Several years ago I wrote a booklet for wives called "The Care and Feeding of Husbands." I figure if they sell books on the care and feeding of gerbils shouldn't husbands have one too?  I also wrote a book of stories about our family called "Crazy Quilt of Memories."

If you are interested in buying a copy of either booklet, e-mail me at the link on the homepage. 

A short story written by me titled "My Prison" was originally published on the Stinky Dog Press website.  "Deadline" was published in Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine in their Fall 2002 issue, and "The Cat's Meow" was published in their Fall 2003 issue.       
ABOUT MY WRITING
View of the
Massac County
Courthouse
Click on the book cover
to read a couple
of the stories.
Sooo, how'd I do it?  How did I manage to write and publish a murder mystery when I was past the polite side of fifty?  It wasn't easy, but it was fun. 

I'd been a mystery lover for years, and one of the best ways to learn to write is to read the best and see how they do it.  That said, my first rough draft was so rough it wasn't fit to line an outhouse.  But I was determined to learn and to succeed. I joined some writer's groups, notably Sisters in Crime, the SINC Internet Chapter and Guppys, an online chapter of SINC for unpublished and newly published writers.  I did volunteer work for both groups.  Lurking--as non-parcipitation among internet group members is known, is not for me--I'm a hands on gal.  This approach brought me into contact with many wonderful writers, some unknown, some about to become household names, and some of my writing heroes.  I listened and I learned, and I found my publisher through another IC member, Chris Freeburn. 
I also took on-line classes on writing, from G. Miki Hayden at Painted Rock (PR is now out of business) and Bonnie Hearn Hill at Writer's Digest.  I got into a critique group, and I polished my baby until it was ready to submit.  I entered Murder In Metropolis in seven contests, and the manuscript placed in the finals of four, taking second in one contest.  That let me know I was on the right track.  But most important, I listened to the advice of writers far better at this than I will ever be, and I learned. 

If you want to write but aren't sure you can do it, I highly recommend "The Right To Write" by Julia Cameron.  And there are lots of good books on mystery writing, including "Writing the Mystery" by G. Miki Hayden, and "Don't Murder Your Mystery" by Chris Roerden, two of my favorites. 

Besides learning more about writing, I had to research various subjects for my book.  I researched the history of Metropolis and our famous statue, and have been known to stand on the street corner and spout the appropriate facts to passing tourists.  And as I said on another webpage, I spent time with the coroner, Steve Farmer, and Sheriff Bob Griffey and his staff, getting facts.  I also took two basic death investigation classes on the internet and bought books on crime and death. Sometimes gross but always facinating, and it pays to have your facts straight.  Much of what a writer learns in research never makes it into the book, or is edited out later, but having the knowledge, I have found, makes it possible to create the atmosphere you want that will come through to the reader.  And it's fun! 

If you want to write, then sit down at the computer, typewriter, pencil and paper, or wherever, and just start.  Don't think about two or three hundred pages.  Just write the first scene.  That's what I did with book two which is now in print.  I visualized the scene in my mind and began to describe it.  Next thing I knew, a new character walked into the yard...and then another.  In a short time I had a VERY rough draft.  It took a year and a run through a couple of critique groups to polish it enough for the publisher to see it. 

I have stories to tell, and I want to tell them.  I've started a new series, set in Metropolis but featuring different characters than the Sheriff Dalton series.  I bet you have stories too.  Put them on paper or computer monitor and see where it leads you.  Yes, finding a publisher is tough.  And once you cross that hurdle and hold the book in your hands, the real work begins...selling it.  And actually you are selling yourself.  Your name.  You have to get out there and meet people.  The internet, with all it's difficulties, is perfect for promoting new writers.  And who knows, maybe you will meet some of your heroes along the way, along with new friends?  Good luck!