Cassy's Corner- A Talk with the Fantastic Author Nancy Barone

Dear Readers, Please join me in welcoming Nancy Barone to Mysteries and Margaritas. She is an author of many stories, one of which I just finished reading an advanced copy- The Husband Diet. If you've ever thought about throwing out your current life and starting over, this might be the tale for you. We laugh, we cry and we pick up a book to start all over again. Nancy has us coming back for more each time.

Cassy: Nancy, you live the life many dream of. Tell us how you ended up in Italy.

Nancy: Sure, Cassy!  I was born in Toronto and went to school there until my family moved to Sicily. I’ve always written stories but only first published in 2010. I’m married to a Brit and teach English in a small fishing village.

Cassy: Okay, more.

Nancy: My parents moved our family to Italy when I was 12. There I went to the local school, then to a Linguistic Lycée and finally to read English and French Literature at the University of Pisa, Tuscany. I’ve lived in Italy half of my life if you exclude my stints in Canada and the UK.

Cassy: You have been a serious writer. What drew you to that?

Nancy: I think it’s just an inner drive. When I set my mind on something I become obsessed until I get it done. A writer has to love what she’s doing otherwise it’s just a job.

Cassy: Tell us about the genre you write. The Husband Diet (out soon, folks) is a story of a woman who finds her way. It's a great read. Nancy, what drew you to write about a woman who looks like she has it all, but then recreates her life?

Nancy: I would classify The Husband Diet Women’s Fiction with a comic twist. Isn’t that what women’s lives are all about, trying to have it all, and then having to start all over again because of a (relatively) funny loop?

Cassy: When does The Husband Diet come out?

Nancy: May 31^st- I can’t wait!

Cassy: As someone who has the privilege of having read an advance copy of The Husband Diet, I highly recommend marking your calendar for its release. Nancy has a gift of making you laugh at yourself, something we all need more of.

Cassy: Spill, girl, what's on the docket for your next releases? Will we read more of the blustering self- aware Erica?

Nancy: Well, there are another two Erica stories in the making, so that’s keeping me pretty busy at the moment!

Cassy: Okay, you write about your protagonist dreaming about moving to Tuscany for the magical life waiting for her. Truthfully, I spend a great deal of time in Tuscany. I love it. But it's not really an easy place to live. You live much farther south. What would you say were the best and the worst things about being in Italy? I have my own list.

Nancy: Geez, I’d need another book to answer that question! I love living in Italy except for the following:

Bureaucracy, the closed small-town mentality and the way it takes forever to get anything done. Some people don’t take their jobs seriously and Domani, Domani seems to be the operative word here. Everything else- the weather, the food, friends- all a big yes!

Cassy: On the side here, Domani, Domani means "tomorrow, tomorrow." I hear Nancy big time. I remember clearly standing at the post office mailing a package home- to myself. No line. No one waiting at all. Two hours later I adjusted my sweater and looked up to find my husband smiling. The loud stamp kerflunked against the paperwork, reminding me of how hard it was to get anything done. But, I will never stop going back. Never.

Cassy: Want to give a pitch for our Brainstorming Sessions in Matera and the Women's Fiction Festival? It all can't be beat, my dear readers. Go ahead, Nancy, tell them what we've come to love.

Nancy: The Brainstorming sessions were what brought me to write seriously. I had never even heard of them and one day while browsing I came across this Festival in Matera starting the next day. So my fantastic husband booked my flight while I threw some clothes into a bag and took off. Needless to say I was amazed by what people like Elizabeth Jennings had managed to put together. I was flabbergasted by the beauty of Matera, the number of pros in the Industry present, the helpful and kind nature of agents, writers, etc. I instantly elected it my writing home and go back whenever I can! I’ve made some amazing friends, among which Christine and Cassy, of course!

Cassy: Matera, Italy and all the people associated with the Festival are beyond incredible. I have now been a number of times and will continue to go. Those of you who write or read, must think about showing up. You'll not find a better location or a better group of folks ready to cheer you on.

Nancy: Thanks so much for having me, Cassy! I enjoyed this interview so much!

Cassy: All of us at Mysteries and Margaritas thank you!

Cassy's Corner- A List to Live By

I confess that this is repost of something that a close friend sent to me. I don't normally forward postings or chain-mail type letters. But, I confess there were a number of items on this list that caught my attention. See what you think, and let me know.

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short – enjoy it.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don't worry, God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Liz's Lair: Heading to a Great Conference

Still panicking because of a May 15th deadline, I have been very busy the past few weeks and writing like a mad woman. Stuck in my writer's cave hasn't been fun because the weather in Texas is gorgeous right now.

But I know I have to keep going until I write "The End" because the upcoming summer is so busy for me. Last week I found out I need foot surgery to remove bone spurs so that I can walk normally. Sheesh! I am one big orthopedic mess. So, for me, no cute sandals at the conference when I meet and greet so many wonderful mystery fans and talented mystery authors. Crap!

The good news is that HEARD IT  THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE released early so I'll be able to sign that one in Maryland this weekend. I'm so excited for people to read this one.So, I decided to post another small excerpt to show you my irreverent ghost who, if I did it right, will make  you laugh throughout the book. Tessa's (the ghost) dialogue is in bold print.

Lainey perched on the edge of the ugly chair and Tessa moved behind it. “First off, I know you’re not happy with Tessa’s decision to leave me half this winery.”

“Damn right, I’m not.”

I don’t know what makes this guy so stupid, but whatever it is, it works.

“Regardless of your opinion, I intend to take my responsibilities seriously.”

The smile faded. “And you think your experience in front of the camera qualifies you to waltz in here and pretend to know what the hell you’re doing?”

    About as much as watching naked women on your computer qualifies you, ass wipe.

     “I’m a fast learner.” Lainey moved forward in the seat. “I didn’t come here to discuss that, Jerry. I came to find out if you had anything to do with my sister’s death.”

     The smile disappeared completely. “What kind of jackass question is that? I admit there were times I wanted that woman out of my life, but killing isn’t my style.”

     Oh, please. Like you have a style.

    Lainey decided to jump right to it. “What was in the bottle of white wine you dropped off at Tessa’s the night she was killed?”

     His face flamed. “I was nowhere near your sister’s house that night. Working with her eight to ten hours a day was more than anybody should have to tolerate. I sure as hell wouldn’t let her ruin my evenings, too.”

     Lainey forced her lips to part in a curved stiff smile. “We both know that’s not true, Jerry. You brought her a bottle of the new batch of Viognier, but conveniently, you didn’t stay to taste it with her.”

     He jumped up, his knee connecting with the edge of the humongous oak desk, nearly knocking it over. “How the hell would you know that?” He grimaced as he rubbed his knee.

     Lainey cringed under his rage and slid back into the chair. Had she miscalculated what he might do? She began to rethink her decision to question him by herself.

     Tell him Paul Ridley told you.

     “Paul told me.” Lainey had no idea who Paul was.

     Slowly, Jerry lowered himself to his chair. When his eyes met Lainey’s again, she could tell he’d calmed down somewhat. “Our vintner is mistaken. We did taste the new wine together, but that was the night before.”

     This SOB is lying like a rug.

     Lainey shrugged, deciding to play nice cop. “People sometimes get confused about those kinds of things. It’s possible Paul mixed up the two days.”

     The beginning of a smile again formed on Jerry face. “I’m pretty good at remembering things like that.”

     Bullshit! You can’t count your balls and come up with the same number twice.

So, what are you waiting on? Head over to my FaceBook page and comment on my latest post. I want to know what you'd say to me if you met me at the conference this weekend. You could win a copy of this book or any of my others--your choice.

Cassy’s Corner- How do you know about people?

Last night I was at a church supper. Lots of people roaming around. Terrible food. Little girls twirled on the stage without any embarrassment. We sat at long tables covered with plastic covers that stuck to your arms when you shifted in your seat. The noise was painful.

I looked for a spot, not really knowing anyone. I don’t really like to eat much, so my plate of mixed things that all were white was really about having something to hang onto, not really about eating. My bottle of water kept me busy as I tried to fit in.

Then there was Richard. I sat next to Darlene who motioned across the table to her fiancé. These are not spring chickens. I reached out with my hand to introduce myself. The right thing to do. He greeted me warmly with a hand shake that could have taken out half of California. The tattoos up his arms told stories.

This was a wonderful moment for me. Here were people I needed to know. Remember, I am a writer.

After we finished the macaroni and cheese, I leaned across the table and asked Richard what excited him in the morning. What made him want to get up and start the day. Hell, where do these questions come from?

He paused. He thought. He chewed on his bottom lip. Then, he said, “I love to drive.”

“Drive?” I asked, a little confused.

“Yup, drive. I drive cars, I drive motorcycles, I drive a lawnmower. I drive.”

I sat back. This was a new look on life for me.

Drive?

Then it came to me. This was a story. This man was offering me language, a view on life and a chance to see something through another’s eyes. This was special.

Drive.

I have decided that I need to drive. My new goal is to stop everyone who will let me hold them up. I want to hear what gets you up in the morning. I want to learn about your passions.

Tell me about your drive.

Kari's Kave: Kicking the Habit has a Cover!!!

Kicking the Habit: A fun romantic soft-boiled mystery.

Yay, it's official! I have a cover.

I'm sooo excited for this book to launch as a serial from Amazon's Thomas and Mercer on April 30th 2013 (6 more days...squee).

A new episode will be released every week until the book is finished.

Then the finished book will be released in all formats on July 31st 2013.

Here's the link: Buy Link

And here's the back cover blurb:


"What happens in the confessional stays in the confessional."

After mistakenly hearing a senator's confession just moments before he is murdered, Cece Monroe--the former Sister mary Cecilia--refuses to spill his secret to authoritites, even though she is the closest thing to a witness they have. When the Feds swarm into the small, eccentric town of New HOpe, Massachusetts, seeking answers, Army Ranger turned police detective Ace Jackson finds himself sidelined. He isn't thrilled when he's assigned to nun-sit while the investigation unfolds, ordered to keep his disconcertingly attractive charge safe at all costs.

That turns out to be easier said than done when Sister mary Sleuth drags Ace through a series of misadventures and crazy encounters as she attempts to solve the case herself, despite a ruthless assassin who keeps popping up to take potshots at her.

Barbie's Bunkhouse: Everyone stop talking!

Right now I have characters vying for attention. Problem is they aren't just the characters from the cozy mystery I'm finishing! Oh no, they are the characters from two other novellas, the newest holiday novella AND book 1 of the full blown romantic suspense series I have a proposal for. But wait, throw in the characters from my Scottish time travel and let's just all have a party IN MY HEAD!!!

My muse, Lola, is no help at all. Personally, I think she's enjoying this. TV shows, songs, places I'm going...suddenly I'm being reminded of characters I had to put on hold. They don't want to be on hold any more. I'm in the home stretch of my mystery and I need to focus and make sure I've wrapped up the loose ends, made the killer not obvious, etc... I don't have time for them right now.

I've started making notes when I'm not at my computer working. I'm hoping that I can put the rest of these stories in some order of importance and then sit down and finish them - Bam! Bam! Bam! I hate to say it, but the newest series is last in line. (boo). The Scottish time travel may be next up - it's half finished. But I have a cover for Cupid, and that's almost to the midway point, sigh. The other novella is plotted for the most part but not written. Which leads me to the holiday novella: plotted, started and eager to be finished.

For now, "The List" seems to have calmed the voices some what. Which is a good thing because my cozy characters were getting perturbed. They need the murder solved like yesterday.

I would love to hear what other writers do to still the voices in their head when the pressure's on to be productive. Do you write more than one story at a time? I've heard of authors who do. I honestly don't think I could do it. I can jump around within my own story - but not back and forth between two different plot lines. I'd screw something up for sure. It's bad enough when I confuse my CP's characters with my own!

What tricks do you all have to get the job done, if you're a writer? If you're a reader.... how long is too long to wait between books from your favorite author?

Inquiring minds want to know...

Liz's Lair: A Series Diary Even Pantsers Can Love

Once again I am in deadline hell and racing toward the finish. So today's blog is an encore one, but it's a good one. Enjoy!

For some reason, I spent a lot of time either listening to the way other people plot or telling them how I plot. So, I decided today’s blog should be about that.

I recently went to successful writer and workshop teacher, Randy Ingermanson’s Workshop The SnowFlake Method. He starts with a twenty-five word or less blurb and builds it into a workable synopsis. On Saturday, the talented, Lori Wilde spoke at my chapter meeting about themes and plots. She has over 50 books out there, so she’s doing something right. I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no right or wrong way. You have to do what works for you.

Even true-blue pantsers are finding they are doing more plotting nowadays than they used to, especially if they’re writing mysteries or selling on proposal. Die-hard plotters have been doing this all our writer lives. So, I decided I wanted to know how everyone else does it. I’ll start with my own writing and my latest wip.

I went to a “gathering” of a few writer friends a while back, and the question came up about plotting. I confessed I only had a blurb for my second book, BEEF STOLEN-OFF. Here it is:

Jordan finds herself smack in the middle of a cattle theft ring where the “steaks” are high and the cowboys are not what they seem.

Since my series title was about casseroles (or it was before my editor changed it to Clueless Cook, which actually fits better.) I had what I thought was a catchy title following that theme and an idea what it would be about.

That’s it. I had no clue where I was going with it, other than cattle rustling was involved. With the help of my friends, we threw out some “what ifs?” and I came home with a pageful of ideas.

The next thing I did was sleep on this for a week or so. That’s where I do my best plotting, and this time was no exception. Since I write long-hand, I list what I call plot points on a piece of paper.
Things like :

Jordan goes to Cattleman’s Ball so she can write a review and her escort dies in her arms.
Jordan goes to his funeral and his aphasic mother mouths “help me” to her.

I usually have a page and a half to two pages, and these eventually end up as scene hooks and/or red herring candidates. When I have this all on paper, I start my research. In this case, I needed to know something about cattle rustling, ways I could poison someone without it showing up in their blood, and Texas Barbecue. These printed research sheets are the things I study when I’m in the doctor’s office or on an airplane, and my imagination goes wild. My plot points get changed so often, I have to write them in pencil. The same goes for my character profiles.

Now it’s time for me to meet my characters. I have developed my own character profile sheet that I use for every single character in my book. It has important things like their GMCs, their backstory, etc, but it also has not so important tidbits like what kind of perfume they wear, what kind of music they listen to, what kind of clothes they wear. Since I am taking my first shot at a series, I can’t tell you how helpful this has been with my second book.

There’s nothing that ticks me off more than when I’m reading a book in a series, and I notice some minor detail that is different, like all of a sudden a secondary character is wearing jeans and tee shirts instead of moo moo’s. Kind of extreme, but you get the point.

Since my series involves a small town, I have given that its own character sheet as well – where the Pizza House is, how far does she have to drive to get to work. Things like that will appear in all the books of the series and trust me, they’d better be accurate. I’m on a loop with mystery readers, and those gals are educated and know what turns them off...and have no problem talking about them. God forbid if Aunt Suzie's hair changes from blond to brunette.

I once heard the wonderful Roxanne St. Clair talk at Nationals about keeping a diary, especially if you are writing a series. Said the fans get really bent out of sharp if you get something wrong in your own book. She didn’t do this and ended up paying big bucks for someone else to do it for her. ..after the first few books.

Thank you, Rocky, as that one thing stuck in my head and forced me to take the time while I was writing Book One. Number one – I don’t have big bucks and number two- it has really helped me know my story. I use my character sheets for my diary. It was great pulling out the original ones from LIVER LET DIE to use when I started on
BEEF STOLEN-OFF.
Of course, there are different characters in BSO since I killed off a lot in LLD. Oh well, what’s a few more sheets?

So, let’s hear it. How do you plot? Inquiring minds want to know. If you’re brave enough to throw out your blurb so we can tear it apart – just kidding- go for it. Feel free to rip mine a new one on this glorious Monday morning in Dallas where temperatures are predeicted to be 79 degrees.

Now if only I can finish this damn bookt!!