Do I need Social Networking?

by Bonnie Calhoun

The $64,000 question is…do I have to spend time on social media to market my books effectively?
The exact and emphatic answer to that is an unfortunate YES. For those of you who just aren’t technologically savvy, I’d say it’s time to learn. There are a million children out there who would love to show you that they know something that you do not. So grab a neighborhood kid to get you started, if you need to!

Seriously though, no one form of marketing is the end-all be all. There are multiple parts to the whole, and the further we move into cyberspace, the more the parts multiply exponentially. If you are looking for a negative response so that you don't have to do any one part of the marketing game...like book signings, speaking, interviews, teaching at conferences, social media, blogging...etc...then just don't do it. It sort of sucks all the fun out of writing if you don’t enjoy what you are doing.

It's your choice. But in this day and information age NOT doing social media is really not an option. We have to do it to stay connected and relevant. Now the question of HOW MUCH to do it depends on you and the balance you are trying to maintain so that you actually have time to create new books.

EVERY marketing survey or study has proven that your name...or product name needs to be seen or heard numerous times to be an effective marketing tool. There are studies that say 3 times are enough for your product to have been seen to be effective; others say 12 to 15 times is necessary for maximum effectiveness.

The magic number depends on the size of your market share, how much other noise there is from competing products, your brand influence, how much money or time you are willing to spend on marketing, and the time frame you are working in.

So in essence…your success depends on how much you want to put into it, to get the maximum out of it. You choose.

Bonnie S. Calhoun is an author with Abingdon Press, with her debut novel Cooking The Books to be released in April 2012. She is also the owner/publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine. http://christianfictiononlinemagazine.com/home.html Visit her website at http://bonniescalhoun.com/, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bscalhoun or Twitter at https://twitter.com/BonnieCalhoun

Thrillers vs. Mysteries

by Jodie Renner

Until fairly recently, most readers were more familiar with mysteries than thrillers. Mysteries of all sorts (cozy, hardboiled, suspenseful, etc.) are still going strong, but thrillers make up more and more of the bestsellers these days. How exactly do thrillers differ from mysteries, anyway? Both are fiction stories involving criminal activity, catching the bad guy(s), and at least one murder.

The main difference seems to be in the delivery—how they are told. Mysteries are usually more cerebral, for readers who enjoy solving puzzles, whereas thrillers appeal more to the emotions and a yearning for excitement, a desire to vicariously confront danger and defeat nasty villains. A mystery, especially a “cozy” one, can unfold in a leisurely fashion, but thrillers need to be much more fast-paced and suspenseful.

David Morrell, author of 28 thrillers, explored the difference between mysteries and thrillers several years ago. His detailed description included this: “Traditional mysteries appeal primarily to the mind and emphasize the logical solution to a puzzle. In contrast, thrillers strive for heightened emotions and emphasize the sensations of what might be called an obstacle race and a scavenger hunt.” (David Morrell, www.crimespreemag.com)

James N. Frey, author of HOW TO WRITE A DAMN GOOD THRILLER  and HOW TO WRITE A DAMN GOOD MYSTERY, among other “damn good” books on writing, says, “In the United States, mysteries are not considered to be thrillers, though they share some common elements.” Frey describes the differences like this:

“In a mystery, the hero has a mission to find a killer.
In a thriller, the hero has a mission to foil evil.”

Frey goes on to elaborate, “a thriller is a story of a hero who has a mission to foil evil. Not just a hero—a clever hero. Not just a mission—an ‘impossible’ mission. An ‘impossible’ mission that will put our hero into terrible trouble.”

According to International Thriller Writers, a thriller is characterized by “the sudden rush of emotions, the excitement, sense of suspense, apprehension, and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace.”

ITW defines thrillers as a genre in which “tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country, or the stability of the free world.”
Part of the allure of thrillers, they say, comes from not only what their stories are about, but also how they are told. “High stakes, nonstop action plot twists that both surprise and excite, settings that are both vibrant and exotic, and an intense pace that never lets up until the adrenaline-packed climax.” (Source: James N. Frey, HOW to WRITE A DAMN GOOD THRILLER)

I asked some friends, clients and colleagues what they thought the main differences were between these two genres. According to thriller writer and friend Allan Leverone, “The definition I like best is this: In a mystery, the crime has already been committed, but the hero and the reader must figure out by whom. In a thriller, the crime (at least the biggie) hasn't been committed yet, but the reader knows who the bad guy is; the question is whether he can be stopped.”

Mystery and romance writer Terry Odell says, “The best definition I’ve heard is that in a mystery, you're one step behind the detective, since you don't know anything until he does. In suspense, you're one step ahead, because you know things that the detective [or hero] can't know.” This is especially true when we get into the viewpoint of the villain.

My friend, suspense-mystery and thriller writer, LJ Sellers, tells me she recently read that in a thriller, the villain drives the story, versus mystery, in which the protagonist drives the story. Good one!

And finally, another good friend and colleague, thriller and horror writer Andrew E. Kaufman says, “Here's a less conservative, completely off-color definition, coming from a less conservative, completely off-color mind: A thriller is like mystery on Viagra. Everything's more amped up, fast-paced, and frenetic. A good thriller should keep your heart racing, your fingers swiping at the pages, and your rear on the edge of its seat. Of course, those lines can be blurred. Many authors straddle the fence between the two. Nothing is in black and white, and gray is a beautiful color.”

I used to read a lot of mysteries, and still do from time to time, but in the last few years I much prefer the pure escapism and “pulse-pounding suspense” of thrillers. Who are your favorite thriller writers? My top three would probably be best-selling authors Lee Child, Sandra Brown and Robert Crais, but I love and read so many more.

How about your favorite thriller characters? For popular series, I especially like Jack Reacher, Joe Pike, Elvis Cole, Myron Bolitar and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum—and the two hunks in her life!
Then there are the fast-paced mysteries that seem to straddle both genres. For suspense-mysteries, I love LJ Sellers' page-turning Detective Jackson series. And maybe I should put Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar stories and Robert Crais’s Joe Pike and Elvis Cole stories into the hybrid category of suspense-mysteries, too. What do you think? Are there any other novels you like that have elements of both?

Copyright © Jodie Renner, January 2012


Jodie Renner is a freelance editor specializing in thrillers, romantic suspense, mysteries, and other crime fiction, as well as YA. Check out her website at www.JodieRennerEditing.com.

Related articles

• Creating a Worthy Antagonist (thethrillbegins.blogspot.com)
• 20 Essential Elements of a Bestselling Thriller, by Jodie Renner (thethrillbegins.blogspot.com)
• Creating Compelling Characters by Jodie Renner (thethrillbegins.blogspot.com)

Reversal Expectations

by D.L. Sparks

As a romantic suspense author and a lover of suspense, one of my favorite writing tools is the reversal of expectation (RoE.) It is a storytelling device whereby the author makes the reader believe one thing about a character, then flips the character into someone the reader does not expect. Stephen King did it in SECRET WINDOW, SECRET GARDEN. In the novella we are introduced to author Mort Rainey, who is accused of plagiarism. We learn at the end, at the reversal, that Mort has split personality disorder and has been accusing himself of not just plagiarism, but unexplained murders. Screenwriter Clark Gregg pulled off the reversal of expectation perfectly in the movie “What Lies Beneath”. Kindhearted, university researcher Norman Spencer is concerned for his wife, Claire. She suffered post traumatic shock after a car accident and was also experiencing empty nest syndrome. However, the RoE was that Norman actually murdered the young co-ed and was now trying to kill his wife. To me this movie was the epitome of reversal of expectation.

However RoE is something that many will try but only few will be able to pull off expertly. Here are two things to consider:

1. Using the reader’s expectations to your advantage

This tool in the craft of writing is definitely something that needs to be worked on and perfected. So many times you will hear someone say how they figured out an ending before they finished a book or movie. Mastering RoE would be one way of thwarting any similar storytelling disappointments. But the good thing is that because most stories are bred from the same formula, you can convince your reader that they are about to travel down a familiar road, then hook a quick left when they least expect it.

2. Timing the Reversal of Expectation for the big Aha!

RoE is best suited for the climax or peak of a novel. It usually adds to the intensity and gets your readers' attention and hooks them in so you can bring your story full circle. One of the things I love to hear as a writer is, "I did NOT see that coming!" But even with the "aha!" moment it still has to make sense to the reader or they will feel unsatisfied and duped. In "Secret Window" it was very believable that a writer could have shut himself off from the real world to the point of becoming a recluse, thus becoming a victim in his own mind. In "What Lies Beneath" Harrison Ford's character had everything to lose, so he had to stay true to his story. Viewers even sympathized with him, thinking his wife was losing her mind, never straying from the original plotline the writer intended. And not realizing they were being set up for the big "Aha!!" moment.

How do you use Reversal of Expectation to wow your readers?

Best selling Author D.L. Sparks’ fast paced suspense novel THE LIES THAT BIND(Urban Books, 2010) landed on the bestsellers list of Black Expressions Book Club magazine, embraced by readers as far away as London and France. Ms Sparks has been voted one of the Top 25 Most Influential Black Fiction Writers on Twitter and is also a contributing writer to Rag ‘N Riches Magazine‘s, where she runs a relationship column. Visit her at http://www.dlsparks.com/

January 2012 Debut Authors

Happy New Year and Happy Thrilling Thursday. The first of every month we will feature members of our Debut Authors Program. We are excited to announce that three members have books releasing in January 2012.

Nancy Bilyeau - THE CROWN (Touchstone) January 10, 2012 (I had the pleasure of interviewing Nancy for The Big Thrill this month. Read our interview here.)

When Joanna Stafford, a young novice, Dominican nun, learns her cousin is about to be burned at the stake for rebelling against King Henry VIII, she makes a decision that will change not only her life, but quite possibly the fate of a nation. Charged with a mission to find a hidden relic believed to possess a mystical power that has slain three Englishmen of royal blood in the last 300 years, Joanna and a troubled young friar, Brother Edmund, must seek answers across England. Once she learns the true secret of her quest, Joanna must finally determine who to trust, and how far she’s willing to go to protect her life, her family and everything she holds dear.

Cathy Perkins - THE PROFESSOR - Carina Press - January 23, 2012. (Cathy also has interviewed at The Big Thrill here.)

Someone is murdering women on South Carolina’s college campuses: three women, three different schools. The Governor’s order to State Law Enforcement Agent Mick O’Shaughnessy is simple: make it stop. More political maneuvering diverts Mick to nearby Douglass College. There, instead of another dead body, he finds Meg Connelly, grad student and faculty adviser for the latest victim.

Determined to finish her master’s degree, Meg doesn’t need anybody’s help – including her estranged family – to succeed. There’s something irresistible about Mick, but the last time she let someone get close to her, she lost everything except her self-respect.

As the investigation heats up, so does their relationship. But Mick’s interest in Meg doesn’t just endanger her heart—it puts her in the sights of the killer.

Jeremy Burns - FROM THE ASHES - Fiction Studio - January 17, 2012 (Jeremy will be featured in next month’s The Big Thrill.)

Graduate students Jonathan and Michael Rickner, sons of eminent archeologist Sir William Rickner, are no strangers to historical secrets and archeological adventures. But when Michael is discovered dead in his Washington, D.C. apartment, Jon refuses to believe the official ruling of suicide. Digging deeper into his brother’s work, he discovers evidence that Michael was murdered to keep his dissertation research buried. Joined by Michael’s fiancée Mara Ellison, Jon travels to New York where he uncovers the threads of a deadly Depression-era conspiracy – one entangling the Hoover Administration, the Rockefellers, and the rise of Nazi Germany – and the elite cadre of assassins that still guard its unspeakable secret. Finding themselves in the crosshairs of the same men who killed Michael, Jon and Mara must navigate a complex web of historical cover-ups and modern-day subterfuge, outwitting and outrunning their all-powerful pursuers as they race through a labyrinthine treasure hunt through the monuments and museums of Manhattan to discover the last secret of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., before their enemies can bury the truth – and them – forever.

Congratulations, authors!

If you are a debut thriller author and would like to join our program, you must first be a member of International Thriller Writers (ITW.) The International Thriller Writers is an honorary society of authors, both fiction and nonfiction, who write books broadly classified as “thrillers.” This would include (but isn’t limited to) such subjects as murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, true crime, war, adventure, and myriad similar subject areas. Visit http://thrillerwriters.org/aboutitw/how-to-join/ to join.

The International Thriller Writers membership includes some of the world’s best-selling authors: David Morrell, Gayle Lynds, Lee Child, Sandra Brown, Clive Cussler, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, James Patterson and many, many more. All of these authors’ careers began with their first book. Browse the ITW Debut Authors’ pages on this website and check out The Thrill Begins blog to discover the best-sellers of tomorrow. The ITW Debut Author Program, under the aegis of the International Thriller Writers, seeks to support our first-book members through the publication process by providing a friendly, interactive community for the purposes of networking, mentoring, promotion, and camaraderie. To apply for membership after you’ve become an ITW Member, please contact Al Leverone.

Write What You Know: A Career U.S. Diplomat

Robbie Cutler Diplomatic Mysteries

By William S. Shepard

I was a career diplomat in the American Foreign Service. I served at our U.S. embassies in Singapore, Saigon, Budapest and Athens, and then retired as Consul General in Bordeaux, France. Since the usual advice given to beginning writers was “write about what you know,” I wrote about the Embassy world. During one of my five Washington tours, as Duty Officer for the Secretary of State, I found myself staying late one evening at the office. While I perused files and diplomatic cables, I realized I had access to a variety of interesting information and sources. That was when the idea came to me that after I retired, I would write mystery stories set in American Embassies overseas.

It was a new genre at the time, and to my knowledge I was the only writer writing what I call “diplomatic mysteries.” I began the series with my protagonist, Robbie Cutler, a thirty- something career diplomat. He served where I had served, and if necessary, I went back overseas to validate my story and for research purposes.

When I was assigned to the American Embassy in Budapest it was during the communist years, when the Hungarian Revolution was officially a nonevent, so it was impossible to do solid research. After the Berlin Wall came down, and with the assistance of both the Hungarian Embassy in Washington and the American Embassy in Budapest, I returned, did research for the book, and even lectured at the official 1956 Historical Institute. Now that would be impossible, for the Institute no longer exists. The 1956 Historical Institute was defunded, some say because its files may have contained embarrassing information about presently powerful people! History tends to wobble around still, like that Budapest park filled with old statues of the Stalinist era!

My series caught on. The President of the American Foreign Service endorsed my series with a cover blurb, “London has Sherlock Holmes, San Francisco has Sam Spade, and now Washington has its first diplomatic sleuth, Robbie Cutler. Learn about embassy life from the inside, as you enjoy Bill Shepard’s latest diplomatic mystery.”

How did I build my novel series using my work experience as a diplomat?

1. NOVEL THEMES

The themes in the series came from my own diplomatic experience. The first novel, VINTAGE MURDER, was set in Bordeaux, where Robbie Cutler was the American Consul. In MURDER ON THE DANUBE, the sequel, Robbie had reassigned as Political Officer to the American Embassy in Budapest.

2. CHARACTERS

The best practical writing advice I ever received was to know my main character well. I would then, gradually, find the other characters emerged from the qualities that my main character lacked. Uncle Seth, Robbie’s great uncle was a nationally prominent man, once TIME Magazine’s Man Of The Year, who also had access to Washington intelligence circles. I thought of Uncle Seth because I wanted Robbie to have access to national security information that a diplomat of his rank and experience would otherwise not have.

3. VILLAINS

Bad guys? I’ve learned that they are all sorts of villains, but none are one dimensional. The ETA gunman in the first novel was motivated by a police killing of a member of his family. The traitor in the second novel was also motivated by the killing of a member of his family. It was fun to speculate about “the Napoleon of Crime,” but most people prefer a villain with reasonable and understandable motivations, something they are accustomed to.

I look forward to reader comments, as together we explore the fascinating craft of writing thrillers with international settings.

William S. Shepard is the author of the Robber Cutler diplomat mystery series: VINTAGE MURDER, MURDER ON THE DANUBE, MURDER IN DORDOGNE, and THE SLADIN AFFAIR. Career diplomat William S. Shepard served as the Consul or Political Officer at U.S. Embassies in Singapore, Saigon, Budapest and Athens. Shepard’s diplomatic career was capped by service as Consul General at the American Consulate General in Bordeaux, France. He and his wife now live on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.Visit him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WSShepard or on his website www.diplomaticmysteries.com

ITW 2011 Debut Authors Pinned

Using Pinterest to both Promote and Write Your Next Novel

Before the year comes to a close I wanted to share a great visual tool I use to write my novels, Pinterest. Pinterest is a digital white board that lets you organize and share with your friends online. As an author you can use it to:

• organize chapter settings
• build a visual character sketch
• catalog your book’s year in pictures
• catalog book bloggers who love your books
• the sky’s the limit (I also use it for my Christmas Cookie project)

Pinterest can also help you connect with your fans. I already have fans anticipating my next novel, Someone Bad and Something Blue (July 2012.)

They can subscribe to the pin board to get a glimpse of what the book could be about.

They can also see me put the third book in the series together by subscribing to all my pins.

I thought it would be fun for the Holiday Season to use Pinterest here at The Thrill Begins. The picture above is the Class of 2011 board. (We already have three followers.) Are we a not fabulous bunch?! As I put the board together I was in awe of the amazing talent we have and I wondered at the possibilities for what we could do to leverage our readership if we continued to be accountable to each other, share author goodies that will help us grow, and be a support system for each other. If we have learned nothing this year, we’ve learned that being a published author can be a lonely road if we let it. I hope you continue to participate and participate even more. This blog, The Thrill Begins, is created to help you on your writing journey. If you would like to contribute to the The Thrill Begins 2012, please contact me at mparkerbooks@gmail.com

Again Happy Holidays!

And for the first two commenters, I will give you an invitation to join Pinterest with me!

Miranda Parker is the author of A Good Excuse to Be Bad (Kensington), the first in the Angel Crawford Bounty Hunter Series. Parker has been featured at NBCC and The Decatur Book Festival, the Atlanta Press Club’s Holiday Author Party, and featured in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, RT Book Reviews Magazine, and Publishers Weekly. She is also the Social Media/Marketing Person for the International Thriller Writers Debut Authors Program and a contributing editor to The Big Thrill Magazine. Her sequel, Someone Bad & Something Blue, will be released July 2012. Visit her at www.mirandaparker.com

Suspense Versus Surprise

by Chris Eboch/Kris Bock

 

A few years ago I had the chance to ghost write a novel about a certain famous girl sleuth. Not only was that fun, but I learned something valuable from the editor. She asked me to look again at my chapter endings, and said,

“I would like to see more of a slow build-up toward the intense action. In horror movies, it’s always the ominous music and the main character slowly opening the closet door that scares us the most, not the moment right after she opens the door.”

She’s noting the difference between suspense and surprise. When something happens suddenly and unexpectedly, that’s a surprise. If you are going about your business, perfectly happy, when a car slams into yours, or something hits you in the back of the head, or a phone call reveals bad news, that’s a surprise. But up until that moment, there was no suspense.

This is an important difference to remember when writing, especially when writing thrillers. We know the importance of surprise twists, and we may be tempted to keep secrets and let them out with a bang. But true suspense comes from suspecting that something will happen and worrying about it or anticipating it.

Something Is Coming...

To build up truly dramatic moments, give the reader clues that something bad — or excitingly good — is going to happen. Here’s an early version of a chapter ending from Haunted: The Ghost on the Stairs, my novel for ages 8 to 12 (written as Chris Eboch). The narrator, Jon, isn’t sure he believes his little sister Tania when she says she can see ghosts, but goes with her to look for one as their stepfather films his ghost hunter TV show.

At the top of the stairs, my stepfather stood in the glare of a spotlight, a few feet away from a camera. I took a step backward and tugged at Tania’s arm. No one had seen us yet, and we could still escape.

Tania turned to me. The look in her eyes made my stomach flip.

The moment isn’t bad for a cliffhanger chapter ending, but it could use some more buildup, more time for Jon to suspect something’s wrong. Here’s how the chapter ended in the published book:

At the top of the stairs, my stepfather stood in the glare of a spotlight, a few feet away from a camera. I took a step backward and tugged at Tania’s arm. No one had seen us yet, and we could still escape.

She didn’t back up. She swayed.

I took a quick step forward and put my arm around her so she wouldn’t fall. I looked down into her face. I’d never seen anyone so white. White as death. Or white as a ghost.

“Tania,” I hissed. I gave her a shake. She took a quick breath and dragged her eyes away from the staircase and to my face. The look in them made my stomach flip.

The revised version is longer. To get the most out of dramatic moments, you actually slow the pace by using more detail. It’s ironic, but you want to write slow moments quickly, maybe summing up a boring afternoon in a sentence or two, while writing a fast moment slowly, drawing out every detail.

Powerful Paragraphing

You can also affect the pace of your story by your sentence and paragraph lengths. Description or introspection can usually be put in longer paragraphs, slowing the pace and lulling the reader into a false sense of security. When you come to a big action scene, though, try breaking it up into short paragraphs.

Short paragraphs actually make the story read faster, because the eye moves more quickly down the page. You can also emphasize an important sentence by starting a new paragraph or even putting that sentence into a paragraph by itself. For example, consider the following two versions of a chapter ending, adapted from my new romantic suspense novel, Whispers in the Dark (written under the name Kris Bock). The heroine, Kylie, is being chased by villains. It’s dark, and there’s a cliff nearby.

Example 1:

But he must be right behind me! I couldn’t stop, couldn’t even risk slowing down or looking back. Something sharp caught me across the shin, causing me to yelp and stumble forward as the pain burned like a hot knife. I almost went down on my knees, but I managed to thrust a foot out in front of me. Unfortunately, the foot found no place to land, so I pitched forward with a sickening lurch that left my stomach behind. And then I was hurtling through the darkness, down into the canyon.

Example 2:

But he must be right behind me! I couldn’t stop, couldn’t even risk slowing down or looking back.

Something sharp caught me across the shin. I yelped and stumbled forward as the pain burned like a hot knife. I almost went down on my knees, but I managed to thrust a foot out in front of me.

The foot found no place to land. I pitched forward with a sickening lurch that left my stomach behind.

And then I was hurtling through the darkness, down into the canyon.

These use nearly the same words. The only differences are that in the second version I broke up some long sentences into short ones, and I use four paragraphs instead of one. I think the second version captures more of the breathless panic that the narrator would be feeling. Think about that phrase “my life flashed before my eyes.” Life really does seem to slow down in the most high impact moments. Capture that on paper, and your readers will race through the scene breathlessly, wanting to find out what happens.

Learn More

Of course, not every chapter can end with dramatic physical action. My essay “Hanging by the Fingernails: Cliffhangers” in Advanced Plotting (written as Chris Eboch) also discusses how to use cliffhangers in quieter moments. I covered that on my blog as well – along with 10 other posts on cliffhangers! You can tell I love the subject. See my cliffhanger blog posts here.

Learn more about Chris and read excerpts of her work at www.chriseboch.com (for children’s books written under the name Chris Eboch) or www.krisbock.com (for adult romantic suspense written under the name Kris Bock) or see her Amazon page. Kris Bock’s first romantic suspense novel, Rattled, features treasure hunting adventures in New Mexico. In Whispers in the Dark, coming out this month, a young archaeologist seeking peace after an assault stumbles into danger as mysteries unfold among ancient Southwest ruins. Can she overcome the fears from her past, learn to fight back, and open herself to a new romance?

Chris Eboch’s book Advanced Plotting is designed for the intermediate and advanced writer. Learn how to get off to a fast start, prop up a sagging middle, build to a climax, improve your pacing, and more. Advanced Plotting is available on Amazon in paperback for $9.99, or as an e-book for $4.99 on Amazon or Smashwords. You can also read excerpts from Advanced Plotting and get other writing craft advice on her blog.

Related The Thrill Begins articles:

• Behind the Scenes of Writing Back to Back to Back to Back to Back Series
• Writing Effect Dialogue

Which Comes First—The Casting or The Character?

By P.I. Barrington

Casting Photo of Snow White and The Huntsman (2012)

I'm a big proponent of "casting" characters. Hell, I’m probably the concept's head cheerleader! You most likely know by now that the practice of "casting" your characters with photos of actors/athletes/models and, on occasion, just regular people you'd love to see them play on the screen is widely used by authors for cover art and character inspiration. But there's a whole other dimension to just picking a headshot of a handsome, dreamy actor who you think looks like the character in your head and in your plot.

It reminds me of the ancient conundrum of which came first the chicken or the egg but with an authorly twist (yeah, I just made that adverb up) and deciding which does depends on just how you create that character. That takes looking at and understanding your own creative process.

What comes first in your character creation: The name? The personality quirks? The character's job? Or is it the physical description? All of these items figure into your character's birth and many times the order in which they arrive can surprise you—in a good way.

Casting characters first:

The development of characters can come from the casting pictures and great detail can express itself as well. If you picture your character as blonde, blue-eyed and short, those three features present you with several possibilities at once. Is the character from a certain heritage or location in his or her world, say Scandinavian or British which then begs the questions of their family history, structure and views of society and their places in it. Is that character out of his/her element? How do they react to their current situation—do they adapt well or struggle throughout the story? How do they view themselves if they're short or petite—positive or negative—and what develops in their personality as the result of that view? Are they resentful or fearful of people taller than themselves? Do they view themselves as attractively petite like Blanche Devereaux of Golden Girls? How do they style their hair? Do they wear it with no fuss or do they make a great work of styling it? Something as simple as the way they wear their hair can expose a particular quirk in their personality—no nonsense or excessive extravagant—or keep something they're hiding secret.

The casting photo you choose can offer abilities, career choices, and everything from likes and dislikes to what sports or hobbies they enjoy depending on their physical characteristics such as body type. If you find a photo of a tall, dark woman who appears (in your casting photo of course) athletic, her abilities could include strength, agility and sports ability; or a willowy supermodel type. The same is true for men and young characters or child characters. Matching up characters with their jobs according to physical characteristics can be predictable or unpredictable too. You might have a tall willowy brunette with waist length hair who excels in computer science and avoids exercise altogether or your muscular, athletic looked red-haired male might be a banker rather than a soccer player. Sometimes mixing things up can be interesting for both you and your reader—it keeps you on your toes as a writer trying to make that character either consistent or wildly impulsive and keeps your reader guessing as to what choice the character will make in a pinch.

Emotions can be represented in casting photos too and can be the most important part of casting since it directly relates to character. I believe I need to illustrate this section with a little anecdote that happened to me when I working on my first crime thriller, Crucifying Angel. When the time came for my input sheet to assist my publisher's cover artist, I needed to find a picture of the male romantic rival of the hero. I already knew what Nick Kincaid looked like I just needed to find someone to show my cover artist. After a long search I located a headshot that I thought was perfect. I immediately sent it to her. After the cover was finished and the book out, I thought I might search for more photos of "Nick" since he was a recurring character in the Future Imperfect trilogy. I cannot express the absolute shock of finding all the other photos of the actor—they were of a grey-haired older man in at least his late sixties! I talked to my Editor and informed her of this situation. She laughed and said, "Sometimes it's the lighting, mood, and angle that makes all the difference!" And after the trilogy was finished, I accidentally found another actor who personified Nick and really was younger!

I digress. As in the anecdote, you can pin the personality of your character from one of those moody shots. A headshot usually works best for this, especially if you can find the "lighting mood and angle" that speaks to you as your character. A child's headshot that appears innocent, sweet and happy or one that looks angry (yes there are some—I have one as an avatar lol!) or spoiled can act as catalyst to create an unusual child character with a deep or shallow personality. The same goes for teenage or young adult casting photos. Your teenager can look like either a mathematical genius nerd or exuberant cheerleader but flip the coin and he/she can be full of angst, resentment, attitude, insecurity or hormones.

Most fun of all can be casting your hero/heroine! Here's where you get to dive into your favorite characteristics. You can let fly with the romance, strength, softness, anything you love giving your characters (or they tell you they like) and if you like pretty men and women, hit the actors' websites! (Remember this is only for your fantasy personal casting, you do not have any rights to use the casting shots for anything else!) I've found tall, dark, moody and powerful (& don't forget the pretty) heroines and I've found casting shots of women of every type from tall, athletic to petite and barely able to hold a weapon steady. Another example of casting first that worked perfectly is the main heroine of CA, Payce Halligan—I happened to be easing boredom by checking out avatar sites and there was a medium close-up shot of a blonde woman shooting target practice. At that time I did not know what I could possibly use her for but when I started the novel, she gave me the basis for Payce, a Las Vegas Police Department Homicide Detective.

And last, casting first can give you the most important part of your character: their conflicts! Payce Halligan had major guilt demons, the kind you wouldn't expect her to possess, and they offset the tough, strong police woman normally expected, giving her a depth that could not be imagined. This came from that one casting photo I found that I shelved until I needed it. This type of casting can work on any character in your novel, major to minor, and especially your villain! He/she can look like a mousy, uninteresting bore harboring a raging demon inside or be as beautiful as an angel but be a pretty version of The Mad Hatter!

Casting characters is one of my favorite parts of writing and publishing. It can trigger unbelievable creativity as well as help dictate your plot in the direction it should go to keep it as great as you know it is; it can also assist your writing technique in character development! I even gave it a name: my Virtual Casting Couch! Let the auditions begin!

After a decade long detour through the entertainment industry, P.I. Barrington has returned to her roots as a novelist writing in several genre' including futuristic crime thrillers, paranormal crime thrillers, science fiction and fantasy, and the occasional humor shorts. Among her past careers is radio air talent and journalist. Barrington lives in Los Angeles California (where else?) in a rural area where she watches semi-wild horses grazing behind her house! She has just released her dark, science fiction adventure, Isadora DayStar, available from Smashwords. P.I. Barrington can be contacted via emails: pibarrington@dslextreme.com or pibarrington@yahoo.com and has a blog and website: Blog: http://pibarrington.worpress.com and official website: http://thewordmistresses.com

Bookstore Stops 101: Tips for Your Author Event

by Mark Stevens

Between the Facebook “like” buttons, the tweet avalanche, and the endless (here’s another one) blog posts, you sometimes have to wonder whether you are connecting your book with the right audience. Yes, I plunge from the high-dive into social media. I do my best. I try to balance self-promotion with genuine participation. Out here in the virtual village, I’ve met tons of cool readers and sold lots of books.

But when it comes to marketing, there’s one old-school tactic that is my bedrock.

Bookstores. Booksellers. Book people.

I visited 42 stores in 2007 when Antler Dust came out and I’m back on the trail in late 2011 with the sequel, Buried by the Roan. Success rates vary. But here’s how I think about it. You’re a writer. Wouldn’t you want your own built-in agents working for you every day? People who talk to readers all day long?

It’s not about just the event and that particular bookstore stop. It’s about developing a relationship with the store owner (or event manager) and readers, too. (And don’t forget: each event gives you a solid reason to tweet and post.)

A few tips:

1. Query far ahead. Think months. Work with their schedule. Ask if they do events, but be willing to stand around for a few hours with your titles and your nifty cool promotional material. This is true for the chain stores, too. Each Barnes & Noble outlet has its own flair, its own interest in doing “events.”
2. Treat each event like it was the only one you were ever going to do. Ask the bookstore owner for reporter and editor names in the community. Send advance copy books to the local media (no matter how small). The long lead time pays off here, too. Call the reporter or editor a couple weeks before the event, remind them you are on the way.
3. Ask the bookstore if you can send a few flyers. Make the flyers. Send them. Ask the bookstore if the local library might post a flyer if you send one or two. Make them, send them.
4. Find online community calendars (almost every town has one or two). Upload the details.
5. Find writers who live in the town—or nearby. (Again, the bookstore owner will know.) See if you can make a connection and ask for that writer’s help in reaching friends and fans. Pull up their Twitter account and follow some of their followers. Once a connection is established, send a direct message with the details and something personal.
6. Post the signing event on your Facebook page (two weeks out, one week out, “day of” reminder) and tweet it to smithereens. Search your Facebook friends for those who live in the area, create an FB event page, invite them. Find the bookstore’s Twitter handle and follow a bunch of their followers (readers, not the carpet cleaning companies) and then send a direct message once they follow you back. (They will.)
7. Day of event: Ask for a spot near the front of the store. Stand; don’t sit. Be prepared to answer questions about where the bathroom is located. Engage every reader who comes within range. “Any mystery fans here today?” “Looking for something in particular?” “I’m a writer from XYZ town, let me know if you’ve got a minute and I can tell you about my new title.”
8. Come prepared. Bring a bottle of water, breath mints (ahem). Bring copies of reviews, bookmarks, business cards. An 11&17 poster on foam core with your cover. Best of all, bring your quick speech. What is your story about in one sentence? Nail it. Rehearse it. Make it genuine. Not a sales pitch. Ask readers what they like. Engage them. Some will think, “I may not like mysteries but I have a friend…”
9. Send a ‘thank you’ to the store after it’s over and post public ‘thanks’ on FB and Twitter and wherever else your social media heart desires.
10. Not sure yet? Go to book signings and readings by other writers. Take notes. Keep the things you like, dump the elements you don’t.

Now, if you liked this column, back to the virtual world. Please visit my Facebook page and and you could even ‘like’ my protagonist, Colorado hunting guide Allison Coil. https://www.facebook.com/AllisonCoil Hey, and thanks. Nice “meeting” you. Follow me and I'll see you in cyberspace: @writerstevens

The son of two librarians, Mark Stevens was raised in Lincoln, Massachusetts. He worked as a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, covering a variety of events and issues from the economy, commercial fishing, the environment, politics, then at The Rocky Mountain News, and for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. He has produced field documentaries across the United States and Latin America. He is the author of the novels ANTLER DUST and BURIED BY THE ROAN and now works in public relations.

Related article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/us/ann-patchett-bucks-bookstore-tide-opening-her-own.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general

10 Last Minute Holiday Book Marketing Tips

We have a few more weeks before Christmas, Kwanzaa, Watch Night and New Year's. Bookstores have geared up for holiday shoppers and blacked-out in-store events for marquis authors, so there are fewer available spots for in-store events for authors to grab at the last minute. Public libraries have geared up for holiday events, so again, the newer authors will have trouble finding readings to participate in. So what do you do? Hold off selling your books until 2012? Or are there ways for you to take advantage of Holiday Cheer? I say take advantage. Here are 10 ways to promote your writing through the holidays.

1. Host a free children’s book drive at your local library.

It’s not too late to book a meeting room or space at your local library or smaller bookstore for a free children’s book drive. If you plan it now, you have time to get a local reporter and local blogger to the event. Invite the public to drop off new books at the library to give away or donate to the library’s children’s section. On your event day have holiday punch and cookies and invite the public to pick up a free children’s book.

2. Give your book to local coffeehouses to include in holiday gift baskets.

Four years ago I met with a popular local coffee house in my town by request of the owner. He loved authors and great books. We created gift baskets with my client’s books inside. We also introduced a new Winter Reading Series.

3. Host an Under the Dryer Book Signing at a Beauty Salon.

Have you ever been in a beauty salon? The long wait, the old reading material. What if someone was selling a book to read while sitting under the dryer? Bingo!! A client of mine sold out one weekend doing this event. You can also create holiday spa gift baskets that include your book for the salon event.

4. Write a Christmas story and have it published in your local community paper or regional magazine.

I wrote a story for Precious Times Magazine a few years back titled “Kissmas Time.” From that one story, I received many invitations to write articles for other magazines. I have a mailing list of people interested in my book (when it comes out). And I have had speaking engagement requests also as a result of that story.

5. Sponsor your local Girl Scout or Boy Scout Christmas Parade Float.

I just participated in my town’s annual Christmas parade. Loads of fun. I saw many familiar faces and made a friend of the mayor. Yippee. Being out and about in the community is a great way to build your author name. Sponsoring a float, making a banner, providing costumes, or just chaperoning kids in the parade will help make you a presence. People will become familiar with you. If you are an author, have kids pass out bookmarks with candy attached to them, or take your little Christmas story, package it up, and give it out to those on the parade route.

6. Read Christmas Stories at your local elementary school media center.

If you write for a young adult market, or even a soccer mom market, then get yourself to your local school and read your cool book to kids. Host a Santa letter party.

7. Host an Online Book Giveaway--but not of your book. Instead give away:

• a book you know your readers want like Ted Dekker’s Kiss, which comes out in January, or
• a book that's tied to the holidays like a Paula Deen Holiday Cookbook, or
• a book your friends might be afraid to buy, but would love to read (for instance Carleen Brice’s Buy a White Friend a Black Book Month Project)

Promote the giveaway and the winner by sending a press release to the winner’s local paper.Put the book in a gift basket from your local coffeehouse. Hey, it works for the Avon lady.

8. Host a Holiday Book Party at a local restaurant

Publisher and author Dwan Abrams hosted a party this weekend in downtown Atlanta to celebrate her birthday, the holidays, and the release of her fourth novel Married Strangers. The event was free to attend. It is also a book drive for a Women’s Prison Literacy Project. She’s got local celebrities, book reviewers, and bookstore managers popping through. The event has been promoted on local gospel radio stations, online mags, local papers, and to anyone within two paces of her.You do know that now is the time to throw a party?

9. Build a tip sheet

Center the sheet around your book’s theme and the holidays, then submit the tip list as filler for major local magazines and online magazines your readers read.

10. Be a front door vendor at your local bookstore.

Ask your local bookstore if you can set up a table on the weekend to sell your books. Ask for two tables. One to sell your book and another to gift wrap books as a free service to the bookstore. All bookstore chains allow authors to do this. (However, some bookstores will only talk to publicists or publishers.)

Bonus: contact your bookstore every week to see if any big authors had last minute cancellations for their Holiday In Store Events. But be prepared to get books to the store on short notice.

If you put all this together, you will see that the lesson here is to become a part of your community. The holidays are the best and most opportune times to do this. There’s just something about holiday cheer. And it only comes once a year--take advantage of it.

What other Guerilla Marketing Holiday Tips can you share?

And what are you most thankful for as a writer this year?

Miranda Parker is the author of A Good Excuse to Be Bad (Kensington), the first in the Angel Crawford Bounty Hunter Series. Parker has been featured at NBCC and The Decatur Book Festival, and featured in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, RT Book Reviews, and Publishers Weekly. She is also the Social Media/Marketing Person for the International Thriller Writers Debut Authors Program and a contributing editor to The Big Thrill. A sequel, Someone Bad & Something Blue, will be released in July 2012. Visit her at www.mirandaparker.com

photo credit: macinate