Category Archives: Writing

Isabel Long Mystery Series, Writing

Getting Oh So Closer to the End

Specifically, I mean Missing the Deadline, the next Isabel Long Mystery, number seven in the series. I began this book late last fall and kept at it despite distractions such as working with my editor on The Sacred Dog, holidays, family visits, and personal stuff. You know real life.

My head these days has been filled with what-ifs as I come to the story’s conclusion.

What is Missing the Deadline about? Cyrus Nilsson, aka the Big Shot Poet who first appeared in Checking the Traps, hires Isabel to investigate the shooting of his former literary agent. Gerald Danielson survived what the police ruled an attempted suicide, but he has serious cognitive issues. After overhearing what somebody said at a party though, Cyrus questions whether someone else could be responsible.

Gerald lives with his devoted sister, Wendy, who now runs the literary agency, in a village called Meadows Falls. He has an aide, Miguel. As Isabel delves into this case, she looks for people who might have a reason to shoot Gerald Danielson, and there are definitely suspects, including an ex-wife who writes smutty romance novels and a sci-fi writer who is bold-faced liar. For those following the series, many of my notable characters, like Jack, Isabel’s mother, Annette, the Beaumont brothers, the Old Farts, Dave Baxter, even Lisa, have roles in this one. Of course, I’ve created new characters.

People often ask how I plot my book, and I will admit I don’t. I start with an idea for a mystery and create a lot of possibilities about who could have dunnit as I write. Isabel Long and I solve the case together. At this point, she and I have finally figured it out.

My aim is to make the climax true to the book and hopefully fool readers until the end. 

On Friday, I was fortunate to give a reading at the Arms Library in my village of Shelburne Falls. (Thanks Arms Library.) I was delighted that fans of the series showed up. They were pleased the seventh book is so close to the end. Well, so am I.

When I read a scene from Following the Lead about the Old Farts, those nosy old men who gather in the backroom of the Conwell General Store to gossip, I asked if there could be a similar situation around here. Ah, yes, I got several locations. Ha. I also got two great suggestions: to consider audiobooks and to approach another mystery writer about doing a collaboration. My lips are sealed about who that might be but I do plan to reach out. Another person also suggested having Isabel work on an active case. That’s something to consider.

I have perhaps a thousand words to go in Missing the Deadline. Then, I will print it and give the book a good hard look for holes or where a part needs tightening. I will listen to the book via the mechanical voice in the Read Aloud function of Word. I call him Frank, by the way. Then I will send it to my publisher to see if it meets their approval. I will certainly let you know about that.

By the way, I already have an idea for number eight.

LINK TO MY BOOKS: Here they are on Amazon — https://amzn.to/3W1JJfv

ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: That’s a lovely chandelier at the Millicent Library in my hometown of Fairhaven Mass., which I visited recently. The library does carry my books.

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Writing

A Different Way of Writing

I believe the change began around the time I left journalism. Perhaps it’s because I no longer have the distractions of working long hours as editor-in-chief reading what other people wrote plus handling my managerial duties. Perhaps it’s because I have more time. Most likely, it’s both.

Even before I left my job, I was having too much fun writing my Isabel Long Mystery Series to let that workload stop me. I got up at 5 a.m. to put down 500 words. The words flowed. The story flowed. From one chapter to the next until the end. First five in the series were published this way. It was a bit miraculous.

But how I write has changed and I am now realizing that as I’m into no. 7. I believe it began with Working the Beat, no. 5, as I was winding down from my job, and intensified with Following the Lead, no. 6.

I still aim for 500 words a day.  But before I begin, I look back to what I wrote the previous day to add, if needed, a word, sentence or paragraph in the one before. Essentially I am expanding — and in my mind improving — what I wrote recently before I move onto the new chapter or chapters. (I still write short ones.) Basically, I am not waiting until I reach the half-way point or the end to look for holes

I am also finding that as I move through the story, I think back whether something is missing earlier.

Making the Deadline, the tentative title for no. 7, involves a shooting possibly made to look like a suicide attempt. Isabel has been approached by a possible client, Cyrus Nilsson aka the Big Shot Poet. He’s made a good pitch, but she’s not sure, so she’s doing her initial research and interviews. 

The victim, a literary agent (frustrated authors will enjoy this), is now mentally incapacitated. I realized early this morning that as Isabel begins gathering her list of contacts, she should be checking the agency’s website. An earlier online check revealed no reports of a shooting in the local papers since most do not report suicides or attempts. There was a brief in an online magazine that the agent has stepped away from the business “for health reasons” but I realized I wanted more. What about the agency’s website? Bingo. Isabel needs to find that online.

And although I never plan ahead — Isabel’s next case starts as a fragment in my brain — I am mindful I do not want to have a series that is formulaic. I liken it to what my protagonist, Isabel, does. As the series moves on, she’s taking more complicated and unusual cases. There will always be new characters but I also want to keep the old ones fresh. I feel I owe it to my readers. And to myself. I don’t want to just call it in.

THE SACRED DOG: This novel is not part of my Isabel Long Mystery Series although the setting is similar. Basically, there’s bad blood between two men. The title comes from the name of a bar one of them owns. I will be telling you a whole lot more about it from now until its launch date Dec. 27 and beyond. Here’s the link to learn more: https://mybook.to/thesacreddog

FOLLOWING THE LEAD: Here’s the link for no. 6 in the Isabel Long Mystery Series: https://mybook.to/followingthelead

ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: A mural spotted in Brattleboro, Vermont.

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Isabel Long Mystery Series, Writing

Keeping a Series Going

Following the Lead, no. 6 in my Isabel Long Mystery Series, is in the works for a Nov. 3 release and available for pre-order. But before I started no. 7, I was inspired to take a pause and reread each book. I had the time and motivation to maintain the series’ consistency.

So, as I sat on the front porch, my alternate office these warm weather days, I went through each one, as a reader and not as the writer. Chasing the Case. Redneck’s Revenge. Checking the Traps. Killing the Story. Working the Beat.

Frankly, key to this series is Isabel Long who makes it easy for me to create and continue a series since she tells the story. A widow a year. A former long-time journalist who plans to put that profession’s transferable skills to good use investigating cold cases in the sticks where she lives. A part-time bartender. She’s not some sweet young thing. Smart, savvy, and a bit of a wise-ass, especially about her observations of hilltown life. I admit there’s a lot of me in this character, save the widow part.

As I have mentioned before there are characters I love too much to let go. Annette Waters aka Tough Cookie is one. She runs a junkyard, garage, and co-owner of a convenience store in the middle of nowhere called the Pit Stop. The Old Farts, those nosy geezers who meet in the backroom of the Conwell General Store, are others. Of course, there’s Maria, Isabel’s mother and sidekick, plus Jack, her love interest that owns the Rooster Bar. Bad boys Gary and Larry Beaumont. Marsha. Annette’s son, Abe. Isabel’s old boss, Lin Pierce. Dancin’ Dave Baxter. And Jim Hawthorne aka Thorny.

Some characters I create don’t appear in every book. Others are one and done.

But as I move onto the seventh, I’ve decided to draw up a chart of who’s who for each character, so I keep them and details about their backgrounds straight — also key moments for them.

The same will go for each town. Isabel lives in Conwell, which has one store, one bar, one school, one school and one stoplight. Dillard, from book four, is the only one with a railroad passing through it. Titus has a country fair. Caulfield has the Pit Stop and Baxter’s, a biker bar on the lake. There are rivers and landmarks.

I have to say rereading the books has been an enjoyable pastime. I even found myself laughing out loud at some of the parts. I liked the flow and interaction of characters. I am happy I wrote them. I am glad I worked with editor, Miriam Drori.

And since I had an idea for no. 7, I marked pages with pieces of paper for info I will want to include.

Okay, full disclosure: I also found a few errors, which in this digital age and print on demand can be changed — certainly part of my inspiration for the chart. A couple of readers mentioned after reading Checking the Traps, I had Isabel giggle too much. I believe I used that form of laughter to show Isabel was a little unsure as she finds later in life a new love in Jack and situation as a P.I. But I see what they mean. Isabel is tougher than that, and I stopped her giggling from book four on. 

But with only the fifth book to go, I couldn’t help myself. I’ve started no. 7, tentatively called Making a Deadline. On Friday, I sat down with my computer, and the story just began itself. Remember Cary Moore, the highway worker who wrote poetry good enough for a famous poet to steal? Well, thanks to that remorseful poet, Cyrus Nilsson aka the Big Shot Poet, his collection, “Country Boy,” is having a release party at the Penfield Town Hall. It’s standing room only for local folks. And that’s where Isabel — and her mother — find the next case. My lips are sealed for now.

PHOTO ABOVE: That’s the stack of books for the Isabel Long Mystery Series.

LINKS TO MY BOOKS: If you are reader, thank you very much. If you are tempted to be one, here’s the link to the series: https://www.amazon.com/Joan-Livingston/e/B01E1HKIDG

And if you are interested in pre-ordering Following the Lead — againthank you — here’s that link: https://mybook.to/followingthelead That’s for Kindle orders. Paperback will be released a little later.

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Front Porch, Writing

Views on Our Front Porch

Given this heat, I’m spending a great deal of my time on our front porch. Alas, we don’t have air-conditioning, just two noisy fans that at least keep the warm air moving inside the house. So, out of necessity and comfort, it has become my new writing and research space as well as our living and dining room. Yes, I am writing this post out here. I have my first cup of coffee with me. I’m still in my night clothes, but it’s early, so nobody’s around except the cat and me.

I sincerely thank the people who built this bungalow in 1900 for creating a front porch that is large and situated so it channels the breezes from the tree-filled hill to the right of it. I’m glad the owners before us didn’t glass or screen it in.

Hank built its four comfy Adirondack chairs with wide enough arms to accommodate my laptop and piles of paper, so handy as I come to the end of editing my most recent book — more later. There are two rockers, tables, and houseplants that are summering outside. We have mellow chimes and bells collected over the years hanging from the light blue ceiling.

To the right of our property, ancient trees separate us from the village’s Catholic church. (During the height of COVID, they celebrated Mass in the parking lot so it was like we were there with the parishioners.)

Here, I have a good view of our neighbors’ homes, old like ours, and what the people who live there do and grow in their yards. Nothing outrageous I might add. I’d say we are lucky to have such good, friendly people living near us. We converse and even play cribbage or scrabble. The woman who lives to the left always shouts “Howdy, neighbor!” when she sees us. Way beyond this part of our village is a large wooded hill with a fire tower. We can watch the leaves change — greening in the spring and reddening in the fall.

Hank and I will sit out here talking or not talking, often with a hot or cold beverage, as we watch and listen to the birds, especially the cardinals and blue birds, but even they are staying put during this heat. The bugs surprisingly are minimal. There are small wild mammals and lots of cats. The other day Hank was startled from meditating — yes, it is a great spot for that — when a groundhog walked onto the porch. I heard the laughter when he was startled by the animal walking toward him although it eventually left.

Right now, our cat, Stella sits on the porch railing as she overlooks her realm. While I was editing my book Saturday, she came toward the porch, making a sound that means she is damn proud she has an animal in her mouth. She dumped the rather large mouse, close to death, near my footstool, played with it a bit, and then moments later proceeded to eat it. I could hear her teeth crunching bones. She left behind the head, heart and guts, which I had to clean up. Thanks a lot cat.

So here’s the part about the book. Following the Lead is no. 6 in my Isabel Long Mystery Series, which I began in February, is done, well, sort of. Yes, I reached the 75,000 word mark. The next step was to print the manuscript and get out a red flare, my weapon of choice. Every day last week, including a rainy one, I sat on the porch, marking up my manuscript before I loaded the edits into the computer.

I feel happy about what I accomplished with Following the Lead, so today I will used my computer’s read-aloud function to listen to my book. It’s part of the editing process. I bet the neighbors won’t mind.

ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: That’s the manuscript for Following the Lead on my outstretched legs on our front porch. Yes, I do have long feet. You can read about them in this post from 2013 when we lived in Taos: https://www.joanlivingston.net/uncategorized/big-feet/

MY BOOKS: I’ve started rereading my Isabel Long Mystery Series from the beginning. I want to make sure I’m maintaining the same quality throughout, especially as I mentioned above that I am near the finish line for no. 6. I’m on the first, Chasing the Case and enjoying what I wrote, which frankly is a huge relief. Here’s the link to the my books, including the series: https://www.amazon.com/Joan-Livingston/e/B01E1HKIDG

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Writing

This Is Where I Write

I can write anywhere. I proved that when I was a journalist. But the kind of writing I do now — fiction — deserves its own dedicated space. Fortunately I have one in our home.

Recently, I reread Stephen King’s book On Writing in which he talks about his writing space, a desk shoved in the corner of a room beneath the eaves. He traded in his grand desk for something handmade and smaller.

Years ago, a friend gave me the book, The Writer’s Desk, which contained photos by Jill Krementz of where 56 famous authors wrote. Published in 1996, many of them are no longer with us although their writings certainly are such as Ralph Ellison, Katherine Anne Porter, and Kurt Vonnegut (Krementz’s husband). Many have spaces filled with paper. Most have windows. Their computers are antiques by our standards.

Each author offered a short essay about their writing space. Here’s one I can relate to from Amy Tan, “I surround myself with objects that carry with them a personal history — old books, bowls and boxes, splintering chairs and benches from imperial China.”

My space is situated in our second bedroom, where through the windows I can see our large deck, the neighbors’ homes, trees, and beyond, a high wooded hill with a fire tower on top. (It is certainly not the view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains I saw from my office when we lived in Taos, New Mexico, but this is New England village life.)

Most of the time I don’t bother looking. My attention is on my computer screen.

I am fortunate to have furniture hand-built by Hank. Or I should say Hank-built. The desk is Shaker-style, when he was into that style of woodworking, with the top made from black walnut he salvaged from a job long ago — the homeowner told him to get rid of it. It has enough space for my laptop and on either side, the tansus Hank built with drawers and shelves to hold paper, writing and tech supplies. On the top of one is a collection of odds and ends I’ve collected or have been gifted over the years — from a hand-carved, painted Japanese couple I found in a library yard sale to interesting rocks, a bar of soap from Portugal, and pieces of driftwood. A clay vase resembling an Aztec relic, which I bought at TJ Maxx, strange by true, holds writing utensils. 

Hank also built a trashcan I use to recycle paper and a filing cabinet that holds my printer. Yes, I am lucky to be married to a skilled woodworker.

The office chair, which I bought for five bucks at the church’s annual tag sale next door, is kind of crappy. I have a nice oak office chair I got at the same sale last year, but I need to make some cushions.

On the walls I have a bulletin board (yes, built by Hank), photos, art and Native weavings.

I keep the space neat and don’t let the paper, coffee stains or crumbs get out of control.

No music except from the birds outside.

Sometimes I bring my computer onto the front porch of our bungalow or to the deck’s table to work. Usually it’s to catch up on email or do research. Sometimes, I will print a few chapters to mark up. But nothing too serious happens in either place.

When I sit down to write, say around 6 a.m. (a far more civilized time than 5 a.m. when I had a job), I feel this is my place. Here, I am at my best channeling whatever’s in my brain into the book I am writing. Right now, I am several thousand words away from finishing the sixth book in my Isabel Long Mystery Series. This is the exciting part where all the pieces fall together and fortunately, I have just the space to do it.

IMAGE ABOVE: That’s my writing desk.

MY BOOKS: Here’s the link to my books on Amazon and thanks for your interest: https://www.amazon.com/Joan-Livingston/e/B01E1HKIDG

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