IInnSSiinnCC The Sisters in Crime Newsletter Volume XXII • Number 3 September 2009

SinC Puts Forward StroPnick. MgarySis anlawaardt- eat tfheoRefreren2ce D0esk0and9as -the2lib0rary1’s PR0 co - ByCRlicohébyeers,tabuItsitletriubl,y PseeamsstlPikereyessitderednayt that winning poet and short ordinator. One of the very best parts of her job is Libby Hellmann called to ask if I’d consider tak - story writer and former bringing writers — especially mystery writers — ing a spot on the Sisters in Crime National Board recording engineer. She to the library. “There is absolutely nothing better of Directors. These four years have been chal - lives in Nashville. than for a library user to tell me they have been lenging and so very rewarding and it’s with mixed Treasurer Kathryn reading a mystery author because they met her at feelings that I step down. On behalf of the nomi - R. Wall is the author of the library and that they can’t wait for her next nating committee, I am delighted to offer SinC Covenant Hall and book to come out!” members a very strong slate for the 2009-2010 eight previous Bay Tan - Nancy Martin board. Elections will take place at Bouchercon in ner mysteries set in the (Member At Large) Indiana. If you’re not planning to attend, please Mary Saums Low Country of South wrote more than 40 ro - vote by mail, using the ballot on page 15 in this is - Carolina. The Mercy mance novels before sue. And now, the slate: Oak , released in 2008, turning to her real pas - President-elect was a Southeastern In - sion – murder myster - Marcia Talley is the dependent Book - ies. Her first mystery, Agatha and Anthony sellers Alliance nomi - How to Murder a Mil - award-winning author nee for fiction. A for - lionaire , was nominated of Without a Grave mer accountant and for an Agatha and and seven previous Ohio native, Kathy launched the Blackbird mystery novels featur - lives with her husband Sisters mystery series. In Nancy Martin ing breast cancer sur - on Hilton Head Is - 2009, Romantic Times magazine awarded her a vivor and sleuth, Han - land. Lifetime Achievement award for amateur sleuth nah Ives. Marcia is also Jim Huang (Book - mysteries. She lives in Pittsburgh and blogs at author/editor of two seller Liaison) is an Kathryn Wall The Lipstick Chronicles. star-studded collabora - Marcia Talley editor, bookseller and Charlaine Harris tive novels, Naked Came the Phoenix and I’d Kill publisher, and he also often writes about the mys - (Member At Large) , for That . Her short stories appear in more than a tery genre. He is the co- New York Times best - dozen collections. She lives in Annapolis, MD, chair of Bouchercon selling author and win - with a husband who loves to sail and a cat who 2009, the 40th annual ner of an Anthony doesn’t. World Mystery Con - Award, is best known Incoming Vice Pres - vention. A New York for her series of novels ident Cathy Pickens’ native and a graduate of about Sookie Stack - first novel, Southern Swarthmore College, house, a telepathic bar - Fried , won the St. Mar - he lives in Carmel, IN, maid in Louisiana fea - tin’s Malice Domestic with his wife Jennie Ja - Charlaine tured in the HBO se - Award for Best Tradi - cobson and their two ries True Blood . She al - tional Mystery and was daughters. Harris so writes books about a finalist for Romantic Jim Huang Mary Callahan Harper Connelly, who Times Best New Mys - Boone (Library Liaison) is a life-long reader of finds the dead for a liv - tery. She is an attorney, mysteries. She's a trans - ing. Charlaine has Cathy Pickens a founding board planted Southerner been a member of Sis - member of the Mecklenburg Forensic Medicine who lives in Bowling ters in Crime for more Program, and a business professor. She lives in Green, OH, with her than 20 years and is Charlotte. husband, three cats, serving on the board SecretaryMary Saums' new series stars two and two dogs. She has for the second time. gun-toting 60-something ladies, Jane Thistle and worked at the Wood Charlaine lives in Phoebe Twigg. They made their debut in Thistle County District Public southern Arkansas. and Twigg , a finalist for the 2008 SIBA Award for Library in Bowling Julianne Balmain Fiction, presented by the Southeastern Indepen - Green since 1997. Her (aka Nadia Gordon) Julianne dent Booksellers Association. The second book, time at the library is (Monitoring Project) Mighty Old Bones , was a Romantic Times Top split between working Balmain Mary Boone (Continued on page 6) Get aClue Sisters in Crime Newsletter 2009 - 2010 Slate ...... 1 The mission of Sisters in Crime is to promote the pro - fessional development and advancement of women President’s Message ...... 3 crime writers to achieve equality in the industry. Judy Clemens , President Jim Huang , Bookstore Liaison SinC Into Great Writing! ...... 3 Marcia Talley ,Vice President/President Elect Mary Boone , Library Liaison Mar y Saums , Secretary Charlaine Harris, At Large Kathryn Wall, Treasurer/Authors Coalition Liaison Nancy Martin , At Large Breakfast at Bouchercon ...... ……..3 Robin Burcell ,Chapter Liaison Julianne Balmain , Monitoring Project Cathy Pickens, Publicity Roberta Isleib, Past President Books into Movies ...... 4 Bonnie J. Cardone , InSinC Editor/ Graphic Designer Peggy Moody , Web Maven Do Advances Matter? ...... 5 Beth Wasson , Executive Secretary, P.O. Box 442124, Lawrence, KS 66044-8933; Phone: 785/842-1325; Fax 785/856-6314; e-mail: [email protected] Cyber Search Warrants ...... 6 Presidents of Sisters in Crime 1987-88 Sara Paretsky ; 1988-89 Nancy Pickard ; 1989-90 Margaret Maron ; 1990-91 Susan Dunlap ; 1991- SinC to Launch New Website ...... …..7 92 Carolyn G. Hart ; 1992-93 P.M. Carlson ; 1993-94 Linda Grant ; 1994-95 Barbara D’Amato ; 1995-96 Elaine Raco Chase ; 1996-97 Annette Meyers ; 1997-98 Sue Henry ; 1998-99 Medora Sale ; 1999-00 Bar - bara Burnett Smith ; 2000-01 Claire Carmichael McNab ; 2001-02 Eve K. Sandstrom ; 2002-03 Kate Flora ; SinC at PLA ...... 7 2003-04 Kate Grilley ; 2004-05 Patricia Sprinkle ; 2005-06 Libby Hellmann ; 2006-07 Rochelle Krich ; 2007-08 Roberta Isleib; 2008-09 Judy Clemens Law and Fiction ...... 8 Chapter News ...... 8 DEADLINES AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES The next Sisters in Crime Newsletter will be Send columns, articles, ideas and praise via e- Crime on Loan ...... …..9 out in December. The deadline for all submissions mail. is October 20 . Please send mailing address, phone number, Chapter Spotlight ...... 9 Members’ publications since the last edition of and e-mail with submissions. If you have an idea the newsletter will be listed in The Docket. Please for a story, please query the editor: Conferences ...... 10 include publication dates when submitting. Bonnie J. Cardone Docket material will be due October 15 and 805/938-1156 should be sent to: E-mail: b jcardon e@ hotmail. com SinC and NEIBA ...... 10 Patricia Gulley 1743 N. Jantzen Avnue SinC at Southern Festival of Books ... 10 Portland, OR 97217-7849 E-mail: [email protected] Moving? Q & A with Alex Sokoloff ...... 11 Change of address notifications Other honors, awards and events of great “pith should be sent to both Beth Wasson, The Docket ...... 12 and moment” should be written up as short, sepa - SinC executive secretary, P.O. Box rate notices. These can be as short as a paragraph. 442124, Lawrence, KS 66044-8933 No publicity/promotion of individual members, Malice Board Meeting Minutes ...... 13 please. and to Rowan Mountain, Inc., P.O. Box We particularly welcome reprints from SinC 10111, Blacksburg, VA 24062-0111. 2009 Publishers’ Summit ...... …13 chapter newsletters. Finding the Write Time ...... ……14 Ghost Story Contest ...... ……14 Visit Sisters in Crime online at: “Madly” in Love ...... 15 www.sistersincrime.org 2009-2010 Ballot ...... 15 Promotional materials available to SinC members — Have your bookmarks or postcards designed in color or black and white. SinC’s publicity mailing list of 5,000 bookstores, libraries, reviewers, etc. is available via direct ad - dressing through Rowan Mountain, Inc., P.O. Box 10111, Blacksburg, VA 24062-0111. For more information, Deadlines ...... 16 write Gavin Faulkner. E-mail: [email protected]. Web: www.rowanmountain.com. Phone 540/449-6178.

JUST THE FACTS • InSinC Newsletter is the official publication of Sisters in Crime International and is published four times a year. • Dues and other Sisters in Crime correspondence (membership, orders for booklets, changes of address, etc.) may be sent to M. Beth Wasson, SinC Executive Secretary, P.O. Box 442124, Lawrence, KS 66044-8933; Phone: 785/842-1325; Fax: 785/856-6314; E-mail: [email protected]. • Information in the Newsletter is submitted and reprinted from sources listed in each article. Where required, permission to reprint has been granted and noted. SinC does not investigate each submission independently and articles in no way constitute an endorsement of products or services offered. • Other information on Sisters in Crime is available from the President, who is the only person who may speak for the organization officially. Send queries and requests to: Judy Clemens, 5859 Road L, Ottawa, OH 45875; E-mail: [email protected]. •No material may be reprinted without written permission from Sisters in Crime. Sisters in Crime©2009

September 2009 - 2 along the way to keep the reader turning those pages. Chris Roerden: A Year of Change and Don’t Sabotage Your Submission. Voice is Confirmation the key to a submis - ByW Jhuedny R Coblermta ehannsd,e Sd mineC th Pe rgeresaitd Seeanl tof Office last year I was excited to jump into the sion's being read. Edi - work. There were so many things to look forward to! The brand new strategic plan, a tors evaluate the revamped website, new columns in the newsletter, the thriving writer's voice long be - listserv with its popular Mentor Mondays, the 2009 Summit trip, Hallie Ephron fore characters and an energetic membership, and a fantastic board. The year has plot can be judged on definitely lived up to my expectations. their own merits. Discover how manuscripts are As you all know, and as you will see confirmed in the 2009 screened, why 95percent are rejected almost Summit Bulletin, we live in a time of industrial change. Technolo - immediately, and ways gies are shifting, the economy is untrustworthy, and publishing you can beat the odds houses seem to merge, fire, and hire on a whim. As writers we are and survive the approval given no solid ground on which to stand. We do, however, have process as we explore the firm places to rest on the journey, such as our individual agents, elusive quality of voice editors (when they’re not being hired and fired), trusted readers, with interactive exercis - friends in the industry, and, of course, our Sisters and Brothers in Crime. es that expand your op - This year has shown me once again that while we have our differences of opinions in SinC tions and sharpen your — as any siblings do — we also have a body of people committed to the mystery genre and to style. seeing it not only survive, but thrive. Our membership is packed with experts in many fields The cost of the work - — as evidenced in this issue of InSinC — with fantastic writers, dedicated and knowledgeable shop is $50 for SinC librarians and booksellers, loyal readers, and other industry professionals. We have the ability members, $150 for non - to make a difference in our profession, and the dedication to see it through. members, dinner and Chris Roerden The SinC board has put in hours and hours of volunteer work this year, and I am grateful coffee break included. The deadline for regis - for the commitment and enthusiasm shown. The 2009-2010 board will give just as many tration at: www.sistersincrime.org is September hours, and will continue to dream up new opportunities and solidify the work begun this 22, 2009. NO REFUNDS. Registration will be year, and in many preceding years. capped at 200. For questions contact Beth Was - SinC is not just a group of women who like to write. It is a full-blooded community of son at: [email protected]. women and men with the ability to achieve professional change. I am proud to be a part of it. Discounted conference hotel rates are of - fered through the Bouchercon website at: www. Judy Clemens may be reached at [email protected]. sistersincrime.org. This workshop supports SinC’s Professional Education and Career Development goal. Bouchercon Writing Workshop: Breakfast at SSiisnterCs in CIrnimet woill bGe spronesoarintg aW writirngitimnangusc! ript of a com - workshop on October 14, 2009, at the Hyatt pleted novel or novel- Bouchercon Regency in Indianapolis, IN, the day before the in-progress. Sisters in Crime will hold its Bouchercon World Mystery Convention be - 5:45 to 7:00 pm: annual breakfast/business meet - gins. The SinC into Dinner with Nancy ing at Bouchercon on Friday, Oc - Great Writing! pro - Pickard tober 16, 2009, at the Hyatt Re - gram features semi - Four-time Edgar gency. It will start at 7:30. nars by Donald nominee and winner The cost for members is $20, Maass, Hallie of Agatha, Anthony, nonmembers pay $30. Ephron and Chris Shamus and Macavity To reserve your spot, send a Roerden, along with awards, Nancy is the Nancy Pickard check to: Sisters in Crime, P.O. dinner with keynote author of 17 novels Box 442124, Lawrence,KS speaker Nancy and dozens of short stories as well as a founding 66044. It must arrive on or be - Pickard. The pro - member and former president of SinC fore October 5, 2009. gram will run from (www.NancyPickardmysteries.com). Tickets will not be issued, your 1:30 to 9:00 pm. 7:15 to 9:00 pm (choose one workshop) name will be on the reservation Donald Maass 1:30 to 5:30 pm: Hallie Ephron: Twisting a Mystery Plot: list at the door. Please include Writing the Break - The Secret's in the Secrets. Plot is probably your e-mail address if you wish out Novel with New York literary agent Don - “the” critical element in a mystery novel. It has to receive confirmation that your ald Maass (www.maassagency.com). to be surprising, believable and compelling. In check has arrived. This intensive, hands-on writing workshop this workshop we will talk about how to shape This project supports SinC’s Member - introduces powerful techniques for taking your your novel so it delivers — grabbing the reader ship Growth, Networking, and Forums fiction to the next level. (For advanced fiction at the start and ending with a satisfying wallop for Members goal. writers.) Participants must bring the as puzzle pieces fall into place, revealing secrets

September 2009 - 3 My Books Became Movies

all new linens and the carpets had been freshly packed. We waited in the Green Room, stepped ByA ElmlloesntW t Bhryee yrireutarm sh ago , aI rea dL thati Stisterls ien sHhampeooeldp. Bed bfugrs boe gomne! Sisteurp tso th ei pnlate, pCitchred ioumr booeks, a nd after - Crime was sponsoring a conference on Selling The 1940s-50s era motel I stayed in was L- ward indulged in refreshments and chatter. Your Book to Hollywood. It was to be held in shaped, with all the rooms facing a small pool I was prepared with my press kit and a copy of November 2006, in Hollywood, that fabled city with the requisite Hollywood palm trees. As a my recently published fourth book, Raiders of of lost and found dreams. special bonus, the concierge was more than will - the Lost Corset . As soon as I started describing Like any other writer worth her printer’s ink ing to part with information, no bribes re - my protagonist Lacey Smithsonian and her “Ex - and paper, I believed my Crime of Fashion mys - quired. As I signed in, he was unexpectedly tra-Fashionary Perception,” something clicked. teries, featuring fashion reporter Lacey Smith - chatty, sharing the names of the other mystery All three of us felt the connection with the ma - sonian, were perfect for the silver screen. But writers from the conference who were staying terial. Rona and Monika liked the Crime of what I heard from a trusted professional was there and that they currently were not in their Fashion series, they liked Lacey, and they asked this: “Wait until you have a big bestseller, and rooms. He did everything but give me the for copies of the first four books to take home then Hollywood will come to you.” Harsh ad - passkey. and read. vice for a writer of paperback originals. Happily, everyone connected with the con - I didn’t hear anything until the spring 2007, Still, the voice of intuition nagged me like a ference was just as helpful as my concierge. by which time I was beginning to think my gut Nike ad: “Do it. Do it now. Don’t worry about They were friendly and informative. I ran into a feeling had led me astray. But when I finally the money, the time, the energy it takes, or the lot of friends at the conference, including some heard something, it was good news. They were odds of success. Something is going to happen. pals from the D.C. area. still very interested. Rona wanted an option. Just do it.” She seemed to have the energy and enthu - It took a few minutes, maybe 15, in siasm to see the project through the which I wondered what I could lose — wacky wilderness of Hollywood. My other than the money. I reached for the agent at the time worked out an option plastic and put my money down. After for the first four books for one year. I all, trying and failing is better than won - won’t reveal the terms of the option, but dering what might have been. believe me, it was nothing like you read I will always be grateful that I paid at - about in those how-I-shot-to-fame-and- tention. I attended the conference, fortune-in-the-blink-of-an-eye stories. which gave me the opportunity to pitch The ball was in their court. I waited for my book to producers. something to happen. Then the Writers Last June, two of my Crime of Fash - Guild went on strike, and rightly so, after ion mysteries, Killer Hair and Hostile their contract negotiations fell through. Makeover , premiered as television As you can imagine, that put activity on movies on the Lifetime Movie Network. On the D.C. set of Killer Hair are (from left) the option, and nearly everything else in They featured Lacey Smithsonian, a Maggie Lawson, Monika Skerbelis, Ellen By - Hollywood, on hold. By early 2008, rec - fashion reporter who solves crimes with ognizing the impact of the strike, we re - fashion clues in Washington, D.C., the errum, Rona Edwards and Victor Webster. newed the option for another year. City that Fashion Forgot. Lacey has a hot From Friday morning through Sunday Then in May 2008, while I was reporting on a boyfriend, a job that allows her to make satiric evening, SinC really pulled out all the stops, un - government meeting, I got a call from Rona. observations about life and death in our Na - der the able direction of then-president Lifetime was interested in developing two of the tion’s Capital, and a love for vintage clothing. Rochelle Krich, along with Lisa Seidman and books, the first and third in the series, as televi - One reviewer commented, “A murder mystery Mae Woods. During a packed weekend, atten - sion movies. set in the frothy world of fashion seems so obvi - dees enjoyed a tour of Sony Studios and panel Over the following months I heard bits and ous as to be overdue.” discussions with television writers, develop - pieces of news from Hollywood, encouraging So obvious. The truth is no one was promot - ment executives, and producers. We also attend - and otherwise. I appreciated that Rona kept me ing my books to Hollywood. It was up to me, ed a special pitch session by Rona Edwards and in the loop on developments. She helped keep with the help of Sisters in Crime. Here’s a snap - Monika Skerbelis, producers and authors of the the deal moving forward, until the project shot of the conference. book I Liked It, Didn’t Love It: Screenplay De - moved, through all the usual obstacles, from a Hollywood Bedbugs velopment from the Inside Out . "blinking green light" to being really green- I didn’t worry about a thing, until about a On Sunday, each writer had the opportunity lighted. Filming for the Lifetime Movie Net - week before the conference when I read some to pitch a selected book during a five-minute work films started in January. The shows star online reviews of my motel, which reportedly session with selected producers. In Hollywood Maggie Lawson as Lacey Smithsonian, Victor was crawling with bedbugs. I found out later getting a whole five minutes to make your pitch Webster as Vic Donovan, and Mark Consuelos that lots of writers canceled their reservations is considered the height of luxury. as Tony Trujillo. In addition, Mary McDonnell there for that very reason. We were matched with producers based on appeared as Lacey’s mother in Hostile Makeover . What to do? I called my sister Barbara, who our work and the producers’ interests. The Although the movies were filmed in Vancou - had been a health inspector in California (of workshop was on Friday, the five-minute session ver, exteriors were shot in D.C. Many of my restaurants and swimming pools). She coun - on Sunday, so there was plenty of time to perfect sharp-eyed friends spotted me in a cameo walk - seled that in a city like L.A. that hosts a lot of your pitch. ing in front of the White House and the actors. foreign travel, bedbugs happen. In the wake of The Pitch It was the icing on the cake. all the bad publicity, she said the motel had I don’t know exactly how many writers All in all, the movie experience re-empha - probably made a serious clean-up effort and it pitched their books that afternoon, but there sized a few things I already knew: would be fine. Barbara was right. When I ar - were 80-plus attending the conference. The • Listening to your quiet, yet relentless, gut rived, my room was freshly painted, there were rooms at the Writers Guild West were nearly (Continued on page 8) September 2009 - 4 The InSinC Inquirer:

who has been published by major houses for house, also a PBO. The advance regressed to By Bonnie J. CaArdonde vancemosre th a—n a deca dDe.” Myo star teTr salahry ate Banytam M$5,00a0. tter? InASdinvCan Eceds iatorer a concern of many authors, Dell was $5,000 for each of three paperback orig - My eighth book began a new series. The ad - which is why The InSinC Inquirer attempted to inals in a three-book deal, which was standard at vances for it and the ninth book were $5,000 discover the range given by mystery publishers. the time. When Dell closed out their paperback each; for the 10th book it was $5,500; for the We asked: What's original line and I moved to Morrow/Avon, the 11th, $6,000, and for the 12th, $6,500. the starter salary and advance was the same, $5,000 per PBO. Advances for the 13th, 14th and 15th books what's the top of the But I received $8,000 per book in a hard - were $7,000 each. The last one went to hardback, range? Do advances al - back/trade paper two-book deal with my present which didn't increase the advance. (Almost back ways increase with sub - publisher. They’re a smaller company and al - to where I was on book two, if you don't count in - sequent contracts? though mainstream, carefully estimate how many flation!) Does the amount of books they think they can sell before making an The 16th book advance was $10,000 your advance indicate offer. This is done at the major houses, too, with (WHOOPEE!), with an extra $10,000 if it's how many copies of editors who wish to acquire an author being re - published in hardback. New contract. The same your book the publish - quired to fill out some sort of spreadsheet that advance/conditions apply for the 17th and 18th er estimates they can calculates/estimates how much a book might books. (HB or PB is strictly the publisher's call, of sell? Does hitting the bestseller list guarantee a make, based on past sales and other factors, like a course.) million dollar income? “hook” they think might improve the mar - Obviously, advances do not always increase We sent our survey to 14 Sisters, guaranteeing ketability of the present title. with subsequent contracts. anonymity if they responded. Eight did and all Although winning both the Agatha and An - Madame Y , “a mystery writer.” I currently but one took advantage of that. We provided the thony awards didn’t make a big difference in my make $38,500 for my hardcover mysteries with a pseudonyms, they provided their own descrip - income (only real sales can do that), when I was contract with a major publisher for two more. tions. between publishers the Agatha win definitely I've won two major awards. Books seem to be Madame U , “a professional writer.” I started was responsible for another publisher picking up selling nationally. making $5,000 for paperbacks in the late ’90s and my series, which had been dropped. Madame Z , “30-year, multi-genre career writ - make $15,000 for a paperback now at a major I wish I knew if hitting the bestseller list guar - er.” I started my career in the heyday of the histor - publisher. The books have earned out their ad - antees a million dollar income! But it probably ical romance. At the time, my agent said the ad - vances. Sales dipped a bit last year, due to the doesn’t. We all know NY Times bestselling au - vance was a measure of how many copies of the economy (I hope). I've won two major awards. thors who are far from millionaires. book the publisher guessed they could sell — Madame V , “a multi-published, high midlist Madame X , “author of 17 books in two gen - meaning that my advance would earn out, but I'd author.” First relevant book published in late res.” My agent advises me not to get fixated on ad - probably not make much more in royalties. In 1980s. Three series. Several national awards. I vances. Her attitude is that big advances simply other words, the publisher pretty much decides don’t believe there is any way to predict whether cut into royalties. When I asked if making a com - the print run when they offer the writer a con - or when an author will climb from a starter ad - mitment to a larger advance wouldn't make the tract. It was a lesson to remember, because you vance to a significant advance. The books that are publisher more interested in getting behind the can always turn down a too-low advance offer going to be sold at a high level are determined by book, she replied, "Writers always think that, but and move on if you think you can do better. I've the publisher, not by the quality or quantity of ti - it doesn't.” earned out most of my advances since then, but tles or by author efforts. Publishers may pick any Go figure. only once did sales really exceed the advance (and kind of book from the most literary mystery to I've been published since 1988, with major that was for a work-for-hire romance novel in a the most hardboiled, but they make the choice. publishers, and only during the past two years series). That decision is the basis for advances. A pub - have I made a real profit. When I switched to mysteries about ten years lisher doesn’t expect an author to "earn out." That First, my agent takes 15 percent. Second, our ago, I started as a PBO writer, and received a is a fable. The publisher decides at what level the income tax guy advises me to sock away 40 per - $15,000 advance only because my agent (differ - book will be published, which determines how cent of what I get for taxes. ent from the first one!) pounded the desk and many copies they expect to sell, which deter - And writing isn't an inexpensive activity. I have made the case for my track record — I was a suc - mines how much they are willing to pay an au - to have a computer, an e-mail connection, maga - cessful romance writer who could bring new thor. The author is irrelevant except for the prod - zine subscriptions. I go to conventions. I buy readers to the genre — and that I had written the uct. (There are exceptions. Some mystery authors clothes for conventions. I use postage. I buy first book in the series in such a way that it would have very marketable careers or personalities.) books. I take people to lunch. I get bookmarks attract most of the dedicated female readers in Hitting the bestseller list for an extended peri - printed and mail them out. the mystery demographic. od may well lead to a million-dollar income, but As for my advances: My first book was sold to a I wrote the first three books in that series very again, the books that hit the lists are determined romance house. Their standard advance was fast, and they were published within a period of by the publisher. When the choice is made, pub - $5,000, and that's what I got. My second and 18 months — which I think was a big help in es - licity goes into high gear and reps pitch that book third books were with a major hardback house. I tablishing the series. Those books have earned far at the top of their list, especially to the chains. got $7,500 each. The fourth book was also with beyond their advances, which prompted my When book sales begin to rise, there is an all out that house — the advance dropped to $6,000. agent to ask for over twice that much for each of push. If 50,000 to 100,000 books are “sold” to the That series tanked after the third book and my the next books in the series ($35,000) in a hard - chains, that puts the book on the bestseller lists. publisher dropped it. My royalties were only a back/soft cover deal and nearly twice again Bestsellerdom is then a self-fulfilling prophecy. few thousand dollars. ($65,000) for each of the books after that con - People read the lists, go to the chains, the book is My fifth and sixth books were paperback origi - tract. But I had the feeling that the publisher did - stacked on the front table, and the book indeed nals (PBO), also with a major publisher. The ad - n't know how to make the leap in sales to The Big sells at a bestseller level. vances were $6,000 for the fifth, and $7,500 for Time, so I reluctantly moved to another publish - Madame W , “a multi-award-winning author the sixth. My seventh book was with the same (Continued on page 12) September 2009 - 5 in and cleared the backlog. Depending on many circumstances, it can take hours, days or weeks to do a forensic exam. The bigger the hard drive, the an “addendum” must be requested from the judge more files have to be looked at and, while comput - BCy Fyelicbia Deonorv aSn aned arch Win ordear to grainr acacess nto thte evs idence. er forensic software has improved significantly, for KrYisotuy’rne pBloetrtninieg raway on your next bestseller A search warrant will seek permission to search your purposes, you don’t want your sleuth running whereby millions of dollars have gone missing and a home and any outbuildings on the property. The back two hours later saying she’s done a complete your sleuth is hot on the trail of a bad guy who has warrant must be very specific in regard to this, for examination of the hard drive. electronically “laundered” the funds. You’ve if the investigator is given permission to search a If exigent circumstances exist, things can be watched enough CSI and Numbers to know that home but has not asked for anything else, the speeded up. Investigators generally know the by forensically examining his computer, your garage or tool shed will be off-limits. types of files to look for in these cases and can sleuth could very well find evidence linking him to Sometimes, police officers will do a warrant and modify the software’s search to go straight to what the crime. She swoops into the bad guy’s house, then realize that something they need might not they’re looking for — instant text messages, for ex - snatches up the computer and tears back to the have been covered in the original search warrant. ample, if a life is at risk. Onsite forensic tools are crime lab to run a forensic analysis. An hour later, If your sleuth has a warrant to search a computer used regularly so the investigator can run prelimi - she finds the evidence she’s looking for and makes for records of illegal drug transactions and hap - nary searches in order to quickly access informa - an arrest. pens to stumble upon images of child pornogra - tion before actually seizing the computer and tak - Huh? Not in real life. phy, an addendum must be prepared in order to ing it to the lab. With more than 25 years of combined law en - request permission from the judge to expand the Needless to say, the process is lengthy, the hoops forcement experience, we thought we’d set the search of the original warrant. The computer can are many and the paperwork endless. Oh, and record straight on what really happens during a still be seized, but the scope of the warrant has to don’t forget those silly police reports that real-life cyber investigation, particularly the aspect of be changed, and the investigator cannot search for cops must write! If you want to be as realistic as search warrants because they are an art form, any more child pornography until authorization possible in your writing, ask someone in law en - mostly a dance, in and of themselves. Let’s start has been granted. forcement and don’t forget to “do it by the book.” with the basics. Cyber Crime Investigators are so used to “high The primary rule of thumb for any search war - tech” that sometimes they are caught off guard Felicia Donovan is a law enforcement technology rant is this: "Do you have the right to be where you when they stumble upon “low tech” evidence. and cyber crime expert with more than ten years’ ex - are and looking for the items you are looking for?" Kristyn was working a child predator case and had perience in law enforcement. She has assisted in You cannot just walk into someone’s home, toss a search warrant for the suspect's car. She was look - computer forensics cases and has been recognized by their car and take their things. The Fourth ing for evidence that the child had been in the car. the FBI for her work. She is the author of The Black Amendment of the Constitution guarantees the Her search warrant was for a digital camera, video Widow Agency series of books. right against unreasonable search and seizure. recorder, etc. Lo and behold, the bad guy had a Kristyn Bernier is a detective with 15 years’ expe - This applies to your person and your possessions. disposable camera with 35mm film in the car. rience who specializes in internet crimes and under - If someone lets you into their home, then you have Kristyn seized the camera but could not develop cover work. She is an investigator with the Northern a right to be there. If someone gives you permis - the photos until she applied for the addendum. New England Internet Crimes Against Children sion to search the front seat of the car, then that is Sure enough, the camera showed pictures of the Task Force and has received recognition for that all right as well. However, just because someone suspect and victim on an overnight trip. She was work from the U.S. Department of Justice. Visit allows the police into their home does not mean very glad she took the time to get the addendum. www.cybercrimefighters.biz for more information. the cops can search it. Nor does it mean that when If not, the pictures would have been thrown out as This article supports SinC’s Professional Educa - a person allows you to search the front seat of the “fruits of the poisonous tree” and the child mo - tion and Career Development goal. car that you can search the glove compartment as lester might not have been convicted. well. Kristyn has never had a judge deny this process. One of the quickest ways to lose a case and It shows that the officer is taking the high ground watch the bad guy walk away free is to search and being ethical and professional. When cops cut something you had no right to search and end up corners, cases are lost. Motions to suppress evi - with evidence. We call this “fruits of the poi - dence happen in cases every day, so why give a de - 2(C0on0tin9u-e2d f0rom1 0pa gSe 1l) ate sonous tree” and anything you find by that illegal fense attorney a reason to keep a bad guy on the search will be deemed inadmissible in court. No street? Judges are available to law enforcement is the author of the Sunny McCoskey Napa Valley evidence, no conviction. even “off-hours” for such matters. While the opti - mystery series, including Sharpshooter (featured in The rule of thumb is that if an investigator be - mum scenario is to go to a judge’s office or home the California Center for the Book documentary lieves evidence of a crime might be in a person’s and have the warrant signed in person, rural com - Mysterious California ), Death by the Glass , Murder possession or in their home or vehicle, he or she munities or timely issues might require that a Alfresco , and Lethal Vintage , all from Chronicle should always apply for a search warrant. Unless judge sign the warrant via fax. Books. Writing under her real name, Julianne Bal - there is true exigency (meaning life threatening or Search warrant applications and affidavits are main, she is the author of numerous books on sex, imminent destruction of evidence), or the evi - lengthy and detailed, and very time consuming, travel and generally dence is “in plain sight,” there is never an excuse thus most investigators keep a “boiler plate” tem - having a good time. for a police officer to not stop and get a warrant. plate of search warrant language (often running She lives in the San If your sleuth has the legal right to search a several pages) that can be modified and resaved as Francisco Bay Area. room or computer for child porn and happens to necessary. A cyber search warrant can easily run Incoming Chapter notice a meth pipe sitting next to the keyboard, it six to eight pages just for language explaining the Liaison Sandra Par - is fair game. That’s part of the discovery doctrine. more technical aspects of the search. The sub - shall is probably best Your sleuth will have applied for a search warrant stance of what the warrant is being applied for can known to SinC mem - not only for the computer and any other peripher - be added to reflect the actual circumstances of the bers as one of the origi - al hardware (printers, routers, etc.), but storage case. nal moderators of the media, including every possible kind of storage de - As for the actual forensic examination, under - national listserv. She continues to con - vice such as thumb drives, discs, etc. Your sleuth stand that many agencies and labs have substantial Sandra Parshall will be legally allowed to search any place these backlogs these days. We know of one state lab that tribute to the listserv things could feasibly be. If they uncover the stash was so backed up (we’re talking years) that they by coordinating and moderating Mentor Monday of drugs, those can also be seized and charged, but were assisted by the U.S. Secret Service, who came along with Leslie Budewitz. Sandy is the Agatha- September 2009 - 6 Award winning author of The Heat of the Moon , as well as Disturbing the Dead , and the March 2010 release Broken Places . Ellen Hart (Public Relations) is the au - SinC to Launch New Website thor of 25 crime novels. By“ TMhea Sricstiaer sT ina lCleriym, eS winebCsit Ve iisc seo oPldr-efasshidioennedt ,” a member complained to me via e-mail last She is a five-time win - spring. I sighed. As a board member, I’d heard that before. But I was happy to reply that one of the ner of the Lambda Lit - outcomes of last fall’s two-day strategic planning session at Bouchercon was a board decision to erary Award for Best revamp the SinC website from the ground up. Lesbian Mystery and a If the website remained a bit bland this spring, it’s because the board had held off on doing three-time winner of anything substantial to the "old" website while we were in the process of researching, testing and the Minnesota Book purchasing a turnkey association management software package that would meet all our mem - Award for Best Popular Ellen Hart Fiction. Entertainment Weekly named her one of the “101 Movers and Shakers in the Gay Entertainment Industry.” For the past 13 years, Ellen has taught mystery writing through the The Loft Literary Center, the largest independent writing community in the nation. She has been an active member of SinC for 20 years. Past President Judy Clemens is the Antho - ny and Agatha-nomi - nated author of the Grim Reaper and Stella bers’ needs. Our selection is Affiniscape — www.affiniscape.com — software already in use by Crown mystery series, more than 4,000 associations worldwide. short stories, and plays. This spring, SinC hired a contractor to consolidate, merge, dedupe, clean and upload the data As a professional stage from SinC's numerous (and diverse!) databases and spreadsheets. While that was going on, your manager, she began her SinC board worked with the software vendor to customize the templates chosen for our site. Web- career at The Actors' savvy SinC members are now in the process of transferring content from the old site to the new. Theater of Louisville, We are well on the way to providing you with a state-of-the-art website. and continued her work Judy Clemens Not only will the software work behind the scenes to streamline administrative functions of our in Philadelphia. Judy now lives in Ohio, where she organization — like membership, newsletters, and bulk mailing — but each member can have a founded the Ohio Chapter of SinC and has served password-protected customizable member profile page that can include an author photo or cover as judge and keynote speaker for Power of the Pen. image, as well as links to member websites, blogs and publications. One of the attractions of Affiniscape is the ease with which members can update their entries using a What-You-See-Is- What-You-Get text editing tool similar to Word, or in use on blog sites such as Typepad. Affinis - cape supports rolling renewals, allowing members to join/renew online, paying easily by credit card. An online calendar will link to SinC events and programs for which members can also regis - ter and pay online. And a members-only section will provide SinC resources such as bookclub, SinC at Public bookstore and library mailing lists, summit reports, event grants and so on. We are excited about Affiniscape and look forward to rolling it out to members this fall, hope - Library Association fully in conjunction with Bouchercon. Watch this space for details. Conference and This article supports SinC’s Membership Growth, Networking and Forums for Members goal. EMxahrk yioburi ctalieondan rs! Sisters in Crime will be an Attending authors may choose to sign and give exhibitor at the Public Library Association's bien - away books (ARCs are welcomed!), but that is not nial conference and exhibition, to be held March necessary to in order to help in the booth. Librari - Looking 24 to 26, 2010, in Portland, OR. This conference ans are always excited to meet SinC authors! is devoted exclusively to public librarians and pro - A local contact is needed to receive the promo - for an agent or help vides a great opportunity for our members to tional materials being sent for handouts by SinC with your manuscript? make connections with the librarians who put members unable to attend the conference. SinC their books into their patrons’ hands. authors who are unable to attend PLA can still Check out the Guppies Author members are invited to participate in have their work represented by sending 50 to 75 this event several ways. Those living near the Port - copies of one (1) promotional item (e.g., a book - www.sinc-guppies.org land area, or who plan to be in the area during the mark, postcard or business card) for booth hand - conference dates, are invited to help meet and outs. Non-attending authors are also invited to greet the many public librarians who make stop - send one copy of a book (ARCs are welcomed!) to ping by the SinC booth a high priority. Exhibit be used in our daily booth raffles. Don’t miss hours are: For more information about how you can par - Wednesday, March 24, 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm (3 to ticipate in the PLA conference, please contact Sis - the SinC breakfast 4 booth workers needed) ters in Crime Library Liaison, Mary Boone, at Thursday, March 25, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm (8 to [email protected]. Thanks in advance! See at Bouchercon 10 booth workers needed) you in Portland! Friday, March 26, 9:30 am - 4:00 pm (6 to 8 This article supports SinC’s Membership Growth, See page 3 for details. booth workers needed) Networking and Forums for Members goal. September 2009 - 7 Chapter News Law and Fiction: The Mavens of Mayhem The Mavens have been invited to put on a pro - gram for the pre-show gala of Sweeney Todd at the Getting the Facts Right Cohoes Music Hall in October. The film- ByA Ls wersitleires, Bwue wdaenwt tiot zget the facts right – while telling a good story. This new column will help Sis - clip/panel discussion program the Mavens pre - ters in Crime members do both. sented last year at the New York State Museum May a person be convicted of homicide if the victim’s body is never found? was such a hit, the museum director asked us to do Yes. With no body, prosecutors must rely on other evidence to establish that the alleged crime it again. This time the Mavens will be celebrating Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th birthday and the pro - occurred and the defendant committed it. Both direct evidence — such as confessions and eyewit - gram will be on October 31st! ness testimony — and circumstantial evidence — such as bloodstains The Mavens have also been invited to set up a and testimony of related events — may be used. booth at the National Center for Women and The U.S. Supreme Court first acknowledged that a person could be Policing Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY. It’ll convicted of homicide without a body in 1834. Of course, in modern be a three-day event in September and we’ll have cases, DNA evidence may be critical. the opportunity to network with 300 female offi - Two Montana cases provide good examples of the evidence sufficient cers who represent all phases of law enforcement to establish homicide without a body. In one, prosecutors alleged that throughout the United States. Also in September, the defendant, Martell, severely beat the victim, Red Dog, then threw Mavens’ president Robert Knightly will take part his body into the mostly frozen Missouri river. Witnesses testified to the in “Police Procedurals, Detective Fiction by the beating. Searchers were unable to find Red Dog’s body, but did find his Book” — a panel of novel and TV crime writers, ripped jacket and bloody sweatshirt. A hunter testified to seeing blood - hosted by MWA’s NYC chapter. stains in the road where the beating occurred. Prosecutors also relied on Martell’s written statement admitting that he instigated the fight and had told his partner in the beating that they “couldn’t let New York/Tristate Chapter [Red Dog] go” alive. On June 15, 2009, about 30 members of the In another case, prosecutors alleged that Moore shot Brisbin in Moore’s camper. Witnesses said New York/Tri-State chapter met at a fun and Moore had called Brisbin and asked him to come to the camper; Brisbin hadn’t been seen since nor funky his body found. Within two days of the disappearance, Moore cleaned blood from his camper, dis - Greenwich carded bullets and carpet, covered and repaired bullet holes, and spilled battery acid in the camper Village in an effort to cover and clean stains. A bullet was found under the floor of the camper. (The shoot - restaurant, ing and conviction occurred before DNA analysis became available.) On appeal, the state Supreme The Cow - Court agreed with prosecutors that Moore’s actions showed consciousness of guilt, much like evi - girl, to cele - brate a great dence of flight after a crime, and the evidence was relevant to the jury’s decision because it “tended year and in - to prove” both the commission of the crime and Moore’s responsibility. duct the new Other cases have turned on testimony about death threats and years of domestic abuse, blood- board. spatter evidence, a bloodstained revolver, bits of body tissue, recent life insurance purchases on the Outgoing victim, and elaborate lies told to explain the victim’s disappearance. president In your stories, keep in mind that where there is no body, you must show that the crime occurred Gammy Singer (right) Gammy — that is, the victim is probably dead — as well as showing that your character committed the and Clare Toohey. Singer led crime. The evidence you rely on must go directly to the heart of the case, the res gestae or “things the meeting done.” Put the missing person in direct contact with the defendant, as with Martell’s beating of Red for one last time before handing over a symbolic Dog, or Moore’s phone call to Brisbin. If you use physical evidence from the homicide scene, put silver tiara to incoming president Clare Toohey. both victim and killer together at or near the scene. Complicate matters by involving another per - Gammy graciously thanked the board members son, as in Red Dog’s murder, or with evidence suggesting that the victim often disappeared on his and others who served special roles during the last own for weeks at a time. Show that the killer had the opportunity to dispose of the body — or frus - year, presenting each with a lovely long-stemmed trate detectives with evidence that he had no time to hide it. rose. Because body-less cases are hard to prove, they often turn cold. Your story may benefit from a Former VP Robin Hathaway presented incom - tenacious detective or prosecutor, a forensic analyst, or a determined relative. Find ways to put your ing VP Catherine Maiorisi with a broom to make witnesses in a position where they need to talk — or need to stay silent. a clean sweep. Previously the chapter secretary, In real life, no body sometimes means no conviction. But in fiction, it can make for a terrific Catherine presented incoming secretary Leigh story. Neely with a giant pen. Outgoing treasurer Peggy Ehrhart handed over a shopping bag full of records to incoming treasurer Stephanie Wilson- Leslie Budewitz is a practicing lawyer and a fiction writer. For more columns and help on getting the Flaherty, along with a piggy bank.Gammy also law right in your stories, visit her website, www.LawandFiction.com. talked about what a terrific year we’d had, with in - This article supports SinC’s Professional Education and Career Development goal. spiring speakers who included Alafair Burke and Linda Fairstein, and all the accomplishments of Ellen Byerrum writes the Crime of Fashion mys - the chapter’s various members, including new B(Contoinkuesd f rionmt poag eM 4) ovies teries. She is also a playwright and holds a private agents, new contracts and even audio book sales. instinct can pay off. investigator's registration in Virginia. Until quite The rest of the evening was devoted to chitchat • You are the best promoter of your own work. recently, she was a journalist in Washington, D.C. and good cowgirl-style food, including ribs, fried Sisters in Crime is a great organization and it Now she is concentrating fulltime on her writing. chicken and Key lime pie. pays to take advantage of what it offers — the This article supports SinC’s Membership meetings, the workshops, and the opportunity to This article supports SinC’s Membership Growth, Growth, Networking, and Forums for Members know fellow writers. Networking, and Forums for Members goal. goal. September 2009 - 8 Crime on Loan Chapter Spotlight:

When founded? 1994 Alasthat kcan trulya benefit from an author’s visit and How many members? 28 full members, 48 find pleasure in hearing how the author benefit - affiliated and 128 online members (ning social ed from being in the schools or library. We en - network and Facebook). joy what we do. It truly is a labor of love. What area does it cover? State of Alaska Elisa Hitchcock: We connect the rest of the Website: www.aksinc.org; http://aksinc. U.S. and the world with Alaska and also con - ning.org/ (social network), Facebook page nect within Alaska, by having a chapter based By Nancy Down, Head Librarian of What activities are upcoming? September in Anchorage, but allowing for members from the Browne Popular Culture Library AKSinC Retreat in Seward; Authors to the all our communities. Since Alaska is such a atT Bhoew Blrionwgn Ge Preopeunl aSr tCautelt uUren Liviebrasriyty is an Bush; Alaska Reads 2010; writing large state in terms of miles, but a archive dedicated to collecting and preserving pri - tips in short videos to post online; small one in terms of population, mary resources for American popular culture an anthology ( A Stranger Comes to this helps us all stay connected, from the late 19th century to the present. The li - Town – Mystery Writers Explore through our newsletters, special brary collects comprehensively in all areas of pop - Alaska ); e-mentorship program speakers at local events, and even ular culture but has three main areas of strength (currently have 36 published au - our upcoming writers’/readers’ — popular entertainment, graphic arts, and popu - thors signed up, with Memos of retreat. lar literature. Understanding in process with 16 Anything else you’d like to In the popular entertainment area, the library schools); monthly meetings with add? collects primary materials on all forms of enter - featured speakers; and monthly Karen: We want to continue to tainment, including radio, television, motion pic - newsletters. network with other community tures, games, World’s Fairs, beauty pageants, What's special about it? writing and reading groups, such Chautauquas, circuses, professional wrestling, etc. President Karen J. Lauben - as the Alaska Writer’s Guild, Alas - The collections include original television and stein: AKSinC has been making a difference ka Center for the Book, Iditarod Education movie scripts, movie posters and lobby cards, tele - in Alaska through its literacy projects, crimi - Committee, and the various criminal justice or - vision and movie press kits, and celebrity pho - nal justice education, mystery and crime fic - ganizations on the local level. We also are work - tographs. tion, and sponsorship of Left Coast Crime ing to network closely with other SinC chap - In the graphic arts, the library has large collec - 2001 and Bouchercon 2007. We have sent ters, and mystery/crime fiction conventions, tions of comics and graphic novels, postcards, more than 70 authors to schools on the Au - authors, publishers and literary agents, to pro - greeting cards, matchbook covers, calendars, thors to the Schools/Authors to the Bush pro - vide opportunities for our members to contin - bridge tally cards, and mail order catalogs. Many grams. We continue to accomplish projects ue to grow and be involved in the global arena. items in these collections are related to the mys - and events with a small membership and bud - Kimberley: I can’t wait to see what the men - tery genre — such as a movie script of The get, reaching out to involve people throughout torship program will produce. I can see that the Shadow , television scripts for episodes of Mannix, the state and even in Canada. We’re also work - relationships with the authors and students will or comics portraying the superhero detective Bat - ing to take advantage of new technologies grow and the students should only benefit from man. (videoconferencing, internet, social network - the experience. I’m jealous that such a service The major strength of the library is its popular ing, e-mails, etc.) to continue to provide sup - wasn’t available for me. I look forward to col - fiction collection. The history of American popu - port, information, activities, and work on lit - laborating with other groups, both local and na - lar literature is documented in collections of story eracy and our mission. Alaska Sisters in Crime tional, to see what we can all do together. papers and nickel weeklies, dime novels, pulp is an organization that has heart — its mem - Elisa: It is a group close to all of our hearts, magazines, vintage paperbacks, Big Little Books, bers deeply care about it and we hope it will be and as a long-term member of Alaska Sisters in adolescent series fiction (including girl sleuths), around for a long time to come. Crime, I cannot imagine NOT being part of and hardcover and paperback editions of popular Kimberley Gray: We take on projects that this growing, helping, thoughtful group of authors in a variety of genres. Not only popular have a statewide appeal. When we do “When people. reading interests, but the forms of distribution All of Alaska Reads the Same Book” we send This article supports SinC’s Membership (for example, the pulp magazine format) can be books to every library in the state. When we Growth, Networking, and Forums for Members seen. send an author out, we find tiny communities goal. The mystery collection is a particular strength. The book collection includes more than 60,000 The Browne Library also collects manuscripts lections is the Nancy Cohen Collection (writer of volumes in the mystery genre — including detec - by mystery writers. Our capstone collection is the the Bad Hair mysteries). We also have the papers tive fiction, espionage, romantic suspense, hard - Marcia Muller Collection, which includes for the mystery critic and reviewer Ellen Nehr and boiled, lesbian — and including major and minor manuscripts for her novels, short stories, and oth - the books and papers of the editor Joan Kahn writers in each sub-genre. The Arthur and Phyllis er writings as well as correspondence with her whose imprint was a hallmark of suspense stories Rieser Mystery Collection alone contains more agent, publishers, other writers, and readers. We for years. than 10,000 novels reflecting the couple’s reading also have some manuscripts by Joan Hess, creator Our ’zine collection includes such titles as interests. The E.T. Guymon Collection consists of of the Maggody series. Other manuscript holdings Deadly Pleasures , the Sherlockian , and the Battle 3,000 mysteries, many first editions, by major include works by Velda Johnston, Patricia Street Gazette (Margery Allingham Society). We writers from 1890-1930. The Guymon Collec - McGerr, Ruth Rendell, and the romantic suspense have all the back issues of Clues when it was pub - tion also includes correspondence with such lead - writer Dorothy Daniels. As part of our lished by the Popular Press and a complete run of ing mystery writers as Margaret Millar, Mary manuscript collections we have manuscripts by the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine . Our pulp col - Roberts Rinehart, and Craig Rice. This collection both Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini and both lection contains such titles as Black Mask, Dime also contains photographs of Craig Rice (includ - Norman and Dorothy Daniels, interesting exam - Detective Stories, and Spicy Detective Stories. ing photos from her wedding held at the Guy - ples of how husband and wife writers often collab - Our vintage paperback collection contains many mon’s home). orate and work together. One of our newest col - (Continued on page 13) September 2009 - 9 Coming up: Conferences New England SinC aTnhed N eNw EEnglaInBd SAisters in Crime chapter in - vites all members and authors to join them at the & Happenings Buckeyes, on November 7, 2009, from 8:00 am New England Independent Booksellers Associa - MIDWEST MYSTERYFEST until 6:30 pm at the Embassy Suites Hotel in tion (NEIBA) Trade Show October 1 to 3, 2009, Columbus, OH. at the Connecticut Convention Center in SASinICN’sT G rLeaOterU StI.S Lo, uMis CO hapter will hold its The keynote speaker will be crime scene inves - downtown Hartford, CT. 5th Annual Midwest MysteryFest September 25 tigation and police procedures expert, Lee SinC-NE shares a booth with New England to 26, 2009 at the St. Charles Community Col - Lofland. Lee and other published authors will Mystery Writers of America to promote area lege in Cottleville, MO. Keynote speakers will be speak on craft and industry-related topics. mystery writers and our organizations. We pro - Carolyn Hart and Kent Krueger. Agents Christine Witthohn and Judith Ann Mi - vide information on members’ publications and There will be a workshop, “Screenplay Tech - ramontez will address Queries, Synopses and the distribute membership literature as well as de - niques for Your Novel,” on Friday, followed by. an Perfect Pitch and will offer one-on-one pitch ses - tails about SinC-NE’s Speaker’s Bureau. Other optional get-acquainted dinner with the authors sions. Published authors will participate in a highlights include SinC and MWA author sign - and speakers . book signing at the end of the day. SinC authors ings at the booth and raffles of donated books On Saturday, three tracks will be offered: The are invited to send bookmarks, postcards or other for all attendees. Business of Writing, the Craft of Writing, and promotional pieces for distribution to attendees. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet our New Forensics. You will also have an opportunity to There will be a raffle, goodie bags, give-aways, ed - England colleagues and it’s small wonder that sign up for a one-on-one pitch session with an ucation, networking, fun and friendship. our booth is so popular. Sign up to staff the agent. The cost is $100 if registration is postmarked booth (slots are available on a first-come, first- A continental breakfast and buffet lunch on on or before September 23, or $125 if registra - served basis). All Sisters are welcome to provide Saturday are included in the conference price: tion is postmarked after September 23. The con - signed books for giveaways and/or help us pro - $85 for SinC members, $75 for students 18 or ference is limited to 90 people and registration mote Sisters in Crime. older, and $110 for walk-ins on a space-available must be received by November 3. A continental Exhibition hours are 5:15 to 6:15 pm (exhibit basis. breakfast, buffet lunch and afternoon snack are preview) on Friday, October 2, and 9:00 am to Please e-mail [email protected] for more in - included in the conference price. 5:00 pm on Saturday, October 3. Booth volun - formation. For more information, go to www.sicco teers will be provided with a badge for the event. writers.org; contact us at siccowriters@gmail. For more information or to volunteer, contact com; or call Carolyn Melvin at 740/246-4794. Sheila Connolly, SinC-NE NEIBA Coordinator ([email protected]). SINC INTO GREAT WRITING! INSDistIeArs Nin ACrPimOe iLs sIpSo,n IsNoring a workshop, SinC Into Great Writing!, on October 14, 2009, NEW ENGLAND at the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis, IN, the day CRIME BAKE before Bouchercon begins. Sisters in Crime at The program runs from 1:30 to 9:00 pm and DSEuDe GHraAftoMn w, iMll bAe the guest of honor at New features seminars by Donald Maass, Hallie England Crime Bake, to be held November 13 to Southern Ephron and Chris Roerden, as well as dinner 15, 2009, at the Hilton Hotel in Dedham, MA. with keynote speaker Nancy Pickard. The conference is sponsored by the New Eng - FTehe sMtididvle aTeln noessfee B Choaptoer kof sSisters in The deadline for registration is September 22, land chapters of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Crime will host a booth at the Southern Festival 2009, and can be done on the website: Writers of America. of Books in Nashville, TN, October 9 to 11, www.sistersincrime.org. The cost is $50 for For more information see the website: 2009. In addition to promoting SinC, the booth members, $150 for nonmembers. NO RE - www.sincne.org. will be utilized as a signing venue for up to 20 FUNDS. Registration will be capped at 200. SinC authors, with one-hour time slots assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Travel expens - es are the responsibility of the author. All SinC LEFT COAST CRIME 2010 authors who are unable to appear in person are invited to send bookmarks, postcards or other BOUCHERCON 2009 LOJanS B uArkNe aGndE LLeeE CShil,d C wiA ll be the guests of promotional materials for distribution to festival IN“EDleImAenNtaAry,P MOy DLeIaSr In, dIyN ,” will be the theme honor at “Booked in LA” (aka Left Coast attendees (limit 100 pieces). of Bouchercon 2009, to be held in Indianapolis, Crime), at the Omni Hotel in downtown Los The Southern Festival of Books is a free, IN, October 15 to 18, 2009. Michael Connelly Angeles from March 11 to 14, 2010. Janet three-day event that annually attracts nearly will be author guest of honor; S.J. Rozan will be Rudolph will be fan guest of honor and Bill 30,000 book enthusiasts to downtown toastmaster; and Kathryn Kennison will be fan Fitzhugh will serve as toastmaster. Nashville. For more information on the festival, guest of honor. The event will feature three tracks of panels visit www.humanitiestennessee.org/festival/ For more information and registration, see the and presentations, including one tailored to pub - current.php. website: www.bouchercon2009.com. lished writers, as well as local crime-related tours, Contact SinC-MidTN chapter president special events and a charity auction. Chester Campbell at [email protected] For more information and to register online, to request a time slot assignment or for any addi - visit www.leftcoastcrime.org and click on the link tional information, or check the website at THE MIDWEST WRITERS to 2010. www.sinc-midtn.org. CONFERENCE These events support SinC’s Membership CSOistLerUs iMn CBrimUeS of, C OolHumbus, OH, will hold These announcements support SinC’s Profes - Growth, Networking and Forums for Members its first ever mystery conference, Bodies and sional Education and Career Development goal. goal. September 2009 - 10 are just in the air in Hollywood — are a complete Letʼs Talk Mystery: revelation to most authors and aspiring writers. But those techniques, like the three-act, eight-se - quence structure, and suspense tricks, and visual Nancy Martin: You have taken your screen - women, too: Heather Graham, Margaret image systems, are so easy to explain, especially by wQrite r'&s tec hAniqu ews fori sttorhyte llAing alned roxlledanMdaronr, Saara hS Lanogan,k Saroah Plinoborfouf gh, Rho - using examples from films. I enjoy seeing people them into a terrific series of how-to articles on di Hawk. get it. Murderati, so I think of you as a writer who's enti - All of those women are writing thrillers or The entire series so far is archived at: tled to her opinions about thrillers — books that dark suspense successfully — both in terms of http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com/2009/05/ must have a well-considered plot to be successful. quality (in spades!) and in terms of recognition screenwriting-tricks-for-authors-table.html. Can you tell us what qualities you believe a thriller and money or at least career trajectory. So I look NM: You're a good business networker. Do you ought to have? at women as being extremely successful at writ - have a strategy? Alex Sokoloff: On Murderati and my Screen - ing the kinds of thrillers I want to read and write. AS: A strategy? (Hysterical laughter.) I’m so writing Tricks for Authors blog I’ve talked at But I know what you're asking. In terms of glad to hear it looks that way from the outside. length about specific statistics, numbers of women making a living No, no strategy, but now that you ask I guess I techniques for creating writing thrillers compared to the numbers of have a philosophy. This will probably sound too suspense and thrills. But men — I don't know the proportions but I'm California for words, but conferences are so much the bottom line to me is willing to bet — a lot — that fewer women make about the flow and synchronicity. I try to relax in - always — different a living at it than men, and I wouldn't be sur - to a state of mind that no matter where I am or things thrill different prised if women get fewer of publishers' promo - what I’m doing or who I’m talking to, that’s exact - people. In people, in tional dollars. If you have the stats I'd love to hear ly where I should be. Because I really believe that’s bed, in life, and in them. true about conferences — there’s no way not to books. So the key ques - Also if you look at my list, you can see that it's have a tremendously fun and professionally advan - tion is: What does it for very British/Irish heavy. So it might be that the tageous experience if you just experience who and Alex Sokoloff you? You have to iden - UK and Ireland promote their female thriller what comes along. Literally everyone you meet is tify what you particu - writers better than we do in the U.S., or maybe important to you in some way. Literally every ex - larly love in a thriller, and then figure out what those authors are just better writers in general, or perience you have can be enlightening and em - your favorite authors are doing to create that re - maybe that's my own taste, or maybe I have no powering. (I guess that’s true about life, too, but action in you. idea what I'm talking about. it’s easier to see at a conference!) Many thrillers are based on action and For anyone asking “Why are there are so few I feel free to walk away from the occasional un - adrenaline — the experience the author wants to women successfully writing thrillers these days?” pleasant drunken businessman, of course. create and that the reader wants to experience is I would ask you: “Are you reading female thriller But without any planning at all, and I mean that roller-coaster feeling. Now, I love a good authors?” Because that’s practically all I read. I none, I seem to end up in the right place at the adrenaline rush in a book (in fact I pretty much love my male authors, but I just think women do right time — I get asked to do a lot of interesting require them, repeatedly). But pure action scenes it better — for me. Women know violence and interviews, or end up in intense conversation with mostly bore me senseless, and big guns and ma - jeopardy on a much more intimate level than the editor I’ve been wanting to meet, or out to chines and explosions and car chases make my eyes most men do, and we don’t tend to sensational - lunch with a dozen booksellers, and asked to do glaze over. ize it, either. We tell the more brutal truth. fun things like the performances. What I’m looking for in a book is the sensual — So if you want to see more women writing in Outside of the whole conference experience, I okay, sexual — thrill of going into the unknown. this genre, read and support the ones who do. just looked at what other authors were doing, How it feels to know that there’s something there Because it is different from what men write and I what they talked about doing for promotion and in the dark with you that’s not necessarily rational, think in an exciting way. networking (on their blogs, for example), and ran - and not necessarily human. It’s a slower, more NM: Are thrillers "where it's at" right now, domly copied things that seemed to make sense, erotic, and I’d also say more feminine kind of and what's your educated guess about the future and found some things that work for me. But the thrill, that you find in The Turn of the Screw , The of thrillers? fact is, everything works. I think the trick is you Haunting of Hill House and The Shining . AS: I don’t know, really. I do think that pub - have to find the things that you halfway enjoy and There’s also the classic mystery thrill of having lishing has been corrupted — I mean influenced that don’t make you completely crazy. But if the to figure out a puzzle. There’s a great pleasure in — by Hollywood, so the addiction for business side confounds you, you have to look at using your mind to unlock a particularly well- adrenaline and pacing and bigger and bigger what other authors are doing and realize that crafted puzzle. I love to add that element to my stakes has increased. And thrillers seem to be you’re going to have to do at least some of it. Make stories, too, so that even though the characters are more popular than traditional and cozy myster - a study of it, the same way you’ve studied writing. dealing with the unknown, there is still a logical ies these days, but from everything I’ve read If you want to make a living at this, promotion is way to figure the mystery out. about trends, it’s romance that’s really selling, in - not optional. So what I’m saying is — the key to writing the cluding romantic suspense. Which is good news NM: Thanks, Alex. We’ll be looking for your thrill part of a thriller is to know very specifically for women, but maybe not so much for those of books! what thrills you and make sure you’re providing us who are more plot and theme-driven, which I that to your readers. And you have to understand definitely am. Alexandra Sokoloff started in theater as an actor, that you’re not going to please all of the people all NM: Are you really writing that how-to book director and choreographer; moved on to a successful of the time. we're all waiting for? career in screenwriting; and finally found true hap - NM: So tell us what you think. How come AS: Yes, I really am. I had written enough on piness in writing novels. She is the author of the su - there are so few women successfully writing my blog that it achieved critical mass, and I pernatural thrillers The Harrowing , The Price , thrillers these days? couldn’t not finish it, in all my, you know, spare and the just-released The Unseen . Alex is a Bram AS: Well, that's funny, because almost all of my time (!). It should be done by the time this article Stoker and Anthony award nominee and a Thriller favorite contemporary thriller writers are women: comes out, in fact. award winner, and writes an internationally ac - Barbara Vine, Mo Hayder, Karin Slaughter, Tess As you know, authors are constantly being claimed blog on Screenwriting Tricks For Authors at Gerritsen, Allison Brennan, Tana French, Denise asked to teach writing workshops and I quickly http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com. Mina, Nicci French (okay, she's half male). And discovered that the storytelling techniques I This article supports SinC’s Professional Educa - my suspense and horror and mystery faves are learned and used as a film writer — things that tion and Career Development goal.

September 2009 - 11 THE DOCKET THE DOCKET THE DOCKET THE DOCKET THE DOC KET THE DOCKET THE DOCKET THE DOCKET Carole Shmurak, DEATH AT HILLIARD AND THE DARNELL DIAMONDS, Pub - ByA Pnnaoturincciaem Genutlsle foy r new books (please, no HIGH, Sterling House, August 2009 lishAmerica, May 2009 reprints), short stories, articles and plays (all relat - Jessica Simon, FROM ICE TO ASHES, Awards/Miscellaneous ing to mysteries), also nominations and awards, NeWest Press, October 2009 Julie Kramer's STALKING SUSAN is an An - may be sent to Patricia Gulley via snail mail to: Jeanne C. Stein, RETRIBUTION, Ace thony finalist for Best First Novel. It won the Ro - 1743 N. Jantzen Avenue, Portland, OR 97217- Books, August 2009 mantic Times Reviewers' Choice for Best First 7849 or e-mail to: Weyrcottage@ yahoo. com. p.m.terrell, RIVER PASSAGE, Drake Valley Mystery, and the Minnesota Book Award for Please be sure to put Sisters in Crime, The Docket Press, September 2009 genre fiction. It also was a finalist for the Mary or InSinC in the subject line — otherwise your e- Jeri Westerson, SERPENT IN THE Higgins Clark Award. mail won’t be opened. THORNS, Minotaur Books, September 2009 Chris Roerden, DON'T SABOTAGE The deadline for the next The Docket is October Sharon Wildwind, MISSING, PRESUMED YOUR SUBMISSION, won the Benjamin 15 , 2009. WED, Five Star, September 2009 Franklin Award for Literary Criticism at BEA Elizabeth Zelvin, DEATH WILL HELP 2009. The next day in a field of five finalists, it Books YOU LEAVE HIM, Minotaur Books, October took the Bronze Medal for ForeWord Magazine's Shilpa Agarwal, HAUNTING BOMBAY, 2009 Writing Book of the Year. Soho Press, April 2009 Short Stories/Anthologies Ona Russell’s THE NATURAL SELEC - Susanne Alleyn, THE CAVALIER OF THE Carolyn Hart, YOUR TURN, Two of the TION was named a finalist in three 2009 book APOCALYPSE, St. Deadliest, HarperCollins, June 2009 award contests: The San Diego Book Awards, Martin's Minotaur, July Jackie King, THANKSGIVING WITH A mystery category; the Next Generation Indie 2009 MYSTERIOUS STRANGER, Two Foxy Holi - Awards, historical fiction category; and the 78th Lisa Bork, FOR BET - day Hens and One Big Rooster Anthology, Commonwealth Club California Book Awards TER, FOR MURDER, Deadly Niche Press, July 2009 in fiction. Midnight Ink, Septem - Jeanne C. Stein's protagonist in the ANNA ber 2009 STRONG Chronicles was named 2008's Best P.A. Brown, GEOG - Urban Fantasy Protagonist by RT Book Reviews RAPHY OF MUR - How to Send Us Your Entry Magazine. The format is simple: DER, MLR Press, June This article supports SinC’s Membership Name of author, TITLE OF BOOK, 2009 Growth, Networking, and Forums for Members Name of Publisher, Month to be released. Luisa Buehler, THE goal. Name of Author, TITLE OF STORY, INNKEEPER: AN Name of magazine or anthology, Month to UNREGISTERED DEATH, Echelon Press, be released. August 2009 Awards and nominations should be in Krista Davis, THE DIVA TAKES THE sentences. A(Codntvinauend fcroems page 5) CAKE, Berkley Prime Crime, June 2009 Always put The Docket in the subject line Carola Dunn, SHEER FOLLY, St Martin's of your e-mail. Anything else may be deleted. er and got $75,000 per book — not quite back Minotaur, September 2009 Don’t send ISBNs, character names, se - to what I was earning as a romance writer, Misty Evans, OPERATION SHEBA, ries names or places to buy the books. though I have hopes that all the planets will Samhain Publishing, July 2009 Don’t send newsletters, publicity sheets align for good things this time around. I'd like Nadia Gordon, LETHAL VINTAGE, or website addressess. to make mysteries the genre of my career, so I'm Chronicle Books, May 2009 Don’t send in colors other than black and sticking with it and working hard to make the Vinnie Hansen, DEATH WITH DESSERT, white. new series successful. Mainly Murder Publishing, June 2009 Don’t send entries older than six months. There's some luck involved, but it's also a mat - Carolyn Hart, MERRY, MERRY GHOST, Editors of anthologies will not be listed ter of simple mathematics when it comes to ad - Morrow, October 2009 unless they have a story in the anthology. vances. Previous sales mean a lot, so save your Emyl Jenkins, THE BIG STEAL, Algonquin If you are using a pen name, we can add royalty statements. Reliability means something, Books, July 2009 your real name after it in parentheses. You too. Turn your work in on time. So does having Jackie King, THE INCONVENIENT must tell me if you do not want this done. the savvy to reach a significant block of readers CORPSE, Deadly Niche Press, May 2009 by way of an online presence, media attention Norm Ledgin, SOUR NOTES, Author - (magazines, etc.) as well as advertising, store House, July 2009 placement and whatnot. It's a team effort, Sheila Lowe, DEAD WRITE, Obsidian, Au - Chelle Martin, GROUNDS FOR DI - though, and the writer has to be a team player. gust 2009 VORCE; BREW’S CLUES, PMS: Poison, Mur - Margaret Maron: You get what your agent can Elizabeth J. Morris, BRIDGE GAME TO der, Satisfaction Anthology, L&L Dreamspell, persuade the publisher to give you and it's as sim - MURDER, PublishAmerica, June 2009 May 2009 ple as that. If your books are selling, your agent Shirley Rousseau Murphy, CAT STRIKING Judith R. O’Sullivan, DEATH OF A can keep asking for increases and will probably BACK, Morrow, October 2009 COUGAR, Deadly Ink 2009 Short Story An - get them. If they aren't, you'll either take a cut on Beverle Graves Myers, HER DEADLY MIS - thology, Deadly Ink Press, June 2009 the next contract or you'll be dumped. It's my CHIEF, Poisoned Pen Press, September 2009 Steve Shrott, UNDYING LOVE, Mysterical- personal belief that it's better to get modest ad - Kris Neri, HIGH CRIMES ON THE MAG - E, July 2009 vances in the beginning and keep building rather ICAL PLANE, Red Coyote Press, October Patricia Smiley, THE OFFER, Two of the than get a huge advance and have your books 2009 Deadliest Anthology, HarperCollins, July 2009 tank. All of us who have been around this long Helen Macie Osterman, THE STRANGER Elizabeth Zelvin, DEATH WILL TIE know of colleagues who got the huge advance IN THE OPERA HOUSE, Five Star, Septem - YOUR KANGAROO DOWN, Ellery Queen's that made headlines in Publishers Weekly, but ber 2009 Mystery Magazine, August 2009 never earned out. Two or three books and that Maggie Sefton, DROPPED DEAD Young Adult was the end of that particular writing career. STITCH, Berkley Prime Crime, June 2009 Lauren E. Smith, ASHLEY ENRIGHT My knowing that Mary Higgins Clark gets a

September 2009 - 12 $14 million advance doesn't add a single penny to my own bottom line. It's the agent's business to know what publishers are paying and to evaluate that information in terms of the client's ability. I Minutes of the SinC Board can't go to my publisher and say, "Hey, you're pay - ing Blank four times what you're paying me and I think I'm as good as she is." It might be true, but it Voting meMmberes ine attenidnancge: J uody Cnlem Aens, pMarciia lT al3ley,0 Na,n c2y M0art0in, 9Cathy Pickens, is also true that the reading public might not like Robin Burcell, Jim Huang, Mary Boone, Nadia Gordon, Mary Saums and Roberta Isleib by Skype. my books as much as Blank's. It might be that she's Non-voting members in attendance: Kathy Wall, Bonnie Cardone, Beth Wasson. outselling me four to one and earning out her huge Guests: Dr. Patricia Gouthro, Lorraine Bartlett. advance much quicker than I'm earning out mine. President Judy Clemens called the meeting to order at 9:00 am and introduced our guest. It might be that the publisher is promoting Blank's Dr. Patricia Gouthro reported on her grant-funded study of Sisters in Crime as a unique wom - books four times as heavily as mine. Fairness does - en’s learning organization. Her analysis can be found online at http://tinyurl.com/lya2sr. n't enter into it. Life is not fair. Kathy Wall, Treasurer, presented her financial report. We continue to be in good shape. She not - There is a business side of writing that every as - ed that we’ve done well in sticking to budget. We have not received any 2009 Authors Coalition piring writer should learn: finding a good agent, funds, but she expects some will come in before the end of the year. knowing what the tax deductions are, whether it's Beth Wasson has begun working with Affiniscape, our new association management software. a good idea to incorporate, keeping track of ex - She also reported an excellent period of increased new and renewing memberships. penses, learning what you can and can't expect a Robin Burcell, Chapter Liaison, reported that chapters often ask what they can do to bring up publisher to do for you, whether it's better to their membership numbers. Suggestions were discussed, including her idea of having a PayPal link spend time self-promoting or writing, etc. etc. But on chapter websites to make joining and renewing simpler. We discussed chapters that request the actual money received isn't something that a board members to visit and talk about SinC. Nancy Martin moved that the board pay up to $350 in beginner can do a thing about. If she isn't getting board member expenses in such cases. Cathy Pickens seconded and the motion was approved. what she's heard is the average, what's that going to Marcia Talley gave us an update on the setting up of Affiniscape. She shared her plan and sched - do for her frame of mind? Will she redouble her ule for the first steps, and we discussed more options and how to implement them in future. efforts, will she whine to her editor, or will she be - Lorraine Bartlett, in charge of several SinC computer-related projects, reported that 149 au - come discontented, resentful, and self-doubting? thors have used our bookclub database. Besides that database, she also keeps our MySpace and Face - Conclusion: Wise writers can draw different book pages updated. conclusions from this survey, one of which could Bonnie Cardone reported on new columns in our newsletter and ideas for future issues. We dis - be that writing your first mystery with expecta - cussed these and ways to continue bringing timely and useful information to members. tions of bestsellerdom seems overly optimistic. If Nadia Gordon, Monitoring Project Liaison, talked about the 2008 project results, noting that writing has become your business, however, ap - declining reviews nationwide could have caused the percentage of reviews of male-authored books proach it with a businesslike attitude. Work in to rise, in some cases as high as 90 percent. partnership with your agent and other industry Roberta Isleib gave us an update of our SinC-sponsored events at Bouchercon in the fall. The professionals. Try not to think of yourself as com - SinC Into Good Writing! day, set for Wednesday before the convention, is almost full. The Librari - peting with other authors for advance money, but an’s Tea is also getting publicity and much interest from librarians. as salmon swimming upstream in the same finan - Mary Boone, Library Liaison, reports that our ALA booth in Chicago is all set and has a great lo - cial waters. A slow build to great sales seems to be cation for optimum traffic. the most well-worn career path. Kathy Wall reported on her work organizing a booth at the SIBA (Southeast Independent Perhaps success results from skill, patience and a Booksellers Alliance) convention in Greenville, SC, this September. We’ll share the booth with the little luck . . . but also from perseverance, determi - Southeast Chapter of MWA. nation and professionalism. Judy talked about the upcoming Summit Team meetings. Judy, Marcia, Jim and Nancy will visit booksellers, distributors and wholesalers in the Midwest. Discussion included questions to ask and This article supports SinC’s Professional Educa - information that would be most beneficial to members. tion and Career Development goal. The meeting was adjourned at 11:45am. Respectfully submitted, Mary Saums, Secretary

small mystery press C(Cornitminued foronm pLagoe 9a) n • The Minnesota Crime Wave (a group of 2009 Publishersʼ PR experts), SinC members’ independent of the Dell mysteries with the famous crime maps mystery bookstores, and more! on the back cover. Summit Report We will tell you what we learned about the Mystery Writers of America recognized the Ever wonder what happens between the publishing industry, including such highlights Browne Library’s commitment to the mystery time a book leaves a publisher and it ends up as: genre with a Raven Award in 2004. We continued in the hands of a reader? SinC did too, so • PR: where is the author's place? to collect and preserve primary materials related your 2009 Summit Team decided to focus on • Libraries: is it possible they're even more to this rich and diverse area of popular literature, the nitty-gritty of a book's journey, from important than we thought? both to preserve the authors’ works and so current beginning to end. See the Summit Bulletin • Economy: is the mystery genre still holding and future researchers will be able to study the for information on our visits to: its own? mystery genre. • Ingram's, one of the two largest book • Kindle: is it taking over the world? wholesalers • Reviews: are they really as important as This article supports SinC’s Professional Educa - • Booklist, a major review publication they're cracked up to be? tion and Career Development goal. • Independent Publishers Group Follett If you haven't found the bulletin in your Library Services, and Consortium, book inbox, be sure to check the SinC website for the distributors report from the 2009 Summit Team! Visit us online: • Agent Danielle Egan-Miller, of Browne www.sistersincrime.org & Miller Literary Associates This report supports SinC’s Advocacy, Moni - • Midnight Ink, a Minneapolis-based toring and Reporting goal.

September 2009 - 13 Time has opened up to them with lovely blank spaces they can design as they want. I admit it — I’m jealous. Things have not gotten easier. Finding the Writsecho olT of wirimting —e snatches of time with the din As the song says, the days dwindle down to a ByY eGarilsl iaagno ,R a forbieenrdt sof mine used to refer to of family life in the background. To my surprise, I precious few. We lose people we love. We need to what was more commonly called “learning expe - produced a book, a mystery, during two hours spend the time that’s left with those still here. And riences” (and why are they always bad experi - each Sunday when my husband took the boys to there’s all the “somedays” — I want to play the pi - ences?) as being “raped by reality.” an inter-generational volleyball game. So what if ano again, paint more and more often, be involved I thought I’d forgotten that non-P.C. term, but the players all believed that I was the madwoman in significant volunteer work, see a few places I’ve it recently resurfaced when I had another of those in the attic — the crazy wife my family would not dreamed of, read all the books on my long list. And learning experiences and started feeling sorry for allow out in public? Two entire hours! there are grandchildren, and from this perspective, myself. Once I sold the book, fantasies about having childhood seems so fleeting I need to delight in it Back as far as I can remember, I had the same enough time escalated. I was now officially a writ - while it lasts. Etcetera ad infinitum . Where to rich and dreamy fantasies as, I suspect, many Sis - er — surely that was my due. squeeze in that leisurely writing? ters did. I’m not talk - But being a mystery writer is incompatible Raped by reality again. Poor me. ing run-of-the-mill with generous allotments of time. Somebody in Or maybe not. Maybe I’ve been looking at dime-a-dozen fan - the bowels of a publishing house decided that what I thought was a crime scene, but like every tasies. I’m talking readers need the next book in the series precisely clichéd investigator (not our sleuths), I misread hardcore writing fan - 12 months after the preceding one. I’ve never de - the clues. Yes, the surface is cluttered and confus - tasies. ciphered the logic behind that. Mystery readers ing, but it isn’t signs of a break-in; it’s an exorbi - I wanted to write, are supposedly the most highly educated group tant profusion of good options. It’s real life. In - needed to write, and I of readers around, and I’m pretty certain they stead of insisting reality should be carted off to knew just how a writ - could understand the concept of “it will be pub - jail, I’m learning to celebrate its too-muchness. er’s life would be. I’d lished when it’s good.” Good-bye fantasies. A cork-lined room is too heard about Proust’s Reality again. The mystery author is either al - close to a coffin. I understand that there will nev - cork-lined study, and ways at work, or feeling guilty about not work - er be enough time until time itself ceases for me. how he spent all day ing, and the words “free time” sound borrowed There’re simply too many possibilities out there perfecting a word or phrase. And I’d seen the from a foreign language. and inside my brain. Writers never retire. Reality movies where the writer (always male back then) So we jump on the literary treadmill with glee is not a crime. And it isn’t punishment to there - was ensconced in a glorious cabin above the and juggle life and work and family and friends fore hope for lots (though never enough) more crashing waves or deep in a magnificently forest - and PR obligations and housekeeping and oh, yes time during which I stop whining and try to get ed cocoon. All was silence except in his head, and — writing. And all the time, I, at least, still fanta - as much as possible crammed in. his only obligation was to pound out words. size about that shimmering future when things Undoubtedly, there was a woman somewhere in will get easier and there will be more time to de - Caught Dead in Philadelphia, the first book in the background, an offscreen bit player, shushing vote purely and solely to the muse. Gillian Roberts’ Amanda Pepper series, won an intruders, making sure there was food in the fridge Eventually, that happy time seems to appear. Anthony. Roberts is also the author of Time and and tiptoeing around while The Writer created. One by one, the factors and distractions pressing Trouble and Whatever Doesn’t Kill You; the non - I wasted years waiting for at least a facsimile of on us ease up. No more getting up at 4:00 am to fiction, You Can Write a Mystery, and, writing that image until what I saw was the writing on the write before work. No more looking for love. under her actual name, Judith Greber, four novels wall, and it said that my noisy toddlers would We’ve found our mate or partner. No more dia - in which people die, but nobody sleuths. She is quiet down and time would free up a few days be - pers, playground battles, carpools, teacher con - presently working — slowly — on a book that is fore actuarial tables predicted I’d be senile. Be - ferences, or forgotten lunches to deliver. Our nothing like any of the above. sides, I’d also still have to be that woman in the children have grown up and in fact don’t want to This article supports SinC’s Professional Educa - background, making sure dinner was on the be anywhere near us — and they’re willing to do tion and Career Development goal. table. the grocery shopping if we let them have the car. Reality was at it again, so I gave up the dream If we’re lucky, contracts continue and become of finding time and, instead, made the time. Not sufficiently generous to allow for a cessation or a whole lot — minutes grabbed during Sesame cutback in the day job. Time expands with a GThheo Frsientd Ss oft toher Dyr. ECugoenne Ctlearks Lt ibrary Street , then kindergarten, and in a corner of the flourish and the dream finally has come true. in Lockhart, TX, invites you to "Scare The Dick - bedroom, not a cork-lined study. Even during Happily ever after are we, exhaling a sigh of relief. ens Out of Us" with its 2009 ghost story contest those small bursts of time, it was necessary to We’re mystery writers. We should realize that’s fundraiser. bribe the short people into cooperation. (I have not how the story goes. Instead, as we know, that Entry fee is $20. First prize $500 and a trophy. been told I should call what I did an incentive sigh of relief, that dropping of defenses triggers Second prize $250. Third prize $150. Special program. That might sound better, but it was the scary thing that leaps, fangs bared, out of the Caldwell County, TX, local prize $100. Dead - what it was. I told them that if they helped me closet. line is October 1, 2009. write by not interrupting — unless there was visi - And that’s what brought back “raped by reali - We want ghost stories with a character from ble blood or flames — they could share whatever ty” and what had me feeling sorry for myself, be - Charles Dickens works, set in the month of De - money they’d helped me make. It worked. Feel cause the scary thing is time itself — mutated, cember around any of the holidays, 4,000 words free to borrow it and call it whatever you like.) fragile and most of all, finite. Suddenly, all the or less. All publication rights remain with the au - Despite all evidence to the contrary, I contin - things that have been pushed aside and deferred thor. Contest is open to published and unpub - ued to feed my fantasy. Someday there would be for “someday” while we scrambled to write that lished writers alike. All genres accepted as long as enough time and life wouldn’t seem to explode first book, that second, to get that book a year they are ghost stories with a Dickens character. out of its seams. Look, the boys are in elementary done — all of them should shout the same ques - The ghost story contest is in conjunction with school but whoops — we’re moving cross-coun - tion: If not now, when? the annual "A Dickens Christmas In Lockhart," try and I’m working full time and the boys are in Our friends with “normal” careers retire or held the first weekend in December (Friday separate schools so I’m in separate carpools and cutback and explore new options and adventures. night, Saturday) in Lockhart. there is Absolutely No Time. They look at us with love and perhaps pity and Complete rules are at www.clarklibrary Good thing I was used to the anti-Proust say, “Ah, but a writer never retires.” friends.

September 2009 - 14 have been in a relationship with their stalkers, al - though more than a dozen celebrities have at - tracted stranger stalkers with fatal intent. ered erotomanic, but they’re usually aggressive. Stalkers are often unemployed or underem - “Madly” in Love ployed, but seem to be smarter than other types ByO Kveart ah peerriinoed oRf afomurs ylaeanrds, Richard Farley They may send unwanted letters or packages, of criminals. Many erotomanic stalkers have close wrote more than 200 love letters to Laura Black, make numerous phone calls, or take up a deter - relatives with psychiatric disorders, especially his coworker. A 35 year old electrical engineer, mined pursuit. Sometimes they purposely en - delusional or mood disorders. In certain cases, Farley had an erotic fixation. He was as good as danger the object of their affection so they can only an act of violence has ended a fixation, but addicted. He followed Laura around, placing offer rescue and be a hero. No matter what the the attack could be aimed at anyone. Ralph Nau gifts and letters on her desk, her car, and in her target person says, and even if that person is mar - stalked actress Olivia Newton-John for a decade, mailbox. Finally, to send a message, she returned ried, erotomanics “know the truth." Every gesture writing hundreds of love letters and camping out a letter, unopened — a mistake that many people is a “signal” of affirmation. near her home in Australia before returning to make. They think that reasonable action will end While 75 percent of all stalkers appear to be the U.S. Subsequently, he beat his younger broth - an obsession. male, of the erotomanic type, most documented er to death with an axe. In Farley’s mind, Laura’s response merely con - cases are female. The average age remains unclear, The degree of fixation seen in erotomania in - firmed their “relationship.” She had acknowl - but they tend to be older and more educated than dicates some type of physiological imbalance. To edged him. Laura continued to resist as nicely as other types of offenders. They’re generally isolat - test this idea, anthropologist Helene Fisher con - she could, but Farley became more persistent, so ed from support systems and show unstable em - ducted brain scans on 18 people who claimed to she filed a sexual harassment suit, getting him ployment and relationship histories. If they be - be “madly in love.” She found that, similar to the fired. Now unemployed, he had more time to come violent, it’s often the result of another sig - way the neurotransmitter dopamine fuels addic - stalk her. nificant stressor in their lives. Every state has an tion, it’s also implicated in erotic fixations. The When Laura filed for a restraining order in anti-stalking law, but when an obsessed person initial attraction triggers euphoria (a dopamine February 1988, Farley took up an assault rifle, sees only his romantic destiny, laws have little ef - rush) and encourages impulsive behavior, but two shotguns, a knife, and flammable liquid and fect. when the approach is blocked, dopamine levels went to his former workplace. Inside, he strode In 2008, the Department of Justice - Bureau of drop. The brain then directs the person to try toward Laura’s office, shooting ten other employ - Justice stated that in a 12 month period from harder to satisfy the craving. That might explain ees before wounding her. The police managed to 2005-2006, an estimated 3.4 million Americans such irrational persistence. remove him and save Laura’s life, but seven peo - were stalked. More than one-third were followed ple died. For that, Farley received the death or monitored, and more than 75 percent knew penalty. He claimed that he’d intended only to their stalker, usually from a troubled romantic as - kill himself to make Laura feel guilty. sociation. Most victims were between 18 and 24 Katherine Ramsland is a writer, professor of People who suffer from erotomania develop and many had to leave a job — even their resi - forensic psychology and former therapist. Among the delusion that another person — usually a dence — to elude the disturbing attention. It’s es - her 34 books are True Stories of CSI , The Crimi - celebrity or someone of higher social status — timated that at least 1 in 12 women has been or nal Mind and The Devil’s Dozen . She has also loves them. They envision their entwined destiny will be stalked, and 1 out of every 45 men. One in written more than 900 articles, mostly about foren - and feel a persistent need to contact or see the in - four stalkers who threaten harm carry it out — sics or criminal psychology. amorata , triggering episodes of stalking. including damage to property or injury to pets. This article supports SinC’s Professional Educa - Only about ten percent of stalkers are consid - The targeted people most likely to be murdered tion and Career Development goal.

2009 — 2010 Ballot Deadline for Receipt of Ballot: October 9, 2009 Please check the boxes to vote for each candidate. You must vote for all offices, including the At Large posi - tions. Mail your ballot to Beth Wasson, P.O. Box 442124, Lawrence, KS 66044-8933. You may also vote at the business meeting/breakfast at Bouchercon on October 16, 2009 (see page 3 for details).

2009❑ — 2010 Board of Directors ❑ ❑ President: Marcia Talley ❑ Chapter Liaison: Sandra Parshall ❑ Vice President: Cathy Pickens ❑ At Large: Charlaine Harris ❑ Secretary: Mary Saums ❑ Bookstore Liaison: Jim Huang ❑ Treasurer: Kathryn Wall (appointed position) ❑ Monitoring Liaison: Julianne Balmain ❑ Past President: Judy Clemens ❑ At Large: Nancy Martin Library Liaison: Mary Boone Publicity: Ellen Hart Memberʼs Signature:

Print Name:

September 2009 - 15 Mailed by: PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE Rowan Mountain, Inc. PAID P.O. Box 10111 BLACKSBURG, VA PERMIT NO. 158 Blacksburg, VA 24062-0111 www.rowanmountain.com

Change Service Requested

D E A D L I N E S

 OCTOBER 5, 2009 — Deadline for reservations for Bouchercon breakfast on October 16. Send a check for $20, made out to Sisters in Crime, to Beth Wasson, P.O. Box 442124, Lawrence, KS 66044. For more details, see page 3.

 OCTOBER 9, 2009 — Deadline for receipt of 2009 - 2010 Ballot. See page 15 for details.  OCTOBER 15, 2009 — Deadline for submission of items for the December Docket. Send to Patricia Gulley, 1743 N. Jantzen Avenue, Portland, OR 97217-7849 or e-mail to: [email protected].  OCTOBER 20, 2009 — Deadline for the December InSinC newsletter. Contact Bonnie J. Cardone: [email protected]; phone 805/938-1156. Other InSinC deadlines are January 20, April 20 and July 20.