Catching up. First stop, Left Coast Crime

I did a lot of stuff in March, not the least of which was attend Left Coast Crime in Portland, Oregon. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of conventions. LCC is for mystery lovers, both writers and readers. There's never enough writerly kinds of information for me at a convention, and there are a number of potential readers milling about that I don't really know how to meet without sounding like I'm some ego-driven madwoman, so the whole experience leaves me anxious.

The only reason I attended this LCC is because my buddy, LJ Sellers, was in charge of it, and since it was in Portland, it was a chance to visit with my hubby's brother and family. This made the trip worth it:

Rain. Beautiful, glorious rain. This southern California gal can't get enough of it.

LJ did a bang-up job with the event. Lots of panels, lots of people to meet, and great hotel accommodations. Only $129 a night, plus complimentary parking and Wi-Fi. No one's ever gotten us free parking before! Although this diagram of where to go in case of emergency worried me. 

Stairs are on the key, but they're nowhere on the diagram!

Other highlights? The Sisters in Crime breakfast. Even though it started at 7:00 a.m. (that's when I'd like to be getting UP, thanks), I got to hear the lovely Catriona McPherson talk about all the fun things SinC National is doing. She even plugged our chapter's fall event, Ladies of Intrigue, where she will be one of our main speakers.

I also got to spend a lot of time with my buddies. Lunches, dinners, and drinks were all spent with author-friends. It seemed like every time I stepped into the hallway to decide on which panel to attend, Lisa Brackmann was there with an invitation.

"Hey, Gayle, want to go wine tasting?"

(Hint: you don't have to ask me twice.)

Lisa's on the right.

"Hey, Gayle, want to walk down to the pub for a beer?"

Sure. Even if it's raining and I left my coat in my room and the pub is a mile and a half away. I'm game.

I did miss my tiara when I saw Tim Hallinan in his.

I was on one panel, Sunday morning. Sunday is usually the day everyone is trying to leave, so I wasn't certain if we'd have an audience, but we did. Our topic was "California Dreaming." Four of us took the stage to talk about setting our stories in California. The easy answer why is that we live there, but the better answers are contained in why we live there. The shiny, hopeful, I'm-gonna-be-a-STAR quality of the state beckons to so many. 

We're a little fuzzy and askew - appropriate for a Sunday morning.

Even though I'm not enamored of conventions, I had a great time at this one. And since we had driven to Portland to attend, we got to stop on our way home to visit some friends in the south part of the state. 

Next stop: Michael and Chrissie's place.

I'm the chosen one

The neatest thing happened last week. LJ Sellers, a prolific writer who I got to hang with at Bouchercon two years ago, contacted me. In addition to her own blog, she contributes to the Crime Fiction Collective blog. They need a new contributor, so she asked me!

I'd like to thank the Academy and all the voters for this honor...


Okay, I'm back from my little fantasy moment. Starting today, I'll be blogging every other Thursday at the Crime Fiction Collective, which reminds me of Star Trek and the Borg for some reason. I only wish I looked like Jeri Ryan.

So go on over to the Collective and join the cult.

Cuz he's a thrillerrrr

I met CJ West at the 2009 Bouchercon in Indianapolis last October. The weekend was a networking blur, talking about my book, listening to other people talk about their books, and trying figure out what was important. But each time CJ, my friend LJ Sellers, and I sat down at the bar, we managed to just talk like people, which was a wonderful change.

In the mere months since we first met, CJ has been a busy guy. In March, he released Gretchen Green, the third book in his Randy Black series. In addition, the first book, Sin & Vengeance, was optioned for a feature film, and he's currently gearing up for the release of The End of Marking Time. This stand-alone thriller about a criminal whose entire world is turned upside down looks to give his readers an exciting ride.

The End of Marking Time will be officially launched on June 10th with an online Facebook party. Links at the end of the post will point you toward your RSVP.

What else could I do, when I learned of his imminent fame and fortune, except ask him a bunch of bothersome questions and promise to put the answers on my blog? He was very gracious, so I hope my millions -oops- tens of readers appreciate him.

1. Your recurring character, Randy Black, seems to swing wildly from scoundrel to saint, taking everyone near him along for the ride. What drew you to this character initially?

I wouldn’t say he swings wildly. It is an uphill battle to convince most people that Randy is worth following after his antics in Sin & Vengeance, but Randy was a fascinating character from the beginning. The freedom to do anything or say anything is very liberating. Combine that with Randy’s skills driving, shooting, and with women, and you have the formula for a great time. He’s a great guy to live vicariously through and I enjoy writing his character more than any other I have conjured up.

Randy has also drawn the strongest reactions of any character I’ve written. Readers wanted him killed after Sin & Vengeance. The Randy Black series began as a way to show readers that Randy wasn’t all bad. I wrote A Demon Awaits mainly from his perspective and my readers were stunned to see a book about Randy struggling for Redemption. Gretchen Greene was the first of many damsels in distress that Randy will try to save thereby redeeming himself. I have the concept for book 4 in the series and I’m excited to begin writing it soon.

2. How much of your books are research and how much are "writing what you know"?

I research something for every book and that is a part of the writing process that I truly enjoy. I focus on things that capture my interest and I hope they capture the interest of readers as well. On the other hand, there is an incredible amount of “what you know” that is included in every book. My experience populates the pages so reading my books is a good way to get to know what I’ve done and learned. Many people ask me how long I’ve been a wine expert. The truth is that I knew nothing about winemaking before writing Sin & Vengeance. When writing The End of Marking Time, I toured the prison system and courts here in Massachusetts and learned some very disturbing things about the state of our criminal justice system.

3. Do you belong to a writing group?

I don’t. I have never belonged to a writing group. I have beta readers who read for me and a professional editor who helps get my work ready for press. I strongly recommend writing groups for new writers, but I haven’t found a group that is a good fit for me.

4. What was your favorite book as a child? Any particular reason?

I was in a bookstore recently and greeted two boys in their early teens. When I asked them if they enjoyed reading they said they were “sports kids.” I didn’t have a chance to tell them, but at that age I would have given the exact same answer. I was reading Golf Digest and studying the mechanics of the reverse-C golf swing. I cut out every instructional article and had a thick notebook with some fantastic information. I wonder where it is now.

5. How about your favorite book as an adult?

This is a harder question. I read lots of authors for my Blog Talk Radio show and the book I usually recommend is the last one I loved from the show. Two come to mind. The Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner and Trust No One by Gregg Hurwitz.

6. Your bio lists two children – are they old enough to read your books? If not, how old will they have to be before you grant permission?

When I release a new book, I sign two copies and put them in a box in my office. They could read The End of Marking Time soon, but I won’t give them the box until they turn 21. Some of my material is really intense and I’m careful not to recommend books like Sin & Vengeance to anyone who is not ready for the intensity and some of the situations.

7. What's the hardest part about writing for you?

English. It is a tricky master. I consider myself a storyteller and I identify more with my heroes (and villains) than a nerdy guy who gets excited about the technical aspects of English grammar. The nearer a book gets to completion, the harder the process gets. I don’t enjoy hunting for typographical or grammatical errors and would much rather move on to another story.

8. What's the most fun part about writing?

The story. I vigorously enjoy the process of research, character development, plotting, and drafting stories. If this is all I did, I would sleep about three hours a day. I always find it strange when another writer tells me they hate writing the first draft. I want to ask them what is going on and help them write it. That’s how much I enjoy new stories.

9. Who are some of your inspirations?

Sommerset Maugham inspired me to write unusual characters after I read a book of short stories about his travels around Europe and Asia. Recently Michael Connelly has inspired me to write smoothly flowing prose. He is also the kind of person I hope to emulate if I become successful.

10. As an homage to James Lipton: if there is a God, what would you like him to say to you when you get to Heaven? (Unless, of course, you think the Devil would have a few words for you instead…)

Nice job, CJ. Go have a seat next to Grandma West.


I'm not God, or the Devil (seriously, just ignore the horns), but I would second the motion. Nice job, CJ.

Here are some links you might enjoy, from ordering The End of Marking Time on Amazon, to attending CJ's launch party on June 10th. In any case, check out his website to see what all the hubbub is about.

Find The End Of Marking Time on Amazon.

Find out about the Launch Party on June 10th.

Go straight to your RSVP on the launch party event page.

Make your choice on the Facebook Group I pressed the Red/Green button.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave

It's funny how the same topic will be on so many people's minds. I had been thinking all week that as soon as I could, I wanted to blog about my website, and LJ Sellers' latest blog is about - drumroll, please - websites and blogs and whether you need both. Great minds...

In the beginning, I had a website. I got one because some expert somewhere told me I needed one if I was going to be taken seriously as a writer and get the word out about my wordsmithing prowess. Even though I'm a software engineer by training, I decided to go with a kind of 'plug-and-play' site builder because I didn't want to take the time away from my new career as a writer just to learn html. I used Yahoo's Small Business Web Hosting to pick a template and fill in the blanks. I named it www.gaylecarline.com. Genius, huh?

It took me a little while to get the content right, mostly due to the fact that I didn't know what I was doing. At the time, I was writing journalistic articles for Riding Magazine and humor columns for the Placentia News-Times. You could say I felt divided, and my website reflected it. Finally, I got it all sorted out, and added buttons to lead you to whatever half of my writing personality you wanted to hire. In an attempt to garner more interest in my humor, I also put some funny pictures with funny captions, to show people that I'm funny.

Fast forward to now: I'm being published! Freezer Burn will be out in September 2009, I have a story in Missing, which is now available, and I've started writing the second book of Peri's escapades. I still want to write my humor column. I no longer write my Riding column, but if my editor called and asked me to cover a show or interview a trainer, I'd do it in a heartbeat, just because they gave me my publishing start.

So what I'm asking is, what should my website look like now? Please take a look-see, if you've got the time and tell me: Where should I focus? What's working? What needs to go away?

Even if you don't want to give me specific suggestions for my site, how do you think your website reflects who you want people to think you are?

Yeah, what Joe said

Joe Konrath has an interesting post (as usual) today about the cost of being a writer (visit http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2009/01/writer-as-spendthrift.html to read the full text). I completely agree that there are a lot of people out there who are willing to charge writers money in order to teach them what they already know. And amazingly, there are a lot of writers who will pay it. They run from one conference to the next writing course, dropping enormous amounts of cash while talking about what they're going to do someday when they "become writers".

Here are my own caveats to Joe's very excellent advice:

1. Taking writing courses from people who've never or only rarely been published. There are writing courses, and then there are writing courses. Some people need help with the basics. These are the people who've managed to drift through 12 years of schooling without realizing that verbs must be paired with nouns. They need to be taught by a licensed professional, and it doesn't matter if the pro has been published or not.

Why do they want to be writers, you ask. Because telling people you are a writer is cool. If you're a man, you get to wear turtleneck sweaters. If you're a woman, you get to have headshots taken that make you look gorgeous without feeling self-indulgent. OK, you and I know that being a writer is not cool, it is hard work because you have to actually think, and turtlenecks are hot and itchy and headshots are a big pain in the butt. But let these people have their fantasies. Maybe they'll take a few classes and decide it isn't worth having to tell the difference between an adverb and an adjective. Or maybe they'll learn and want to keep writing. You aren't the boss of them, so smile and be encouraging when your 80-year old illiterate uncle tells you he's going to write a memoir of when he was at Iwo Jima, except you know he had a desk job in Roanoke the entire war. At the very least, he will be keeping the local writing instructor employed.

2. Don't buy what you can get for free. There are so many wonderful blogs on the Internet now about writing and editing and being published, it's a wonder that anyone should pay for a class or a seminar or a conference. Yet, there are some times when you should. One is if you are reading all of these wonderful blogs and are still flailing about, because you can't organize your thoughts around the information you're being given. The other is when there is a payoff you can't get from the Internet. I have gone to several writer's conferences in the past 3 years, due to both of those reasons.

In September, 2006, I attended my first Southern California Writer's Conference in Palm Springs. At the time, I was a newspaper and magazine columnist who wanted to write a novel, although I didn't know what to write it about. I sat in workshops and listened and took notes and decided to take one of my short stories and turn it into a novel. I didn't plan to go to the San Diego SCWC in February, but I had a big chunk of my horrific novel written and I couldn't figure out why it was so horrific, so I went. In San Diego, I heard the professional writers/publishers/editors tell me why it wasn't good, but I still didn't "get" it. It took me another conference to figure it all out. That's when I wrote a good book, went to another conference, met Karen Syed and sold FREEZER BURN.

Did I spend a bit of money? Yes, BUT it was concentrated in one direction and I got results from my investment. Do I think everyone at SCWC gets a good return on their dollar? No, because I've seen a lot of people at these conferences who don't go to the workshops or listen to the experts. They use the conferences as a writer's group, sitting in read & critiques and submitting their first 20 pages to every editor and publisher on the panel. If you're one of those people, save your money. Join a writer's group and learn to send out queries.

Nowadays, I do visit a lot of bloggers and take a lot of their advice to heart. For example, LJ Sellers was waxing poetic about the need for a character database. I didn't build one for FREEZER BURN, but now I'm starting the next book about Peri and her friends (tentatively titled HIT OR MISSUS) and I spent most of an evening looking at the previous book for characters I wanted to re-use but couldn't remember their last name, hair color, etc. LJ was right - the database makes everything SO much easier.

Will I continue to attend the conferences? Depends upon who is going to be there and what I need from the conference.

Joe is absolutely right to warn writers against poring money into the process unless they absolutely need to. Sometimes you do need to spend a little money, but you need to look at what you're ultimately getting for your dollar. Is it moving your writing career along, or is it teaching you more of what you already know?

Stop talking about "becoming a writer". Write and "be a writer".

The Butterfly effect, Part 2

Can we be frank? I've gotten a Butterfly Award and two Premio Dardos ("Prize Darts") Awards, and when I look around to see who to pass them on to, I see that everyone I read is getting multiple Butterflies and Darts. Are we supposed to be passing them around within the group to build interest in each other's blogs somehow, or are we supposed to be cross-pollinating, introducing ourselves to new people?

Seriously, I can't tell.

So here's what I'm going to do: First, I'm going to try to insert that pretty Butterfly picture into this post. Pray for me - here goes nothing -

See anything? Me neither. Damn.

Never mind, let's go to the next step. If I read every interesting blog out there, I'd never eat, sleep or write, and forget riding my horses. But here's who I read regularly: The Life of a Publisher, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, Alexandra Sokoloff, Morgan Mandel, Writely So, and Write First Clean Later. These lovely people have been showered with blog awards from myself and others. Please keep visiting them, and comment often. We all get lonely.

Here are some blogs I've recently discovered by looking at Blogger's "Blogs of Note". I don't know if they need any more followers, and they're not all about writing, BUT they are either pretty, or fascinating, or helpful in some way. Check them out if you've got the time and the inkling:

Book Flap (indy bookstore in Menlo Park, CA)

The One-Minute Writer (quick writing prompts to get your fingers and brain moving)

The Book Design Review (reviews/discussions about book covers - fascinating)

Editorial Anonymous (real-life lessons on what not to do)

Query Shark (same as E.A. for query letters)

Detectives Beyond Borders (international crime)

Poem of the Week (well, yea, what it sounds like)

Cheerful Scoop (good news when you need it)

Synch-ro-ni-zing (beautiful photos)

If It's Hip It's Here (cutting edge products - this was giving me story ideas)

I'll try to alert these folks to their Butterflies, but mostly I just want to spread the seeds of information around and keep us all from inbreeding ideas. Enjoy.

Now that I've spread my Butterfly's wings - have I had any effect on the atmosphere?>