a publishable novel.”

And what a tour this will be for all of you who follow my schedule, below, because folks on this tour have really gone the extra mile to help any unpubbed writer who wants to know the nitty-gritty about this business and not only how to enter it but also how to stay there. There’s some valuable stuff in all of these blogs, so please try to make an effort to keep up with us for the two weeks and you’ll be a lot richer, information-wise because these are all people who have done it.

Over the two weeks I’ll be keeping track of everyone who visits and leaves a comment at my blogsite, as well as who comments on my written blogs at the other authors’ blogsites and at the end of the whole two weeks I’ll award 1 copy each of Night Sounds, Murder Online, and Raven Talks Back, by drawing at the end of the tour from my list of people who comment over the two weeks. Winners can choose either e-book or print. Most of the authors will be giving away books at the end of this tour, totalling some 60-so free books to some folks, and just in time for Christmas, imagine that! What a coincidence, huh? ;-)

So here’s my personal schedule from November 25 through December 9. Y’all stop by here at my blog on Friday Nov. 25th for the first one, and then daily to see the following author blogs.  Also, you might want to keep track of this whole schedule so you won’t miss any blogs.

This is my list of who will be here on my blogsite, and their dates:

Nov. 25 – Anne K. Albert

Nov. 26 – Earl Staggs

Nov. 27 – Jinx Schwartz

Nov. 28 – Mike Orenduff

Nov. 29 – Marilyn Meredith

Nov. 30 – Jean Henry Mead

Dec. 1 – Jackie King

Dec. 2 – Timothy Hallinan

Dec. 3 – M.M. Gornell

Dec. 4 – Wendy Gager

Dec. 5 – Alice Duncan

Dec. 6 – John M. Daniel

Dec. 7 – Pat Browning

Dec. 8 – Ron Benrey

Dec. 9 – Recap of all blogs and list of winners of my books

And on those same days, in case you’re not confused enough to have already run away to Disneyland by now, here’s the list of author names and urls for where I’ll be:

Nov. 25 – Ron Benrey            http://blog.benrey.com

Nov. 26 – Pat Browning         http://pbrowning.blogspot.com/

Nov. 27 – John M. Daniel       http://johnmdaniel.blogspot.com

Nov. 28 – Alice Duncan          http://aliceduncanblog.blogspot.com/

Nov. 29 – Wendy Gager        www.wsgager.blogspot.com

Nov. 30 – M. M. Gornell        http://mmgornell.wordpress.com/

Dec. 1 – Timothy Hallinan    http://www.timothyhallinan.com/blog/

Dec. 2 – Jackie King               http://bnbmysteries.blogspot.com

Dec. 3 – Jean Henry Mead   http://theviewfrommymountaintop.blogspot.com/

Dec. 4 – Marilyn Meredith     http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

Dec. 5 – Mike Orenduff        http://thepotthief.blogspot.com

Dec. 6 – Jinx Schwartz         http://www.jinxschwartz.blogspot.com/

Dec. 7 – Earl Staggs              http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com/

Dec. 8 – Anne K. Albert        http://anne-k-albert.blogspot.com

Please come and see me there and comment.  You have no idea how lonely it is when nobody comments, and a lot don’t even though they do come to see the blogs.  Just a couple words put you into the running for free books either print or e.

See you starting Friday, November 25th!  I love y’al, you know I do!  And Sarge the Wonder Cat says “Hey” although I admit it sounds suspicously like “Meow”.

XOXOXO Beth, Hotclue’s alter ego.  And vice-versa. 

Presenting Anne K. Albert on the Mystery We Write Blog Tour 2011

……………….

Anne K. Albert (and yes, that is her AKA) has taught high school art, sold display advertising for a small town weekly newspaper, and worked for a national brand water company, but now writes full time.

A member of the Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and married to her high school sweetheart for more than a quarter of a century, it’s a given she’d write mystery and romantic suspense.

When not in her home office, she enjoys traveling, visiting friends and family, knitting, crocheting, and of course, reading.

FRANK, INCENSE AND MURIEL is the first book of her Muriel Reeves Mysteries series. It’s available in e-book format at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords and from Vanilla Heart Publishing. The print edition will be released July 2011.

Anne invites readers to visit her website http://www.AnneKAlbert.com/ or her main blog http://anne-k-albert.blogspot.com.

If they drop by her Muriel Reeves Mysteries blog http://muriel-reeves-mysteries.blogspot.com and leave a comment mentioning this interview, she’ll enter their name in a draw to win a pdf copy of FRANK, INCENSE AND MURIEL. The winner will be announced at the conclusion of the tour, sometime during the week of August 22, 2011.

……………………………

Anne, what was the most difficult experience you had on your journey to publication?

When Beth asked me the above question, it did not take long for me to figure out what I would share with you today. Self-confidence has always been my Achilles heel.

To be fair, I am getting better.

Last summer I was reading a book by a well known multi-published author who shall remain nameless. It was taking me forever to get into the story. I didn’t care about the protagonist. The author’s use of language continually pulled me out of the story. Reading the book was, well, to
put it bluntly, work. Hard work. Not my idea of a fun way to spend a few hours of my life I would never, ever get back. Finally, I gave up. I closed the book and refused to read another word.

“I can write better than that,” I said.

For the very first time in my life I realized it was true. I could write a better story. I had the ability and the desire. I was indeed a writer!

That’s when I came to understand that for far too many years it was not agents or editors who were holding me back from achieving my goal of publication (although they did to some extent). It was me. Deep in my heart I didn’t believe I was good enough. I didn’t appreciate what was truly unique about me as a writer. And for that reason I was not as focused on furthering my career.

In many ways, I realize now I was no different from the anorexic who stares into the mirror and sees a morbidly obese person’s reflection. I routinely undervalued my skill and ability as a writer. I sabotaged my career because I considered myself a fraud and a fake. Readers, contest judges, even editors would sing my praises, (by this time I had won a number of writing contests) but I’d focus on that one tiny criticism and blow it all out of proportion.

Is this lack of self-confidence a result of a childhood with too few supporters? Or is it more? Sometimes the answer will surprise you. It did me.

Shortly after I stated “I can write better than that” a good friend and I went for lunch. She asked how my writing was going and joked that one day she expected to see my name on a book cover. I replied that the very idea of being in the public eye terrified me to no end. She arched a brow, and insisted I think hard about what I’d just divulged.

By the end of the day I realized my lack of confidence was not the only thing holding me back.

Yes, I know it sounds weird, and it probably is, but I’m an intensely private person. I can’t imagine sharing anything personal with a stranger, and yet writing a book is about as personal as one can get! Once I assumed an AKA that obstacle disappeared.

My advice? Writer know thyself! What’s really keeping you from achieving your goal? Gatekeepers are one thing…but we all hold the key to our future in our own hands.
……………….

You can find Anne’s books here:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Frank-Incense-and-Muriel-ebook/dp/B004CLYDRO/

Barnes and Noble:  http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Frank-Incense-and-Muriel/Anne-K-Albert/e/2940011142123/

Smashwords, http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/30192

Vanilla Heart Publishing. http://www.vanillaheartbooksandauthors.com

……………….

Well, folks, Beth here.  I’m working on a brand new keyboard which will drive me insane until my fingers adjust themselves to it, I figured out g-mail after messing it up twice, switched email addresses and will continue switching them until they all come to beth  anderson  43  @  g  mail  dot com.  Y’all know what I mean, right?  Now that I have it all set up, I love it, so there I’ll stay.  Copy it and adjust the spaces and you’ll have it if you want to email me for anything.  Or, right here on my website I have a Contact button that will be adjusted to the new email address shortly by my website maven.

Want to join my email list, which is only issued every century or so?.  No spamming there, I can tell you.  I’m completely spam-free, so join up!  You could win one of my books now and again. Check me out on Amazon.com.  Just type in Beth Anderson, you’ll find me and pick out your heart’s desire so when I notify you that you’re a winner, you can tell me which one you want. I can either send an e-book anywhere in the world, or a print book anywhere here in the US.

This is the last week of my part of the eleven week blog tour with a whole bunch of great authors you’ve been reading about here for the past couple of months.  I’ve really enjoyed reading all of them and learning more about these talented women.  I hope you’ll drop back by every week when I and my motley crew of imaginary characters will be filling your lives with merriment and nonsense, so come on by and say hello!  I’ll leave the porch light on for ya!

Meantime, I love y’all, you KNOW I do!
XOXOXO, Beth Anderson aka Hotclue herself

Mystery We Write Blog Tour 2011 Presents Vivian Zabel

This week we’re featuring Vivian Zabel, author of Stolen, a compelling real-life story that will definitely hold your attention.

The result of a broken heart – a novel, the writing of Stolen

Over 14 years ago, two of my grandchildren were taken by their father. We had no contact with them,  didn’t know where they were, didn’t know if they were alive or not. The pain nearly destroyed us. We loved them so much, and they were such major parts of our lives, my husband and I felt as if a chunk of our hearts had been ripped out. I can only imagine the agony their mother, our daughter felt.

Something had to be done with that severe pain and despair. I turned to my therapy – writing. Stolen was born.

Every year for 12 years, around the time they were last seen by anyone in the family, I would blog a letter to them, giving my contact information. A friend asked if he could spread my latest blog, November 2007, through the blogs of his friends around the world. Of course I agreed.

Early 2008, I received an email, “I think you’re my grandmother.”

Finally, the novel is released and a sequel will be possible. God does answer prayer; He just sometimes takes much long than we want.

If you’re interested in reading more about the book please visit: http://www.stolen.yolasite.com.

My website is http://www.VivianZabel.com .

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Not much time to chat this week, folks.  We have a severe weather watch/warning here in Chicagoland, so I’ll just say come back next week and you’ll see the last of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour 2011 interviews.  Then it’ll be up to Hotclue and me.  I know you’re dying to see her again, just give us a couple more weeks and then She’ll Be Back!

Meantime, I’ll leave the porch light on for ya. I love you, you KNOW I do!
XOXOXOXO, Beth & Co.

Mystery We Write Blog Tour 2011 Presents Jennifer Di Camillo

We welcome Jennifer DiCamillo this week, a couple of days late and we apologize for that.  Jennifer is here to tell us about her travails while she was writing her first books, and what kept her writing.  Here are her two latest books:

And now, some words on keeping on, keeping on, JenniferDi Camillo style:

Like most writers, I struggle with my worthiness as a writer. I often think…maybe I should quit. A few years ago, I started entering writing contests because I needed to do exercises to improve my writing, and I hoped for some sort of reassurance that I was a good writer. I’ve since won over 180 awards, but I still struggle sometimes.

At one particular conference, a woman came up to me after I won several honorable mentions, and she told me that she thought it was time I quit entering contests. It absolutely broke my heart.

At the time, I was going through some pretty tough medical issues. I was facing a hysterectomy—and the removal of 26 lbs of tumors in my abdomen. They weren’t sure if it was cancer or not. It wasn’t. (Thank God.) Three of my four grandparents died of cancer, so I’m high risk. The fears were real.

I stopped writing for a couple of years. Every time I sat down at the computer to try, her words came back to haunt me. She didn’t understand that I am also suicidal and I needed something to look forward to. Contests provided that for me.

The funniest thing is…the woman who said the devastating words to me is an inspirational writer.

We’ve talked since and she says she thought she was complimenting me, telling me I had outgrown the small conferences. All I know is how much the words hurt at a time I really needed support. Of course, she didn’t know what I was going through medically.

I’ve forgiven her, of course, but it took some time. And it took a long time before I could make myself write anything, anything at all.

I have three books coming out this year, so I’ve bounced back and am on track again.

FOUR DEAD, a romantic suspense about a serial killer and the detectives chasing the murderer. MENTALLY UNSTABLE, a mystery anthology featuring short mystery stories of all kinds, from humorous and cozy to hard-boiled and science fiction. And PASSING PATRIOTS, a poetic tribute to veterans and their families.

Here are my websites:

http://www.jenniferdicamillo.com

http://www.jenniferdicamillo.net

http://www.jenniferdicamillo.org

You can find information on all of these websites.  I hope you’ll visit me soon!

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Hey, Folks, Beth here again.  Jennifer DiCamillo really had a lot of battles to overcome, didn’t she.  But that’s one of the major things that helps make a succesful published author.  The will to move on and start all over again.  I’ve had those troubles myself, we probably all have.  But we move on and write again because we have to.  Not because anyone else tells us we have to, but once a writer, always a writer, even IF we stop writing for publication.  We’re still writers.  It’s in our blood.  So thank you, Jennifer, for telling us about your problems, and how you overcome them.

Here’s a little bit of fun news.  My own book, RAVEN TALKS BACK, available in print and Kindle is really working hard to become a bestseller.  In fact, it is one!  On Tuesday I had an exciting few hours watching the Amazon numbers drop (which is the right way, the way you want them to drop) from 65th to 28th all the way to 6th place in the Metaphysical Mystery 100 Top Bestsellers category at Amazon’s Kindle section.

YAY for RAVEN!   I knew she had it in her!!!

Of course, those numbers change daily (actually hourly) so the one time I looked today, it was (sob!) (just kiddingy) back up in the 70′s, but it was STILL in the Top 100.  I’m happy.  And heck, it might disappear completely from the top 100, but it was fun while it lasted!  And I can still call it a Bestseller now, because it was, if only for a while. Unless y’all would like to keep it there…;-)

I’ll be back in a few days with another author interview, so don’t stay away too long!  I’ll leave the porch light on for you.  I love y’all, you KNOW I do!

XOXOXO, especially to whomever had those numbers moving like that yesterday afternoon!  An extra XO to you!  And how about leaving a comment or two for Jennifer, eh?

Beth