On light

Last year, Leslie Rose had some great posts on an element of setting I’d never consciously considered: light (her posts are here and here). Leslie has a background in theatre that, I’m sure, benefits her writing.

Light doesn’t always have to be mentioned directly, of course. White, airy curtains will give a different impression than sagging, Poe-esque drapes. Maybe the light plays on the face of a character, revealing cruelty or tenderness.

Here are some examples of light I just found:

“The windows of the tall buildings uptown flashed amber and bronze. A fat pink-stained cloud, its every billow and furl distinct as carved ivory, hung soaking up the last light over Brooklyn.” (Michael Cunningham, A Home at the End of the World)

“…and softly beyond the twilit door the twilight-colored smell of honeysuckle.” (William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury)

“Because it had rained and the rain had caught the black soot of the factories as they burned, Paris in the dark seemed covered by a dusky skin, almost as though it were living.” (Lauren Groff, “Delicate Edible Birds”)

“The fence posts on the margins of the fields glinted like burnished pins, the thick light plated his face with a coppery mask.” (Annie Proulx, Postcards)

“The living room contained ten shades of red, including shrimp walls, Chinese red carpeting, and a wing chair upholstered in pink chintz with a large floral pattern. It was like sitting in the middle of a bowl of cherry Jell-O…” (Marion Meade, Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This?)

Mysterious Cape Cod light as captured by traveling companion Uadler

“It meant that on an evening so calm, so iridescently blue, so full of the chink and chafe of insects and fat old dogs dragging their chains and belling in the neighbors’ dooryards—in such a boundless and luminous evening, we would feel our proximity with our finer senses.” (Marilynne Robinson, Housekeeping)

Have a great weekend, everyone. Happy writing.

Here we go again

Wow. A new year. Seems like two seconds ago I published this post. It’s the fashion to not make resolutions as we will only break them anyway. But I refuse to engage in such pessimism. Here are my writing resolutions for 2012 – I hope it will be a good year for everyone:

• Put writing first. Literally. I used to be a night-writer, from 9 p.m. to around 2 a.m. Can’t seem to do this anymore. Morning is best. It’s serene, fresh and usually quiet.
• Submit more (and faster). I have two finished stories ready to be shot out of the circus cannon. So what am I waiting for?
• Reserve blogs/Facebook to a specific hour per day. I’m already having trouble with this one. But, still, it’s a worthy resolution.
• Post here with more regularity: going to strive for every two weeks on a Thurs./Fri. This is realistic.
• Listen to others. Talk about other things besides writing.
• Give praise where it’s due. A few kind, supportive words might stop a ‘zine from closing, a project from ending, or a writer from despairing etc.
• Cut myself more slack, too. Be more forgiving.

So that’s what I hope is ahead – a compassionate yet determined/focused year.

I wish you all the very best for 2012. This year will be exciting, I’m sure of it. Perhaps it will even be magical.

Happy holidays

This is a great stocking stuffer for any writer. It’s small and well suited for nightly bouts of insomnia. It’s full of advice and words of wisdom, such as Status, worry, and comparison are ways to madness, not victory and Whining will not help you win the battle for publication. The tone is friendly and encouraging. It’s like your own little red cheerleader. I love it.

Should you hanker for a refreshing beverage over the holidays, I can recommend the Fab Housewife’s Partridge in a Pear Tree or Lola Sharp’s Grinch Punch.

And because I love Charlie Brown, I have to reproduce Lola’s post picture here:

  Merry Christmas to all the Charlie Browns…

Thank you for stopping by Only Time Will Tell in 2011. It was, I think, a pretty good year. Thanks for your comments and interesting insights. Thanks for your entertaining blog posts.

“See” you in 2012!

More on Crime Bake

As promised, here are some more details from my Crime Bake weekend, my very first (but not last) writers’ conference. First the most important thing: there were lobsters…

Lots of lobsters…

There were also interesting panels, agent-pitch sessions, two awesome guests of honor, a fun costume party, and of course the award ceremony and launch of Dead Calm. I guess I’ll just try to sum up my experience and mention the things that stand out in my mind. Won’t bore you with all the details.

The Boston weather (pleasantly) surprised me with extremely mild temperatures. I brought my big winter coat for nothing and had to lug it up the hill to Hilton Dedham, assisted by a kind Rusty Gagnon – a mild breeze blowing our hair, ocher leaves swirling all around us.

• The “social media” panel was interesting. Surprisingly, Facebook was deemed the most important social media platform – due to the sheer number of users. I’d have thought Twitter would win the prize. Blogs were considered nice but not necessary. Personally, I like blogs. A new writer won’t have anything to put on a static website. Blogs allow you to share thoughts longer than 140 characters/Facebook statuses. I think the basic conclusion at the end was that you need to have something (this is clear), and it’s up to you what you feel most comfortable with. Trying to do everything was discouraged. There was advice to “write the damn book” and limit social media time by quickly zipping in – liking a few things, dropping a few comments – and then zipping right out again. I don’t know if it’s really that easy.
• Barry Eisler and Nancy Pickard were wonderful. They are also both attractive. I know because I was sitting right in front of them. They talked candidly about highs and lows, dark moments before dawns, horrible covers and bad titles, helpful/unhelpful editors. Listening to them talk renewed my appreciation of the weird, winding paths writing careers can take. And each path is different. I enjoyed Nancy Pickard’s moderated panel “I’ve Got a Secret” on characters and secrets, layers of secrets, when you should or should not reveal the secrets… I believe it was Nancy who gave the tip, “Put a surprise in every scene.”
• Agent-pitch session. I’d never pitched before but I gave it a go. My impression of the pitching business: it’s always going to be a little nerve-wracking but who cares. Just do it anyway. I certainly didn’t feel lonely waiting in the hall with all those other nervous people twitching their notes like actors waiting for an audition.
• The costume party (“Sleuths, Spies and Private Eyes”) was lots of fun. I wasn’t the only Nancy Drew. Another plaid-skirted gal graced the dance floor. Around her hovered a ghost. None of us could figure out who the ghost was supposed to be. Turned out it was Carolyn Keene (ghostwriter). I saw a Columbo (complete with glass eye) and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. All in all, a grand evening.
• I wanted to do the writers’ yoga session at 7 a.m. on Sunday but, yeah, I didn’t make it.

If you like crime fiction and you’re thinking about attending a writers’ conference, I can warmly recommend the New England Crime Bake. Just sign up early because it gets booked up really fast (this year I think it was sold out in June).

Interview with Level Best Books

Level Best Books have interviewed me on their website. You can read how Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” inspired me to the story “Prom Shoe on Nantasket Beach.” Interview is here.

New England Crime Bake and Dead Calm

Finally, I can let the lobster out of the bag.

This weekend I attended the New England Crime Bake in Dedham, Mass. where I received the 2011 Al Blanchard Award for my short story “Prom Shoe on Nantasket Beach.” I’ve known about the award for several months but was asked to keep quiet until the official ceremony. It wasn’t easy, I tell you.

The Crime Bake was wonderful and I’m going to tell you about it in greater detail in a later post. Guests of honor were Nancy Pickard and Barry Eisler. There was a number of interesting seminars and a fun costume party (“Sleuths, Spies and Private Eyes” – I went as Nancy Drew).

My story “Prom Shoe on Nantasket Beach” is included in the Level Best Books anthology, Best New England Crime Stories 2012: Dead Calm.

Available on LBB’s website, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Kindle edition is here.

Till soon with more conference details!

Off to Boston

Shucks. I wanted to post something meaningful this week. Really, I did. Had the idea and pictures all set to go. But the time just flew. And now I’m off to Boston. Going home. It will be an exciting trip. I will tell all when I get back. Maybe I’ll even write a couple of posts while I’m away. Who knows. Am taking my handy little travel laptop with me.

I’m looking forward to a super-exciting weekend. Looking forward to a pumpkin latte and a rowdy Saturday night in my hometown with “old” high school friends (who have all been duly alerted). Naturally can’t wait to go shopping on my beloved Newbury St.:

Oh what good times I had on that street. I remember once spending the better part of a Wellesley waitressing check on a Betsey Johnson dress. Everyone loved that dress. All my friends borrowed it. Even a male friend asked if he could try it on. It was that kind of dress.

When I return I will finish and publish that meaningful post. That’s a promise. Till then, happy writing. Feel free to share how your writing is going. I care. I do.

I looked out this morning and the sun was gone

Turned on some music to start my day…

Author photos

How do you feel about them? Do you have one? Are they important to you as a reader? Do you need to know what the author looks like? What about other bloggers? Need to know what they look like?

I decided it was time to get some photos done. We can’t hide forever (sadly). I’ve wanted the shadows, I don’t anymore (is that from Yentl?). One result of my session with a talented photographer can be viewed on my About page, second photo.

Personally, I don’t know that I “need” to see an author’s photo. Same applies to bloggers. I’ve felt fond of blogs with no author photo at all. The personality usually shines through anyway.

Some amusing articles on author photos can be found here and here.

Typewriter-lady print available here.

Ghost on Black Mountain

I learned of this book

on this blog. As I love ghost stories, I took diligent note of its publication date. Well, I was not disappointed. This story contains not just one ghost but several. It is pure ghostly goodness. The character voices ring loud and clear. The setting is eerie and beautiful too. I read it on one darkish, misty Sunday after listening to some Fleetwood Mac. That was a good basis. I finished it shortly past midnight and declared, ”A great book.” If you’re interested, Ann Hite has some personal/family ghost stories on her website. Cool stuff.

“Mama warned me against marrying Hobbs Pritchard. She saw my future in her tea leaves: death.” (Ann Hite – Ghost on Black Mountain)

If I could be anyone,

I’d be Pat Benatar.

I’d be “Invincible” and whisper “Promises in the Dark.” And I would know that “Love Is a Battlefield.”

We are young

Heartache to heartache

We stand

No promises, no demands