Top o’ The Morning to You

 Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you!

Although not a fan of green (on me), I have a fondness for this day each year. My maternal grandparents were straight off the boat (via Ellis Island) many years ago.

My grandmother spoke with a brogue until the day she died and my grandfather marched in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in NYC every year (oh, how I loved to watch him go by).

My eldest daughter has an Irish moniker and, one day, I’d like to travel to Ireland just to see it with my own two eyes.

So what about you? What’s your nationality? Have you ever visited that country? Any cool memories you care to share?

~Elizabeth

What Have You Read Lately?

At the moment, I’m busy writing Sewing Circle Mystery # 4 (due April 1st) and proofing the final copy edits for # 3 (due today), so to say I’ve not been reading lately is a bit of an understatement.  

Which means I’m turning today’s blog over to you. Tell us about a book you’ve read recently (its title, the author, and what you thought of it).  I’m going to flag this on my Facebook Fan Page so hopefully we’ll all come away with some great reading suggestions!

~Elizabeth

These Shoes Are Made For Walkin’…

That’s right, today’s Dreamer Monday post is about shoes–men’s shoes, women’s shoes, kid’s shoes, and even lack-of-shoes.

Now, before all you shoe lovers go crazy, I need to make one very important distinction. Today’s shoe chat is on more of a figurative basis.

*Turns a deaf ear to the massive sighing*

Okay, so here we go…  If you could walk in someone else’s shoes–past, present, or future/living, dead, or not alive yet– for just one day, who would it be and why?

Oh, and if there’s a particular moment you’d like to be wearing those shoes (ie, a pivotal moment in this person’s life), tell us that, too.

~Elizabeth

Quote of the day from Langston Hughes on dreams:

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–and then run?

Or doe s it explode?

Name Your Candy

***Warning: If you don’t want to hear your tummy grumble, don’t read this post.***

Okay, now that I’ve done my civic duty, let’s get down to business, shall we?

When I’m on deadline I tend to snack–candy corn and a glass of milk being my treat of choice during the final push. Yum!

When I’m not on deadline, I tend to go for Milk Duds and, occasionally, a Score Bar.

But when I was a little girl, I had different favorites–favorites that are more than a little hard to find these days…

First, there was the Marathon Bar. Some of you may know them as Curly Wurly Bars, but those are imposters.

 The Marathon Bar was cooler…because it had a red wrapper with yellow writing like this…

And then, of course, there were the penny candies we got to pick out from time to time at the penny candy store. While my siblings would agonize over which candy to get, I went for the same ones time and time again. My choice? These guys right here…

Mmmm, B B Bats. My favorite flavors were banana and vanilla (surprising, seeing as how I’m such a chocolate lover in every other way these days, huh).

So, there you have it–my personal candy-line  from childhood to now.  Good stuff, huh?

Now it’s your turn. What is/was some of your favorite candy?

~Elizabeth

(The Marathon wrapper was scanned with permission)

The Why Behind the Sewing

Blog reader J.D. asked this question recently:

Why Sewing?

First of all, the craft niche books are popular. And since many of those who sew, knit, scrapbook, antique, (etc.) are also readers, it’s a natural crossover for the publishing  houses to explore.

The key, as a writer, is how to tickle that group’s interest without losing the interest of readers who don’t have any experience (or interest) in said craft. For me, this last part wasn’t too hard simply because I don’t sew. I can do buttons (well)…and patches (a little well)…but, beyond that, not so much.

Fortunately for me, my series focuses on the sewing circle rather than simply the sewing. Sure, the folks sew in the background, but it’s the socialization aspect of the craft that brings these particular people together. It also allows for a varied age range to come together (one of my favorite parts of this series) in a place that makes sense.

By focusing on the socialization aspect, people can identify with these stories whether they sew or not. Will they enjoy it if they sew? Of course. There’s a commonality with the people right off the bat. But those who don’t sew can identify with the friendships that come from getting together with people who have a common interest. When I get together with my writing buddies we talk about writing. But we also talk about other stuff…like life, kids, books, etc. Much like the women of the Sweet Briar Ladies Society Sewing Circle.

I hope that helps answer your question, J.D.

The mailbag is starting to run low on questions, so fire away everyone. I’ll answer them on future “Writing Thursdays.”

~Elizabeth

Before, After and Everything In Between

I had the opportunity to do a little traveling this past weekend thanks to some book events I’d committed to back when I thought DEATH THREADS was launching this month. Since the release was pushed to May to accomodate a few changes to the cover (see below), the trip had some nice spots open for socializing. The fact that this particular trip had me visiting the St. Louis area (a.k.a. “home”), only meant that extra time was all the more fun.

The first full night I was there had me meeting up with two of my dearest friends over dinner (the first half) and hot cocoa (the second half). We talked. We laughed. We plotted (we’re all writers). And we just enjoyed being together for the first time in entirely too long. It was, essentially, a wonderful (albeit bittersweet) recharging for the old internal battery. And boy did I need a recharging as well as time with my friends…

Now, that the trip is over, I’m in complete work mode as I write my way toward deadline day for # 4 in the Sewing Circle Mystery Series. This book is tentatively titled, DEADLY NOTIONS, and is proving to be a lot of fun to write!

But writing is not all I’m up to at the moment. I’m also getting busy making plans for the May 4th launch of DEATH THREADS…and looking ahead to the Oct. 5th launch of PINNED FOR MURDER. If you have connections with a library or bookstore and would like to see me come to your area, let me know!!

If you follow my series (as I hope you do), I thought you might like to see how the cover for DEATH THREADS has  evolved…

This is version # 1. It’s cut off a little on the top and bottom simply because I’m an idiot and can’t figure out why it’s not loading the complete image. But it’s enough to give you the effect. However, if you click on it, you’ll see the whole thing!

And here is version # 2 (and, once again, it’s chopping off the top and bottom–I’m nothing if not consistent). As you can see, the changes from version # 1 to version # 2 are subtle, yet they sure make things POP, don’t they?? Huge kudos to the folks at Berkley for creating a great cover and then finding ways to make it even better!

Oh…and both versions really DO have my name on the cover…that’s just part of what got cut off on my uploading attempts.  If you click on each one, you’ll see the changes there, too. In version # 1, my  name was in red and it was split over the black and white tiles (making it harder to read). In this new version they’ve designed the tiles so the name fits on black and it’s the same color as the title. It’s very nicely done!

What do you think?

~Elizabeth

See the Book! Read the Movie!

Disney was a master of the tale retold.

Be it Cinderella, The Little Mermaid or 101 Dalmatians, the powers-that-be at Disney were uniquely successful in transferring classic and contemporary stories from print to film.

Studio animators used light and shadow to establish mood and paint scenes. Casting directors found pitch perfect voice talent to breathe emotion into scripts. Writers infused familiar plots and themes with new ideas and timely twists.

Yes, Disney took liberties with folk tales, de-emphasizing the darker elements. But the emotional cores and themes remained, which is why the films still resonate.

Like anyone who elevates skill to art, Disney made reimagining stories look easy.

The film industry will tell you it isn’t.

No longer content to poach fables and fairytales, Hollywood has moved to a new stalking ground–the New York Times Bestseller List. In the last year alone, Harry Potter, Coraline, The Lovely bones, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Sherlock Holmes and Rick Riordan’s sword-swinging Percy Jackson have leapt from page to screen.

The results?

Mixed.

Lovely Bones came under fire from readers when a key scene from the book was excised from the film. Some Conan Doyle aficionados avoided Holmes for fear of seeing their Baker Street sleuth transformed into an action-adventure hero. And here at home, despite loving the Percy Jackson books, my children are still undecided about seeing The Lightning Thief after hearing lukewarm reviews from friends.

The migration from publishing house to production company is a hero’s journey, fraught with mangled plots, clipped character arcs, changes in tone and pace and mood, memorable lines shoehorned into ill-fitting exchanges of dialogue, and–on rare occasion–retellings that are somehow both faithful and fresh, satisfying stalwart fans while drawing new readers into the fold.

In the quest to mine blockbuster gold from a literary favorite, many have tried, and many have fallen.

Now it’s your turn.

On the heels of a Hollywood disaster, a producer is running away from home. He’s passing through your town, standing in line behind you at Gas n’ Go. He comments on the book tucked under your coat.

“Some nitwit made a move from it and botched it,” you say.

He introduces himself as the nitwit. He’d like to know:

*How he botched it.
*What he got right.
*And another book, new or classic, that would make a great film.

Leave your thoughts in the comment section. But be quick about it. By the time you post, your pick already may have hit the production listings of imdb.

~Joe

Joe Richardson has written for newspapers, magazines, trade journals and broadcast media. When not at his desk, he can be found photographing his family and other forms of wildlife. He lives in rural Illinois.

Tag, You’re It

This week’s Dreamer Monday question is going to require a little extra thought. Tough on a Monday, I know, but we can do it…

If you could impart just one piece of wisdom you’ve learned during the course of your life, what would it be? 

Me? I think it would be something like this:  Be true to yourself. Always. When it’s time to put your head on the pillow each night, you need to know you tried your best. At being kind. At being compassionate. At being true. The people that matter will respect this. Those who don’t…well, you don’t need them.

 Tag. You’re it.

~Elizabeth

What’s On YOUR Bucket List?

 That’s right, we’re talking bucket lists today. Though, to be honest, I’m not sure I’d ever heard the term “bucket list” until fairly recently (perhaps that’s because I’m getting old enough to need one).

So I’ll tell you some of mine, if you’ll tell me some of yours , okay?

Here we go (in no particular order)…

1) I’ve always had a bizarre desire to climb to the top of a working lighthouse. Doesn’t matter where, I just want to walk up the spiral staircase and stare out at the ocean. Maybe imagine the ships that have been called home because of that actual light…

2) I’d like to spend an entire summer at the beach one year. Doesn’t have to be some fancy house…just something comfortable. Seriously, how cool would it be to walk out your front door into sand and then ocean?!?!?!

3) I’d like to go to Walnut Grove, Minnesota and all the other places Laura Ingalls wrote about in her books. 

4) I’d like to see Paris. This is a new entry onto the list because, until this past year, I had zero interest in ever going to this city. For some reason that’s changed. I think, in part, because I realize how much I truly enjoy the hustle and bustle of a real city.

5) I’d like to drive a Zamboni. Just once. I have no idea why.

6) I’d like to meet Mary Higgins Clark and tell her how much she influenced my writing career (not that she probably hasn’t heard that a million times from a million writers but still…).

Oh…and here’s one more. Although I must confess it wasn’t ON my list until after I did it (yes, I’m one of those people who adds things I’ve already done to my to-do list just so I can check it off–*insert evil laugh*) .

7) For those of you who may have read my blog toward the end of January, you know I was asked to speak at the President’s Circle NY event for the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America. The venue? Um…Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Podium location? Um…in front of a floor-to-ceiling glass room overlooking Times Square. So that’s why I’ve added it to my Bucket List after the fact. Because it was cool and a true once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.  (I think you can click on the picture to get a better look…just remember, I’m in the process of speaking…hence the facial expression).

Those are a few of mine at the moment. Now it’s your turn…

~Elizabeth

Spending Time With Old Friends…

That’s what it feels like every single time I sit down to write another Southern Sewing Circle Mystery (I’m working on # 4 now). And it is one of my favorite parts of writing a series.

When you spend upwards of five to six hours a day with people (even those that reside in your head), you get to know them. You know their strengths, you know their flaws, you know their vulnerabilities, you know what makes them tick and why…and you become attached. Like they’re old friends.

In my Southern Sewing Circle books, the main character–Tori Sinclair–is part of a sewing circle. The circle, itself, is comprised of nine women (including Tori). They range in age from early twenties to seventy-something and each and every one of them has a personality all their own.

Margaret Louise is loyal and true–a sixty-something woman who backs up those often misused words by offering them unconditionally (that, people, is the true test of “loyalty”).

Her twin sister, Leona–is a pistol. And I do mean a pistol. She’s very cultured. Never married. A little full of herself. A total flirt (think Blanche from the Golden Girls).

Rose is in her upper seventies. She’s a retired schoolteacher who speaks her mind. Always. She’s sharp-tongued most of the time, yet has a softness about her that can’t go unnoticed, either.

Georgina Hayes, the town’s mayor, is welcoming. She’s also strong and self sufficient.

Beatrice Tharrington is the youngest of the group, living in Sweet Briar as a nanny for a local family. She’s shy yet extremely observant. She’s growing as the series continues.

Melissa Davis is in her early thirties and is the mom of seven kids. She’s always on the go… Loves her family even if she’s harried 24/7.

Debbie Calhoun is mid thirties and a real go-getter. She manages to make motherhood (to two), marriage (to the semi-famous author, Colby Calhoun), and owning her own business (Debbie’s Bakery) look easy.

And then there’s Dixie Dunn. There’s not much to say about Dixie other than she’s old, and more than a little bitter (at least so far as my main character goes). She, too, adds her own dimension to the group. Especially when the claws retract just long enough to show a side that’s not completely bitter.

These people have become real to me. Sitting down with them, after having worked on other projects, is like coming home. I know what they’re going to say before they say it, I have a feel for who is going to do what in any given situation, and–when surprises happen–they make rolling with the punches a treat!

So tell us, do you enjoy series? Do you, as readers, feel as if series’ characters become like old friends, too? Any stand out from books you’ve read?

~Elizabeth