P.J. MacLayne - P.J. MacLayne

Writer’s Secrets #IWSG

By P.J. MacLayne June 2, 2020 June 2, 2020 IWSG

June 3 question – Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work?

The awesome co-hosts for the June 3 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, J.Q. Rose, and Natalie Aguirre!

Welcome to another month of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. This month I’m supposed to reveal one or two secrets. But if I tell you, they won’t be a secret anymore! So we’ll go with two things only a few people know.

In my Harmony Duprie Mysteries, I’ve made Harmony afraid of flying. Or, I should say, she told me she’s afraid of flying. I don’t think Harmony revealed it to me until Book Three, and I didn’t know why until Book 4. I’m currently up to book 6, and Eli, Harmony’s long-time lover, has figured out her fear, but she hasn’t told him why. Very different from me. I used to work a job where I traveled all the time. I once flew from Florida to various parts of California three times in one month. All the switching of times zones was rough, but I got to the point where, after boarding, I’d be asleep before the plane ever left the ground.

And for my other almost secret? I cut my writing teeth on poetry. I even had some luck getting published in literary magazines. At first, I tried to carry that over to my fiction, but it made for heavy reading. I still slip an occasional poetic phrase into my stories, but not near as many as I used to. My mysteries are light-hearted, and I don’t want to bog them down.

One more not-a-secret that many of you already know. I released the fifth book in Harmony Duprie Mysteries this past Monday. It’s called The Samurai’s Inro and trouble is chasing down Harmony again. Because how much trouble can one ex-librarian get into? You can find more information HERE.

There you go. Two almost-secrets and a bonus. Thanks go to our hosts for another great blog hop. You can check out the posts from other authors on the links below.

Until next time, stay safe!

Spiderweb #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne June 1, 2020 June 1, 2020 Open Book

June 1, 2020

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” That’s how I feel about my writing.

Because I didn’t plan it. When I wrote Wolves’ Pawn, it was a one and done. It was fun, and then it was time to try something else. If you’ve been following me for a long time, you know the next book I wrote was supposed to be a different kind of paranormal romance, one featuring a librarian and a ghost. It didn’t turn out like that, because the characters objected. Instead, it became an almost-cozy mystery titled “The Marquesa’s Necklace.”

But I didn’t abandon the original theme. There might be a ghost in there somewhere. As well as a reference to Wolves’ Pawn. You’ll have to read carefully to find it.

And I fell in love with Harmony, my main character, before I finished writing Necklace, and knew there would be more books in the series. In fact, the fifth book, The Samurai’s Inro, is being released today. And each story has a reference to either the ghost or what became the Free Wolves series, or both. And yes, the first book became a series because the characters demanded it.

For the most part, the Free Wolves books stand on their own. There are overlapping characters, but the books can be read in any order. That was done on purpose. Someday, I might write more in that series. There are a couple of ideas floating around in my head.

The mysteries are different. Although each book is a separate mystery, with no cliffhangers, there’s a strong underlying story arch, and I suggest they be read in order. (Especially books 1 & 2. The other books are more solo stories)

Here’s a teaser from The Samurai’s Inro to give you a hint about the paranormal reference:

I’m in the planning stage for another series. I have to finish the Harmony series first, but I can see the possibility of including references to Harmony in the new books, just for the fun of it. It may be a couple of years before you see the first of those books. I’ve got to finish The Ranger’s Dog Tags.before I start those.

If I can carry it off, it will be quite the spiderweb I weave. It sounds like fun to try!

Since this post is appearing on release day, I can’t pass up the opportunity for promotion. Head over HERE for more information on the Samurai’s Inro and where you can get a copy.

And I’ll be checking out everyone else’s posts during the day, to keep me from staring at my sales figures. You can join me by following the links below.

In the meantime, stay safe out there!

June 1, 2020

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

The Samurai’s Inro and a New Excerpt

By P.J. MacLayne May 29, 2020 May 29, 2020 Uncategorized

It’s almost Launch Day! So here’s another excerpt for you.

I followed my morning routine—coffee, shower, sit on the steps and read the paper—but the simple joy had disappeared. The biker was gone, but he wasn’t the problem. No, I still hadn’t heard from Eli. No requests for reports or research, not even a text to say hi. I missed him.

But he was more than my lover, he was my boss. Even if I didn’t have a new assignment from him, I still had research to do. The topic was up to me. I could do it anywhere with an internet signal, but I chose to stick with my routine and go to the library. If the biker showed up, I’d know and could keep an eye on him while he kept an eye on me.

With no excuse to build a wall of books, I took a chair in the periodicals area. With the setup of the room, I’d be able to watch anyone coming or going from it. There’d be no sneaking up on me.

At least, that was true as far as the public knew. There was a secret way in and out. Out mostly, because it was hard to slide the last set of shelves from the backside to get in. But I wouldn’t have to worry about getting stuck with no escape route.

Late morning, tired of lists and analysis of security vulnerabilities, I strolled through the stacks of the second floor to stretch my legs and give my eyes a break. I leaned against the balcony railing to survey the reading room below and gaze through the windows on the far wall.

That’s when I spotted him—or not. It was hard to tell from the angle. Plus, he didn’t look like a biker anymore. He’d adopted the persona of a frazzled businessman. White short-sleeved shirt, black pants, he looked like he came from the fifties. The beard was gone, too. I couldn’t get a good look at his face, but the hint of a tattoo peeking out from under the sleeve of his shirt gave him away.

From the second floor, there wasn’t a good place to study him further without exposing my presence. If I stood on the steps, I’d have a better chance, but they squeaked. If he looked up at just the right moment, he’d see me. I suppose it didn’t matter; he knew I was in the library. So, how to mess with him?

Trouble has a long memory and is stalking Harmony Duprie. The Samurai’s Inro, coming June 1st.

The Samurai’s Inro

By P.J. MacLayne May 27, 2020 May 27, 2020 Uncategorized

Trouble has a long memory and is stalking Harmony Duprie.

Don’t forget! The Samurai’s Inro, the fifth book in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries, will be available June 1st.

Here’s a quick excerpt just for you:

I cradled the pot with what remained of my mother’s African violet in my lap. They plucked every flower and bud and pulled off half the leaves. The plant would live—I’d make sure of it—but it would take a lot of effort.

Pages from my books lay scattered around. All my first editions survived, they’d only destroyed the more current ones. The latest Jack Reacher book. A biography of Queen Elizabeth. The popular-for-the-moment romance, The Pirate’s Nanny. At least I’d finished reading them.

They used a permanent marker to draw mustaches and beards on the framed picture of me and Eli kept on the end table, a middle school type of prank. Thank heavens the original was digital.

I sat in a kitchen chair and rocked, plotting my revenge. A stream of religious missionaries sent to their door. Dead fish mailed regularly. Confetti bombs. Putting a potato in their exhaust. Nothing legal seemed adequate.

It wasn’t a case of a mysterious suitor, of that I was convinced. It felt darker, bordering on evil. Like the culprit was taunting me. Someone who knew me. Someone I thought was a friend. How else would they understand where to draw the line in the damage they’d done?

But I couldn’t explain this to Freddie without sounding crazy. Either Joe or Luke had called him. The three of them were working on straightening out the furniture in the front room while pretending not to keep an eye on me. They had a right to be concerned. That didn’t make it any less irritating.

What I needed to do was jump in and start cleaning. What I wanted to do was grab my laptop and create a spreadsheet of potential suspects. The police were still questioning neighbors and so far, no one had any helpful information. Freddie, although he hadn’t been assigned to the investigation, was following it and keeping me updated.

The short mental list taking form made me hurt as I added each entry. Gary from the pawnshop. Luke or Joe. Big Daddy Al from the Pink Flamingo. That was, assuming they could hotwire cars, something we’d never talked about. And I bet every one of them had an unshakeable alibi.

Jake.

Eli.

Stay tuned for buy links and more information.

I See Dead People #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne May 24, 2020 May 24, 2020 Open Book

May 25, 2020

What are the ethics of writing about historical figures?

This is a tough question for me, because I work to make my fiction non-specific in its time frame. Sure, I mention modern technology, but it could be five years ago or it could be five years in the future. And I don’t use real people in my stories, either living or dead.

But there’s one exception. In my Harmony Duprie Mysteries, there’s a certain recurring reference to a historical figure. Just one or two mentions per book, and unless the reader is looking for it, they probably don’t even realize what I’ve done.

I’ll tell you who it is later. Some of you may not even recognize the name when you see it.

But back to the question at hand. What are the ethics behind using historical figures? In my opinion, it depends.

If I’m writing a fictional story based on actual events and real people, I need to honor the event and the people. I can’t make Abraham Lincoln blond and heavyset if I’m setting a story based on his Gettysburg Address. On the other hand, If I’m imaging him as a vampire hunter, (anyone remember that movie?) I have a lot more freedom. But he still shouldn’t be short and blond-haired.

Of course, someone less well-known gives the author more latitude in working with the character. Writing about Betsy Ross is going to be more challenging that creating a story with Molly Pitcher. And the further back in history the person is from, the harder it becomes to be accurate. How much of Helen of Troy’s story is history and how much is legend?

Back to Harmony Duprie and the one historical figure I mention. And he’s only historical because he’s dead. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to believe that, under different circumstances, he’d still be performing.

I’m talking about John Denver. He’s not an actual character in the stories, but his music is mentioned in the books. Harmony’s mother was a big fan, and Harmony has inherited her mother’s collection of his albums and her love of the music. ( I may know someone who resembles that.)

We have several authors on this hop who do write historical novels, and I’m interested in seeing what they have to say on the subject. That’s where I’m heading now.

Until you stop by again, stay safe out there.

May 25, 2020

What are the ethics of writing about historical figures?

Writing Mistakes #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne May 17, 2020 May 17, 2020 Open Book

May 18, 2020

What are your top five writing mistakes? Either mistakes you make or mistakes that make you cringe when you see them in print?

Eight books in, and I’ve learned a lot. I’m not perfect by a long shot, but I know what to watch for. That doesn’t mean I don’t slip and have to go back and correct myself, but at least I make the same mistakes less often. Here’s my top five.

Overusing “was.” The dog was. John was. The reason for my anxiety was. You get the drift. The word is unavoidable, but using it too much isn’t. I’m better, but still have to watch my words. And figure out how to find better words to use when I am editing.
Same thing with ‘sigh.’ I won’t bore you with examples. I challenged myself to write the current book without a single use of sigh. (The Samurai’s Inro, coming June 1st.) I need to go back and check, but I think I won the challenge.
Commas. I think the rules about commas were created to make us crazy. Heck, even the on-line grammar checkers can’t agree on commas. And I’m not talking about different grammar checkers giving different results. I’m talking about the same grammar checker giving different results at different times. Before you ask – Oxford commas are a yes in my book.
I’m a pantser. That means I don’t have everything all plotted out before I write a story. That also means I occasionally lose track of story time. It is Thursday or Friday? I have to go back to a known day and start counting. No one has ever called me out on messing up a day, so I think I get them right in the end.
This one is not me, but I cringe every time I see it in an on-line forum. In fact, I see it so often I’ve begun to doubt myself. People who are using barley instead of barely. Is autocorrect doing that? Or is it a matter of bad typing and not paying attention? I never noticed it until the last year or two. One is a grain, and the other is an adverb. How do you mix them up?

That’s my five. It won’t surprise me if there’s a lot of overlap with other authors on this loop. You can check it out by following the links below.

Until later, stay safe out there.

May 18, 2020

What are your top five writing mistakes? Either mistakes you make or mistakes that make you cringe when you see them in print?

The Samurai’s Inro Cover Reveal

By P.J. MacLayne May 16, 2020 May 16, 2020 Uncategorized

Here it is! The Cover for “The Samurai’s Inro,” the fifth book in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries. Coming June 1, 2020

Trouble has a long memory and is stalking Harmony Duprie.

Harmony Duprie has it made. Or so she thinks.

New job.

New routine.

A quiet life in the quiet little town of Oak Grove.

Oh, and Eli.

But trouble has a long memory and it’s playing a deadly game.

Friends’ cars stolen.

Her apartment ransacked.

The duplicate of a stolen Japanese antique carved box left behind.

Trouble follows wherever she goes, including the parking lot of the police station. Not even the want-to-be bodyguard brought in by Police Chief Sorenson can end the harassment. All her research leads to dead ends.

Can Harmony identify the face of trouble before she loses and the winner takes her life as the final prize?

Let the games begin.

Thanks to K.M Guth for another great cover design.

Scroll down for a bonus.

Watch this space for buy links, coming soon.

Bonus! Just for you, a quick excerpt.

“Not unless Marly comes with me. You coming, Marly?” Kody asked. His angry eyes locked on mine.

“No. I’ve told you no before and I’m telling you again. No.”

I read his intentions and was prepared when he reached for her shoulder. With a quick thrust, I knocked his hand away. “She said no.”

If he had known what was good for him, he would have backed down. He wasn’t that smart. He swung at me. In a classic move, I grabbed his arm and used his own power to toss him to the floor. “Not cool,” I said.

He should’ve stayed down but wasn’t that smart. He wobbled as he half-rose and lunged at me. I moved aside and kicked him in the rear as he sailed by. The alcohol didn’t do him any favors.

“Enough is enough. Give it up. Go home.” I wondered how everyone else was reacting and if I’d need to defend myself from any of his friends, but didn’t dare take my eyes off him. I backed up until I bumped into the bar.

It took him longer to get up the second time. For a minute, I thought he’d finally gotten smart and was giving up. I was wrong.

How Soon is Too Soon? #OpenBook Blog Hop

By P.J. MacLayne May 10, 2020 May 10, 2020 Open Book

May 11, 2020

How soon is too soon to include a real-life event in a fictional story?

Let’s start with the most current event. You know the one I mean. I subscribe to a lot of book newsletters, and I cringed the first time I saw an ad for a self-help book with a quarantine related title. I think it was two or three weeks after most people in the US were asked to shelter at home. My first thought was – how does anyone pull together a meaningful book in that amount of time? And my second thought was – nothing like taking advantage of people in a time of crisis. Yes, I thought that was far too soon.

In the past week, I’ve started to see fiction books with titles like “Quarantine” and “Pandemic.” First, I despise the titles as being unoriginal. They certainly wouldn’t attract me to buy the book. Second, I wonder how well the book has been edited. Yes, I am aware that there are people out there that can write a book in less than thirty days, but I’m not among them.

What do I consider a reasonable time lapse to include a real-life event in a fiction book? It’s going to depend upon the event. For the tragedy of 9-11, it would have been at least a year if not more. For the space shuttle explosion, six months would have been a long enough of a wait. For the current virus? I can’t imagine turning it into fiction for entertainment while up to 2500 people a day are dying from Covid in the US, let alone the figures world-wide.

Now the first moon landing? Shoot, go ahead and use that before the dust had even settled. A presidential election? Have at it. The capture of a criminal? I’ll give you a soft maybe, depending upon the crime. The murder hornet? Better get that book written before they become a real problem.

It comes down to how many people have been hurt by the event and how deeply. I can’t imagine trying to profit from an event when people are still suffering. (Unless every cent of that money goes to organizations working to help the affected.)

My caveat to this discussion is that the author has to be mindful of their use of the event. Either disguise it appropriately, or make your use historically accurate. I don’t want to read about the first landing on the moon with fictional names.

So, that’s how I feel about it. Me, I avoid real world events with a passion. I don’t want to get them wrong.

I’d love to hear about how you feel. Share your thoughts in the comments. In the meantime, I’m going to head over and see what the other authors in this hop have to say.

May 11, 2020

How soon is too soon to include a real-life event in a fictional story?

Rituals for Writing #IWSG

By P.J. MacLayne May 5, 2020 May 5, 2020 IWSG

May 6 question – Do you have any rituals that you use when you need help getting into the ZONE? Care to share?

Just give me that rock and roll music… (and a good headset)

Although lately, I’ve been branching out into other types of music to help me get in the zone, depending upon my mood. Tradition Celtic melodies. Modern Native American songs. I keep thinking I should look for Gregorian chants but haven’t yet. I’ve got a nice collection of CDs and LPs, but I like finding new musicians and singers.

Basically, I look for music I don’t really listen to, but serves to shut out the distractions around me. It allows my mind to concentrate on writing.

But back to rock and roll…classic rock, of course. The era of singer-songwriters. Lots of female singers. Buffy St. Marie. Joni Mitchell. Janis Joplin. Linda Ronstadt

And here’s a nod to my favorite. He doesn’t fit any of the categories above, but he’s always my fallback. John Denver.

And that’s as much of a ritual as I’ll own up to!

Be safe out there, please.

Holidays We Need

By P.J. MacLayne May 3, 2020 May 3, 2020 Open Book

May 4, 2020

May 4th is the unofficial Star Wars Day. (May the Fourth be with you.) What other days should be recognized as holidays but aren’t?

Sadly, there are a number of holidays in the U.S.A. that have been basically forgotten or turned into nothing but a big commercial. President’s Day is a good example. Does anybody beyond banks and government agencies celebrate it? Without looking, I couldn’t even tell you the date it was originally celebrated.

People have lost track of the difference between Labor Day in May and Memorial Day in September. All they know is one marks the unofficial beginning of summer and the other the end.

Growing up, the first day of deer hunting season was practically a holiday. Unofficial, but lots of people took the day off and even the schools let kids out for the day. I don’t think as many people hunt anymore, so I suspect that has changed.

Another area I lived in had an excellent high school basketball team. Somehow, Spring Break normally was scheduled for when the state level basketball tournaments were held. Then one year the schedule was changed and people got really upset. When the team had a bad year, the furor died down.

(Political Rant ON) If I was going to create a holiday, it would be Election Day in November. Too many people find it difficult to go vote because of their work schedules. Either that, or make voting by mail the standard. It’s ridiculous that people have to stand in line for three or four hours to vote in some places. (Political Rant OFF)

I’d like to see Earth Day turned into an official holiday. I participated in the first Earth Day back in 1970 and it helped to make me aware of the challenges the environment faces. Combine it with May Day and let’s have some fun while doing good things.

And I really want a play day holiday. Did your school do that, just have a day to play games and have fun? Wouldn’t it be great if we could do that worldwide? We’d all get to ride bikes with bells and toss inflatable balls or whatever else makes us happy. Heck, we could call it Fun Day!

Is there a holiday you think we should add to our calendars? Tell us about it in the comments. And don’t forget to check what the other authors on this hop think we should add.

In the meantime, stay safe and hope to see you next week.

May 4, 2020

May 4th is the unofficial Star Wars Day. (May the Fourth be with you.) What other days should be recognized as holidays but aren’t?

Author: P.J. MacLayne