Switching Gears!

Rosie's going on the back burner. Bummer, I know, but I need to finish Gina's story. It really is the one that haunts me, and, anyone who knows me keeps asking, "So, how's that Gina story coming along?" So, I've decided to shop this story at Crime Bake this year. The first few chapters have to be in by Oct 1 in order to be critiqued by a published author.

Here's a little synopsis. Let me know what you think!

THE SEDUCTION OF INTENT is a story about two young women; Gina Maria Baldini and Margo Adams, born only months apart, in the same city, in the same hospital. That, however, is where the similarity ends...for now.

When she is ten years old, Gina's childhood comes to an abrupt end when her beloved father dies in a fiery car crash on his way home from work and her mother becomes lost in her grief, leaving Gina to fend for herself and take on the role of caretaker. She has very few friends throughout her childhood and only one, Bonnie, does she trust enough to bring home. Bonnie comes from a similar background and they become best friends.

At thirty-two years old, Gina commits murder after the stress in her life becomes such that her mind has a break with reality. She has no memory of the actual murder, only of the events leading up to and after the crime.

In contrast, Margo, also an only child, has a storybook childhood surrounded by a doting family. As the center of attention, she's always been a little self-centered, although her family does its best to keep her grounded. She's a journalist assigned to write a story about women who kill and is sent to a state mental institution to begin a series of interviews with Gina. In her effort to get a sensational, real-life murder story, however, Margo is a little over-zealous in her approach to Gina and is asked to leave. Gina is intrigued with Margo though, and eventually invites her back.

Margo, who is in denial about her own relationship with her fiancee, learns some of life's greatest lessons through Gina. Only then is she able to let go of a dream that wasn't originally her to begin with.

Workshop Weekend

Had a very busy week-end! My friend, Margo, and I drove to Dedham to attend a full day workshop with New York Agent and author of Writing The Breakout Novel, Donald Maass. There were about fifty sisters-in-crime in attendance from all six of the New England states and it was nice to see the familiar faces from Crime Bake. It was such a treat to see my friend, Karen, from Long Island. I only stayed one night, but wished I had reserved the room for two nights, because Karen and I didn't really have enough time to visit. The workshop was terrific, although it felt a little long by 2:30. (Another reason I was wishing I'd reserved the room for two nights).

After dinner on Friday evening, Margo, Karen and I did some brainstorming in a quiet area of the Hotel that Karen had found. It was so good - for all of us. We all took a great new idea home with us and Karen did a line item critique for Margo. You're the best, Karen!

I haven't yet learned to post photos from my computer, so I couldn't put them all up. I didn't even want the two I did post, where they landed. I was trying to get them at the bottom of this post. Lisa!!!!! Help!!!!!!

My Eyes Are Bigger Than My Stomach

I've bitten off more than I can chew! I'm so stressed out. Two writing classes and an all-day workshop with a MASTER is turning out to be a nightmare for me. First, I signed up for a Margie Lawson course, which is very interactive, so I have another person counting on me for my input. Oh, the pressure! The class is wonderful, but I'm really short on time.

This coming week-end is the Donald Maass workshop for SinC, so I'll be gone all week-end. I'll have to bring my laptop and play catch-up Friday night, after dinner. Maybe. I'll be with two good friends, so it might be a pretty late night. Oh, but wait! Two days before the workshop my class with Writer's Digest University begins. Yikes! I don't have time to work. Oh, right, I've become accustomed to eating.

Lesson learned.

Back to business...

Valerie and Melissa Webster are as close as sisters can be. Because their not-so-ideal childhood forced them to take care of each other when no one else would, and because some things never change, they continue to be stuck together like glue. Perhaps too much so.

In an effort to create some semblance of independence, both sisters have deliberately kept a part of their lives completely private, neither one guessing each had such perfectly hidden secrets. The close quarters of a cruise ship, however, are less than ideal for keeping secrets and their lives take quite a turn when they are forced to reveal themselves to one another, and to the world.

Yay!

While perusing an issue of Writer's Digest magazine the other day, I saw the list of winners in their annual contest results so I began reading them to see if any of the names sounded familiar to me and wouldn't you know, I found one! Not only that, the name I recognized was that of one of my critique partners! She never said a word. So modest. So humble. I'm sure I would have been yelling it from the roof-tops, had it been me.

So, congratulations to Suellen Wedmore for her fourth place listing in non-ryhming poetry in the November/December 2011 issue of Writer's Digest!

Meet Rosalie!

Rosalie Chandler is a woman of a certain age. When she boards a cruise ship with her husband, Stanley, for their long-awaited cruise through the Eastern Caribbean, she has no idea how much her life is about to change.

Feeling a little depressed over her fifty-something birthday, and, oh-by-the-way, that twenty or so extra pounds that seems to have crept up on her over the last few years, Rosalie is fairly certain that her life has begun to wind down. That is, until she meets six women only a few years older than her own daughters, who welcome her with open arms into their newly formed clique.

When the group decides to gather their wits and set out to solve the mystery of a missing crew member, they, and Rosalie (dubbed, "Rosie"), by her new circle of friends, realize that she has a knack for all things investigative which makes the group look to her not only for motherly advice, but for clues and insight into the disappearance as well.

Rosalie Chandler is funny, smart and heartbreakingly fragile in this story of a woman looking for her place in the world when she doesn't seem to fit anywhere, anymore.

Cruising to a Murder

A new story means a new notebook. Oh, but wait. It has to have a matching folder. Here’s what jumped out at me.

My new story, “Cruising to a Murder,” is about seven women who meet on a cruise ship and solve a murder that the crew is trying to cover up. They become life-long friends and find themselves in some pretty funky situations in the years to come. They’re funny, smart and sometimes, a little complicated. Getting to know them has been a blast for me and I’m finally ready to write their stories. My writer friend, Karen, and I have made a pact to have our first drafts completed by Crimebake of this year. Making that commitment to each other has been a good motivator to keep it going. Thanks, Karen.

Next, I’ll find a little something that I think Rosalie, my protagonist, might carry around with her. It might be a key ring charm or a healing stone. Not sure yet as to what that might be, but I’ll know it when I see it, and I’ll keep it with me to remind myself to try and experience things from her point of view.

My friend Margo’s characters keep a journal. What a great idea. It’s a terrific way to stay in tune with all the characters, even when you’re only writing about one. And you know what? You never know what might come out on the pages of those journals.