The Problem with Mystery Writers

That's easy: there are too darned many of us.
I just returned from Magna Cum Murder, which is a small con. Attending cons, while a lot of fun, always underscores how many people are out there writing mysteries--and a lot of them a pretty good at it.
One man at an informal discussion said it out loud, "I know I'm as good as a lot of the best-selling authors, but I just can't get recognized."
It's true.
You get good--even great--reviews. You get nominated for awards. You splash your book covers all over the Internet, the local bookstore, wherever. People tell you how much they loved the latest book.
But there are hundreds of authors with similar stories.
Now, some fudge a little, saying they're "best-selling" authors when they mean that one day they hit the top ten of a very tiny slice of the Amazon pie. From what I hear, you can manipulate your subgenre to the point that you are in the top sellers for that subgenre because there might only be a few dozen books listed. There are other ways to do that, too. For example, I could call myself a best-selling author because for one week in the summer of 2010, my local bookstore sold more of my historical mysteries than any other. They posted that on their site, so I could...well, you get the idea.
Anyway, the trouble with being a mystery writer is that most of us are cognizant of the fact that there are lots of similar books written by lots of similar writers. It's hard if you have any sort of modesty to scream that your books are the best ever.
That doesn't keep some from doing it.
For most of us, the hard-sell just isn't a comfortable way to go. We might feel--maybe know--that we're as good as most, better than some, but that just isn't going to get much attention. Modesty is a wonderful human characteristic. For an author, it is probably a predictor of anonymity. 

I Solve the Nation's Problems

War, hunger, disease, invaders, and corruption. You’ve heard a plethora of proposals to end these scourges, but we know in our hearts that none of them will work. The plans we hear about come too late, offer too little, or are just plain dumb.

I have a solution that will work. Guaranteed. Here it is.

I propose that every household in the United States designate a sacrifice: a member they will give up for the good of the nation. Maybe you’ve got a kid who just isn’t working out like you hoped. Maybe your mother-in-law has been living with you for three years now and everybody’s pretty sick of having her around. Maybe your spouse has gotten expensive what with knee replacements and prescription Viagra.

There could be any number of reasons for your choice, but make one—let’s say by April 15th. Within three months, the designated sacrifice will cease to exist. Note: You won’t have to watch. Someday he’ll leave home and never come back, or you’ll go out for a gallon of milk and find her gone when you return.
This plan is fair, effective, even (sorta) Biblical. If it isn’t American, maybe it should be.

If you’re thinking it sounds harsh, give me a moment. Here are the advantages.

*The population will drop drastically, lessening strain on budgets, housing, medical care, etc.

*The old, sick, and incompetent will likely be most often chosen, so health care costs will plummet.

*For all you homophobes, the gay population will be reduced by almost 50%, since they’re mostly households of two.

*Jobs will be created. Somebody’s got to do the actual work of this plan, which will involve list-making, phone calls and record-keeping, and, of course, the wet work. Again, we’ve got plenty of people qualified for those jobs—in the government and in prison. (Another advantage: less jail crowding and a chance at fulfilling work for those less than completely socialized).

The details:
If you have a relative outside your home whose removal would benefit the nation, (ex-spouse, street bum, prison inmate, or college student) you can designate him or her by providing five (5) supporting testimonials. We will hunt him/her up--maybe "down" is a better term--and make that person your sacrifice. You’ll still be making a contribution, and we appreciate that.

Illegal aliens could be offered a deal: if they give up TWO household members, they can stay. That way we still have enough workers for all those jobs we don’t want, but not as many scary foreigners as before.

Incentives could be given to rid the nation of wrong-doers. If a family gives up a member with a rap sheet, they get—oh, maybe one of those foreclosed homes the banks are all stuck with.
If a family simply can’t make the choice for themselves, a neighborhood poll could be taken. That teenager who drives by your house full speed or the guy who borrows your tools and never returns them could be history.

So there it is. If it seems heartless, consider this. How much worse is it to let people go on with no jobs, no medical care, no homes, and no politician anywhere who can figure out how to help? My way is quick, and admit it—unless you’re the one chosen, you won’t be losing much. Everyone has a relative who just takes up space or even pollutes the space around him or her. We need group sanction, permission from society to say: “This is where it ends.” It’s kind of like that TV show "Intervention" but with permanent results.

And just so you know, this plan can be re-instituted as needed if things start to go awry again. History shows us that it often takes more than one purge to really set things right again. ;)

Like An Author? Help Her Out!

I've said this before, but it bears repeating. If you like an author, there are three very important things you can do that don't cost you a penny. The world of publishing is flooded these days with lots of authors, some great, some good, and some who should be slapped for putting their garbage on public display.
Because of that, authors need help from their fans. It doesn't take much, and it doesn't take long. Here's what you can do.
Thing #1-Contact your library and tell them about the book. Libraries need input into what readers want to read, and they, too, struggle to wade through the thousands of books that come out each month. They use reviews and public input, so you can be that input. Talk to the acquisitions librarian and tell him/her why you think an author or book is a good buy for them. It helps to have specific info like the ISBN, the publisher, and the correct name of the author (all available on the author's website, for sure). Some libraries have a form you can fill out to do this.
Thing #2-Write a review and post it on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. A lot of people don't feel qualified to do this, but come on. If you can read, you can tell other people why you chose a certain book and how you felt when you finished it. You don't have to comment on the underlying theme or do character analysis. Amazon reviews can be as tiny as 20 words--how hard can it be?
Thing #3-"Like" your author wherever you can: Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, etc. Honestly, I'm not sure how, but it moves their info upward in the hierarchy so others are more likely to see it. I have several friends on FB who repost my stuff so their friends who aren't my friends (yet) see it.
Things like these help an up-and-coming author a lot. Actually it helps any author, so go ahead and "like" Lee Child if you must, but consider "liking" us lesser known types as well. We're the ones that need the exposure.
And thank you for your support.

Guest Post: Donna Fletcher Crow--Those Valiant Victorians

Today I welcome Donna Fletcher Crow to my blog. She makes an interesting case for the Victorians, even though I'm a Tudor girl myself! Thanks for visiting, Donna!

Those Valiant Victorians

I love history. Especially English history. All periods of it. But I have always had a special fondness for the Victorians. It’s easy to look back on just about any period of history as being a simpler time in which to live than our own. (I do love my rose-colored glasses!) But it at least sometimes seems refreshing to think of dealing with different problems, if not necessarily simpler ones. (And, no, I don’t want to talk about the Black Death.)
In defense of my partiality, however, I’ll point out, along with the inestimable Wikipedia, that the Victorian Era comprised almost 64 years of “peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence.” The thing I find most endearing about the Victorians, however, was their energy and, in keeping with the aforementioned self-confidence, the belief that they could do anything and fix anything.
It wasn’t that their period was without problems. One need only point to urban poverty, child labour, conditions in mines, factories, prisons. . . Almost all a result of the practically overnight turn from being an agrarian culture to industrialization— certainly as major a turning point in human history, if not bigger, than our own technological revolution. Unprecedented economic and population growth, changes in farming, mining and manufacturing methods sent people flooding into the cities with all the accompanying social problems.
Problems for which many people blame the Victorians, but I rise to their defense and point out that, yes, these things did get out of hand, but as soon as the energetic, confident Victorians became aware of the problems, they set out to correct them, largely because they saw it as their Christian duty.
This is the world of my Lord Danvers Mysteries. As a mystery writer, I have a special interest in crimes of the period and so in each book in the series my amateur sleuths Charles, Lord Danvers, and the lovely Lady Antonia, find themselves embroiled in two mysteries, one a true crime as well as one of my own devising which I have wrapped around the historical facts.
In A Most Inconvenient Death, the first in the series, Charles, Charles Danvers, still in mourning for his lost love Charlotte, hopes to find escape from his ghosts at the country estate of his oldest friend Sir John Boileau. The events surrounding the coming of age of Sir John’s son and heir have much of Norfolk astir— until the peace of an autumn evening is shattered by a brutal murder.
The police are quick to point to a quarrelsome farmer but Lord Danvers has his doubts. As the local magistrate, Sir John has an interest in the investigation. But is the real connection much closer to home? And does Danvers owe the greater loyalty to an old friend or to the truth?
Then Danvers is even more unsettled by the entrance of the alluring Lady Antonia Hoover.
The Stanfield Hall Murders were the sensation they are portrayed to be, the elaborate coming of age celebrations and the ensuing dramatic trial are all recorded history. Lady Antonia, Lord Danvers, his irrepressible man Hardy and their pioneering aeronautical adventures are my contribution.
Donna Fletcher Crow is the author of 36 books, mostly novels dealing with British history.

The Lord Danvers Mysteries feature historical Victorian crimes within fictional stories. A MOST INCONVENIENT DEATH is set on a country estate in Norfolk, GRAVE MATTERS begins with the opening of the Crystal Palace in London before Charles and Antonia fly off to Scotland in his aerostat for their honeymoon. TO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN finds the couple in Canterbury where Antonia has complications enough battling with the dark secret she has kept from her husband even before she becomes embroiled in a grisly murder.o see more about The Lord Danvers series and Donna’s other books as well as pictures from her garden and research trips go to: www.DonnaFletcherCrow.com.

Her blog is at: http://www.donnafletchercrow.com/articles.php

and you can follow her on Facebook at: http://ning.it/eLjgYp