Deadline Hell

By Donnell Ann Bell

Back in 2008, I read a blog by Tess Gerritsen called ,”When business runs your life,” http://www.tessgerritsen.com/blog/when-the-business-runs-your-life/ in which she expressed concern over a bestselling author, a millionaire many times over, who had become so consumed by her deadlines she was literally making herself sick.

I never forgot that blog, or Dr. Gerritsen’s admonition. Then and there I decided that if/when I got published I would respect my limitations. I mean, who wanted fame and fortune that bad?

My publisher bought my first book, and afterward I signed a two-book contract. I felt the time constraints were reasonable. After all, one book was completely written. That left me nearly a year to write book two. I’d worked for a weekly newspaper; I’d met deadlines. Every Wednesday without fail my coworkers and I put the paper to bed.

I was organized, professional. I would make my fiction deadlines as well, have a life, and not spend my mornings over a toilet like this poor author I no longer envied.

The goal toward dealing with deadlines started out fine. I developed my characters, outlined the book, and wrote. Most months I made my goal of 20K—even allowing for family time, book signings, conferences, and for when the inevitable self-doubt and freezing set in.

It was a doable deadline of August 1 until June 23, 2012, and 60,000 words into my 85K word manuscript, breaking news hit the citizens of El Paso and Teller Counties. Fire had broken out on a popular hiking trail known as Waldo Canyon, approximately ten miles from my house.

This was concerning on so many levels, a writer’s deadline was the least of firefighters’ worries. The drought that had afflicted the Midwest, Rockies, and the Southwest had left my area a tinderbox. It was summer, in the high 90s, with unpredictable winds, and scrub oak and beetle-ridden pine trees provided enormous fuel.

We’d dealt with fire before and nobody panicked―yet. The U.S. Forest Service arrived like the cavalry and emergency preparedness took effect. Officials started out first with voluntary evacuations, then mandatory, as flames could be seen reaching 150 feet into the sky. Eventually more than 32,000 residents of Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Woodland Park as well as the mountain communities surrounding Hwy. 24 would be removed from their homes.

Still, the beast refused to be contained, and it didn’t help that speculation abounded, that the blaze had been manmade. All at once, I had more suspense going on around me than I was trying to achieve in my book, and like every other resident, we packed our suitcases and sat glued to our televisions watching the nightmare unfold. To walk outside required face masks, and the contaminated air smelled like a massive campground or ashtray. Even at my distance, I found charred debris in my yard.

June 24 and 25 came and went, and like a thriller novel when things appear to calm down, Colorado’s notorious winds picked up, climbing to 60 mph. On June 26, officials feared that the fire might come down the mountain and reach into the major population of Colorado Springs. Residents of an area known as Mountain Shadows had hours to evacuate, and soon The US Air Force Academy was at risk and ordered to do the same. During rush hour that day, the I-25 corridor was nothing more than a chaotic sea of vacating automobiles.

On June 28^th, it was determined that 346 homes had been destroyed, two deaths had occurred, and the west-side neighborhood of Mountain Shadows had been wiped out.

In Waldo’s aftermath, we were left with displaced people and the responsibility of helping people pick up the pieces. One of my dear friends lost her home, and the collection of clothing, food and purchasing of bare necessities became our priority. As I drove to the Care & Share food bank, I was both pleased and astonished to be left waiting in line behind other people who wanted to give back in some small way.

Meanwhile, my deadline approached and I had yet to return to my keyboard. It was as though watching my neighbors suffer had afflicted me with their PTSD. The idea that someone had erroneously, or worse, deliberately set this blaze to my beloved community blocked my muse, and I read everything I could get my hands on in hopes that the police had apprehended the suspect.

Mid July, I contacted my publisher and warned that I might miss my deadline. Deborah Smith, Vice President of BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books, wrote back, “Deadline, Fire, Deadline, Fire. Fire wins.”

I was so grateful, her kind remarks were freeing, and soon after that I finished my book, in truth, ten days after my deadline. Fires and flood have affected my community in 2012 and 2013, and 500 more homes were lost, and more deaths occurred this year. Arson is suspected to be the cause of Black Forest. Waldo Fire, Black Forest and our recent 100 year flood have proven to be more suspenseful than any thriller writer could pen. “Come hell or high water” isn’t just a phrase to me, it’s something I’ve lived. As for the author Tess Gerritsen wrote about, I have a new and vivid appreciation of her deadline hell.

About Donnell Ann Bell 

Donnell Ann Bell has put her first two novels on e-book bestseller lists, including Deadly Recall, her sophomore release from Bell Bridge Books, which hit #1 on Amazon Kindle’s best sellers’ list. BETRAYED is her third novel. She lives with her family in Colorado. 

Active in the writing community, Donnell sits on the board of Pikes Peak Writers, is a member of RWA’s Kiss of Death Chapter, Sisters in Crime, Guppies, Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. She also co-owns Crimescenewriters, a Yahoo group for writers, started by retired veteran police officer Wally Lind.

You can visit her website at www.donnellannbell.com

About BETRAYED (Bell Bridge Books) - November 18, 2013 

Available for preorder on Amazon Kindle

When Oklahoma City resident, Irene Turner learns the incomprehensible, that the stillborn baby she delivered 28-years earlier is alive, she takes the evidence to where her daughter now lives—Denver Colorado.

Detective Nate Paxton can’t believe what Irene’s evidence shows him.  Kinsey Masters, a world-class athlete, raised by a prominent Denver family, an unattainable woman he’s known and loved for years, was stolen at birth. 

Irene Turner, Nate Paxton, and Kinsey Masters are united in a sordid conspiracy.  But, it’s who the conspirators turn out to be that will leave the trio shaken and in disbelief.  Irene’s foundation of trust will be ripped from its core, as kidnapping, murder, and a thirst for revenge lead her to learn she’s been betrayed.

Know What You Write

By Jon McGoran

One of the oldest, best known, and perhaps most discredited pieces of writing advice out there is “Write what you know.”

When I was younger, I took this to mean “write about your own life,” and decided early on it was advice to be disregarded.  I was sure no one wanted to read about my life, and I’ve still never read a bestseller — or any kind of seller — with a protagonist who spends every night writing while all the interesting characters are out doing things. (“Our hero sat at the computer and typed. Then he typed some more. After a slightly over-long break on Twitter, he resumed typing.”)

I decided it is more important to write who you know, or to write what you know about people. So I created characters informed by the people in my life as I wrote about things I didn’t know, things like forensics, which required massive amounts of research. That kind of research is a lot of work, but it’s immensely fun, a spark for creativity and a great source for ideas.

I might not have been writing what I knew, but I knew what I was writing. I got plenty of great feedback, including praise for the accuracy and detail of the forensics. But I was also frequently asked if I had a background in forensics, and met with unmistakable disappointment when I replied,  (betraying none of the indignation that I felt), “No, my background is in writing.”

Meanwhile, during the day, I continued to work as communications director for a food co-op in Philadelphia, editing and publishing a monthly newspaper, The Shuttle, and, in large part, writing about food and the systems that grow and produce it. My daytime activities were almost as boring as my evenings (“The next day, our hero sat at a different desk, on a different computer, and he typed. After sharing a hilarious cat picture on Facebook, he typed some more. …Then he went to a meeting.”) But the issues I was covering were fascinating and important, increasingly so in recent years. Food was being irradiated, cloned, and genetically engineered — bad news for people who eat food, but great news for a writer looking for a meaningful topic to write about. Ideas for thrillers jumped out at me every day.

As the news about GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, got crazier and crazier, I decided I had to get involved. I began working with groups like Just Label It and the Right to Know coalition, who were spearheading national efforts to label GMOs, and more recently with statewide groups in Pennsylvania.

I also started working on Drift, a thriller about GMO’s and the blurring line between food and pharmaceuticals, first because it was a great idea for a thriller, but also because fiction can be a very compelling way to explore important issues. I still had to do plenty of research (you always have to do lots of research), but I already had a nuanced understanding of the topic, and a certain level of credibility if someone was to ask about my background in this area. I’ve already gotten great feedback, support and enthusiasm from people in the GMO labeling community.

Drift doesn't come out until July, and I have no way of knowing how it will be received. But having benefited from the subtle grasp that comes with a deep understanding of a subject, the satisfaction of making a meaningful contribution to the discourse of an important topic, and, hopefully, the support of a broad community of people who share my concerns, if I had to offer one piece of advice it just might be, Write what you know.

BIO: JON McGORAN has written about food and sustainability for twenty years, as communication director at Weavers Way Co-op and editor of The Shuttle newspaper, and now as editor at Grid magazine. During that time he has also been an advocate for urban agriculture, cooperative development and labeling of genetically engineered foods. 

He is a member of the International Thriller Writers and the Mystery Writers of America, and a founding member of the Philadelphia Liars Club, a group of published authors dedicated to promotion, networking, and service work. In Drift, he combines his interest in the increasingly bizarre world of food today with his love of the thriller. Visit him at: www.jonmcgoran.com

Drift is an ecological thriller about genetically-engineered foods, agro-pharmaceuticals and bio-tech threats to farming and food. After the death of his parents, Philadelphia narcotics Detective Doyle Carrick plans to spend a thirty-day suspension drinking alone in the country. 

But then a high-powered drug gang shows up in town and when Doyle busts their scheme to sell genetically altered heroin, he realizes they are up to something far more sinister. Soon, he must race to stop them from unleashing a deadly new plague that could kill millions, and earn billions for those who control the cure. 

March Releases!

The first of every month we feature releases from our Debut Authors Class. Please take a look and let’s celebrate their success!

 

 

 

Kay Kendall - Desolation Row--An Austin Starr Mystery (Stairway Press) March 2013

It's 1968. The Cold War is hot, the Vietnam War is raging, and the women's movement is beating a far-distant drum. When Austin Starr's husband decides to protest the war by emigrating from Texas to Canada, she goes along, with the biblical dictate of "whither-thou-goest I will go" ringing in her ears. No activist herself, Austin is already homesick and drowning in culture shock when her husband is accused of murdering a fellow draft resister, the black-sheep son of a U.S. Senator.

 

The Mounties aren't supposed to harass draft-age boys but the truth is very different, especially when political pressure is applied by both the victim's father and the Canadian prime minister's office. They may have a reputation for always getting their man, but Austin is convinced this time they have the wrong one. Once courted by the CIA, and a lover of mystery and espionage novels, Austin launches her own investigation into the murder. When ominous letters warning her to stop her sleuthing turn into death threats, Austin must find the real killer or risk losing everything. Her love-and her life-are on the line.

 

kaykendallauthor.com

Brian Gruley’s STARVATION LAKE Named GLiBA’s First Great Lakes, Great Reads

From Shelf Awareness:
Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley, a paperback original published by Touchstone, has been chosen by the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association as its first Great Lakes, Great Reads pick.
The program aims to “promote exceptional titles and authors of regional interest,” for which the association will provide information, publicity and point of purchase materials, including stickers, bookmarks and shelf talkers. GLiBA also will help publishers organize author tours and events and make signed copies available to stores. GLiBA said that this effort “will create a win-win-win situation for all involved and lead to higher visibility and sales for titles selected.”
GLiBA plans to name one to three picks per month, including fiction, nonfiction and children’s books. Publishers may nominate titles. A brochure describing the program is available at the GLiBA website, along with more information about the picks.
Just published, Starvation Lake is a debut novel set in northern Michigan by the Chicago bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. It’s already hit the Heartland Indie Bestseller List and is an Indie Next pick for March.
Matt Norcross, McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey, Mich., wrote: “Starvation Lake is a Michigan town that doesn’t have much to cheer about these days. Perhaps that is why they make a legend of their most winning hockey coach, Coach Blackburn. Gus Carpenter had Blackburn as a coach and he’ll never forget it, just like he’ll never forget the goal he let in at the State Championship years ago. But when Coach Blackburn’s long lost snowmobile washes up on the shores of the wrong lake many old mysteries float to the surface with it. The deeper Gus digs the more he’ll learn the past isn’t always the way we remember it. Gruley has hit the nail on the head and driven it home with perfect dialog and atmosphere that will give you the chills in this exciting debut.”

MIXED BLOOD - The Movie!

Movie rights to debut author Roger Smith’s MIXED BLOOD have gone to GreeneStreet Films (NYC) with Samuel L. Jackson attached to star and Kelly Masterson (Before The Devil knows You’re Dead) to write the screenplay. Active negotiations are underway for Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, The Bone Collector, The Quiet American) to direct. Via Jody Hotchkiss at Hotchkiss & Associates.
About the book:
An American, hiding out in Cape Town, South Africa, after being blackmailed into a bank heist back home,is building a new life for his pregnant wife and youngson, when an incident of random violence sets him on a collision course with street gangs and a rogue cop who loves killing almost as much as he loves Jesus Christ.
Praise for MIXED BLOOD:
“A classic wrong-man-in-the-wrong-place thriller.” – Booklist
“A gripping thriller that follows believable (if sometimes grotesque) characters along a desperate rush to ruin. Highly recommended.” Ron Terpening - Library Journal
“Smith offers a gritty tale of corruption and vengeance set in South Africa in his absorbing debut. His taut prose bodes well for future thrillers from his pen.” - Publishers Weekly

Debut Author up for Mary Higgins Clark Award

Julie Kramer’s Stalking Susan is a finalist for the Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award. The Mystery Writers of America gives the award to the book most closely written in the Mary Higgins Clark tradition, according to the following guidelines:
• The protagonist is a nice young woman whose life is suddenly invaded.
• She’s self-made and independent, with primarily good family relationships.
• She has an interesting job.
• She is not looking for trouble–she is doing exactly what she should be doing and something cuts across her bow.
• She solves her problem by her own courage and intelligence.
• The story has no on-scene violence
• The story has no strong four-letter words or explicit sex scenes.
STALKING SUSAN is set in the desperate world of TV news, where a reporter discovers a serial killer is targeting women named Susan, killing one on the same day each year.

The winner will be honored at the Edgar Symposium’s Agents & Editors Party April 29 in New York.