The Sisters in Crime Quarterly June 2020

inSinC the Sisters in Crime quarterly June 2020

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 1 Mission Statement Promote the ongoing advancement, recognition, and professional development of women crime writers. inSinC Board Members The Sisters in Crime Quarterly • June 2020 Lori Rader – Day, President S.G. Wong, Vice President inSinc is the official publication of Sisters Faye Snowden, Secretary Jacki York, Treasurer in Crime International and is published Tracee de Hahn, Membership Development Liaison four times a year. One – year dues are Kellye Garret, Member at Large $50 for professional US and Canada writ- Stephanie Gayle, Grants/ACA Coordinator ers and $40 for non – professionals. Two Chris Goff, Education Liaison – year dues are $100 and $80; lifetime, Vanessa Lille, Publicity Chair Debra H. Goldstein, Monitoring Chair $500 and $400. Address and all other Shari Randall, Library Liaison changes can be made by members at our Barb Ross, Web Liaison website. Alec Peche, Chapter Liaison If you do not use a computer or need a Sherry Harris, Immediate Past President user name, please contact Next Wave Next Wave Group 550M Ritchie Hwy #271 Group at the address at left. Information 833.492.7463 • 410.544.4640 Fax in inSinC is submitted or reprinted from ©2019 Sisters in Crime International sources listed in each article. Where re- inSinC quired, permission to reprint has been Molly Weston, Editor granted and noted. SinC does not investi- Marcia Preston, Proofreader gate each submission independently and Margie Bunting, Proofreader Wrona Gail, Proofreader articles in no way constitute an endorse- Priscilla Gruenewald, Proofreader ment of products or services offered. No Merrilee Robsons, Proofreader material may be reprinted without written Arthur Vidro, Proofreader permission from Sisters in Crime; contact Marisa Young, Proofreader Molly Weston.

Presidents Sisters in Crime Sara Paretsky Elaine Raco Chase Kate Grilley Frankie Bailey 1987–88 1995–96 2003–04 2011–12 Nancy Pickard Annette Meyers Patricia Sprinkle Hank Phillippi Ryan 1988–89 1996–97 2004–05 2012–13 Margaret Maron Sue Henry Libby Hellmann Laura DiSilverio 1989–90 1997–98 2005–06 2013–14 Susan Dunlap Medora Sale Rochelle Krich Catriona McPherson 1990–91 1998–99 2006–07 2014–15 Carolyn G. Hart Barbara Burnett Smith Roberta Isleib Leslie Budewitz 1991–92 1999–00 2007–08 2015–16 P. M. Carlson Claire Carmichael McNab Judy Clemens Diane Vallere 1992–93 2000–01 2008–09 2016–17 Linda Grant Eve K. Sandstrom Marcia Talley Kendel Lynn 1993–94 2001–02 2009–10 2017–18 Barbara D’Amato Kate Flora Cathy Pickens Sherry Harris 1994–95 2002–03 2010–11 2018–19

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 2 Table of Contents from Molly From Molly I hope this finds you well, well stocked, Molly Weston ...... 3 and in a good place! I’ve been lucky that From Lori the pandemic has changed little in my life Lori Rader-Day ...... 4 — except not being able to get mani-pedis Counseling Cops and haircuts. Small things. My daughter Ellen Kirschman, PhD ...... 5 pointed out that an introvert who works from home wouldn’t Leading Successful Online Events mind being ordered to stay there. That made me realize how Dana Kaye ...... 7 lucky I am! Fabulous Forewomen I’ve enjoyed watching many of you online, reading your Susan Rowland, PhD ...... 9 newsletters (many of these had links which led me down a Legal Matters mystery-lovers’ rabbit hole), and hearing from you via email. Jodé Millman ...... 13 I’ve shared these announcements with folks who’ve come How Not to Play House – Do Your to my Molly on Mysteries programs over the past 25 years. Disability Research I’ve also ordered enough of the books that my iPad is on the Cindy Brown ...... 16 verge of exploding! Webinar Schedule You’ll notice inSinC has nearly 50% more pages this time. Chris Goff ...... 19 I’m excited about this issue — and I think there is literally From an Editor — Author Mills something for everyone and likely that everything will benefit Kerry Cathers ...... 23 everyone! I won’t try to mention all the topics, but there are The Truth Behind Fictional Crime how-tos, coping mechanisms, ways to avoid legal loopholes, Kristen Houghton ...... 27 opportunities of all kinds, announcements, and things that Mystery in the Midlands ...... 29 are just fun. I’ve had a great time putting all this together. Doris Ann Norris We Love Libraries! I have become interested in landscaping my yard. Of course, Susan Hammerman ...... 30 I’ve maintained my lifelong aversion to getting dirty, but I Library Rescue Effort Needs Your Help...... 32 found a note in my mailbox that a young man who’d been Library Liaison reduced to half time at his job was willing to do the labor. He Shari Randall ...... 33 and a buddy have done an amazing job — I want to share it How Libraries Sell Books with you. Cari Dubiel ...... 34 Our proofreaders have been tireless. Thanks to all of you! Key West Literary Honor Roberta Isleib, PhD ...... 35 Till next time, happy writing! We Love Bookstores Robin Agnew ...... 36 There’s a Test for That Shelley Blanton-Stroud, PhD ...... 37 Most articles for inSinC are submitted by SinC members. If you Saluting Beth Wasson are interested in writing an article (or a series), please con- Sherry Harris ...... 40. tact Molly Weston who will send you submission guidelines. Articles for inSinC are due the 10th of the month two months preceding Obits ...... 46 issue date (July 10 for September issue, etc.). High resolution (1 mb or Awards & Recognition greater) photos are encouraged, however, please do not include more Gay Kinman ...... 48 than two without prior authorization. NO CAPTIONS will be included. For submission guidelines or questions, please contact Molly. inSinC • June 2020 • Page 3 from Lori

How quickly things change.

In my last letter to you, I encouraged you to find the line between saying YES and saying NO and now? Now we’ve all had to tell ourselves no — to nearly everything.

Writing this letter is basically time travel; I’m writing to you from my self- quarantine, day 41 inside my house, and I’m hoping that by the time it reaches you in June, some of the horror of our shared experience of will be over. I don’t know, though. I can only hope.

I’ve been having trouble writing. Maybe you have, too. Recently I had a Zoom happy hour (remember not so long ago when that string of syllables wouldn’t have made any sense?). While talking to other Chicagoland writers about the effects of all this on our lives and careers, one of them asked, basically, in the face of so much uncertainty, was there anything we should be doing now to be ready for the moment when things return to normal?

(I’ll tell you my answer to her in a second.)

I don’t want to ruin anyone’s newsletter, but we are probably not going to see “normal,” as we knew it, anytime soon. Some of us might have to live with a new normal in our lives and in our publishing careers. It’s a scary time to be a human, so it’s of course also a scary time to be a writer. Can you do a million Zoom calls and redesign your website and write up a new marketing plan for the next seven years? (All while you’re home schooling your kid?) Sure, those are all things you can do. But it’s also OK to remember that the world isn’t really on pause. It’s churning and changing, and when we can see each other again, all our plans might need to be changed, too.

Your time might be better spent with those you are quarantined with, and on video chats with loved ones quarantined elsewhere. Reading, if you can. Writing, if you can. Taking care of those around you, if you can. Taking care of yourself, whatever that looks like. Write a letter. Buy a book from your local indie. Watch those cat videos. Get out the puzzles. Watch The Great British Baking Show all over again. (That last one is me.)

What I’m saying is that you shouldn’t feel the pressure to UP YOUR GAME at the same time you are dealing with a universal disaster.

Now, to that answer I promised you. What can we do as authors to be ready for when the doors of the world reopen? You know the answer: Write the best work you can. If you can write. (Write something terrible if that’s all you can manage.) Use the complex feelings you have about this situation to give depth to your characters. Change up your sub- genre and try something new. Write for the joy of writing, if you can catch it. Write for the unburdening of grief, if you can’t. Write your anger into something visceral that is medicine only for yourself. Write. It is the only thing; it is always the only thing, because it is the only piece of this existence we can control with any certainty.

And also: Keep close to your Siblings right now. We joined this group to find the like-minded weirdos just like us, and now we have them. If we rely on each other, we’ll have something else of which to be certain. Those are good bones. I can only hope we can rebuild the rest. Lori

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 4 Counseling COPS by Ellen Kirschman, PhD

ocial distance? Not if you’re a cop f Get dressed and make the or married to one. The following bed, no matter what. are ten off-the-track teachings to f Make a plan for the day: Schedule something with a help you (and me) remain calm in S tangible outcome so you can this pandemic. see results. Rearrange your sock drawer, clean out your clothes closet, mow the lawn, learn some- As a police psychologist I am used to thing new, teach your kids a magic trick, work responding to crises. To offer my help to first on a puzzle. Simple things that are doable. It will help you remember that you aren’t as helpless as responders and families when they need it. you may feel. It feels bad to be told to stay home, shelter- f Be content with tiny victories. It’s hard to con- in-place. It feels bad to feel helpless and even centrate in a pandemic as things are changing minute to minute. If you are writing, set reasona- worse to be among the vulnerable. My hat is ble goals, a paragraph a day instead of a chapter. off to everyone who has to work, is ordered f Remember to breathe. This site will help. to work, or drops their plans and volunteers f Take a walk or download an exercise video. to work. And to those first responder fami- Exercise is the best medicine and it’s FREE. lies who are holding down the fort, juggling f Practice gratitude. Write a letter or an email to jobs, children, and everything else. someone who has helped you. You’ll feel less alone. Instead of focusing on the people who On the other hand, we writers have been grab what they can for themselves or refuse to stay home to avoid infecting others, focus on acts sheltering in place for years. It’s what we do. of generosity and kindness. The internet is full of This means we’re naturals at this social dis- examples: free offerings of music, classes, tours, tance stuff. We’re also good at devising ways books, and friendship. to kill people, though maybe not so good at f Do what resilient people do. Resilient people are able to find something positive, yet realistic, in contemplating our own demise at the hand a negative situation. I take daily walks. I notice of a killer epidemic. For this reason I’d like how many fathers are out walking with their to share some odd bits of wisdom that have children because they are mandated to work from home. Pollution is down. The dolphins are back helped me stay calm in times of crisis. in Venice.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 5 f Fight negativity: Make a concerted effort to add of influence. Influence is different from control. positive things to your day. Watch a funny video Influence comes from love, caring, compassion and or movie. Find something or someone that makes emotional intelligence, meaning the ability to read you laugh. Smile at yourself in the mirror as yourself and others and regulate your emotions in you are washing your hands and singing Happy proportion to the situation. Outside the donut is Birthday to your reflection. Dr. Carrie Steiner, everything else, none of which is in your control. If police psychologist and former police officer, you start to panic or rage, remember the donut. offers recommendations for lightening your day. f Respect your fear but don’t feed it: These are f Live alone? Do your best to stay in touch. Join a difficult times with an uncertain future and an virtual game site or group. Foster a pet. Exercise invisible enemy. Respect your fear. Treat it and with friends or talk to your neighbors, just keep yourself with kindness. Get the most reliable your distance. information and use it to challenge your fears. Limit the amount of time you spend listening f Home schooling? Go here for help. to news or surfing the Net. If you can’t stop f Volunteer to help someone else: Shop for a neigh- catastrophizing, do it on schedule at the same bor, make masks for your local hospital, post time every day for no longer than ten minutes. something sweet or funny online. Remind yourself, this too shall pass. f Turn panic into a plot: Journaling is scientifi- f Do what you can, leave the rest behind: My yoga cally shown to promote wellness and reduce anx- teacher, Yiwen Chang, used to say this. She was iety and depression. Put your thoughts down on a tiny woman who could push off from a plank paper. Who knows what stories they may inspire position to a seated lotus in one move and never in the future. be out of breath. All I could do was what I could do. To blame myself for not being different or better would only have discouraged me further. I haven’t taken yoga in years, but Yiwen’s words have become a mantra for way more than yoga.

Finally, please cut yourselves and your family members a little slack. These are tough times. We are all under stress. Be kind to yourself and everyone else. Remember to wash your hands and keep your distance. Wishing you all the best of health f Go with the flow: Flow experiences are those and the best of writing. a experiences where you get so totally absorbed that Ellen Kirschman writes the award- winning Dot time flies by. It’s different for all of us. For me it’s Meyerhoff mystery series. Dot Meyerhoff is a spunky cooking, reading, and jigsaw puzzles. 52-year-old police psychologist. Too dedicated for her own good, she should be counseling cops, not f Remember the donut: This is one of the most solving crimes. Ellen is a member of SinC, MWA important teachings we offer at the First NorCal, and the Public Safety Writers Association. Responder Support Network retreats. In Her nonfiction books are I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know, I Love a Fire Fighter: What the donut hole is what you can control: your the Family Needs to Know, and Counseling Cops: thoughts, your attitudes, your professionalism, What Clinicians Need to Know (with J. Fay and M. and your ethics. The donut itself is your sphere Kamena).

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 6 by Dana Kaye n this age of pandemic and quarantine, have everyone on camera. we’ve seen cancelled conferences, festivals, If you’re teaching, it may and book tours around the world. But be important for you to Irather than giving up, many of us in pub- share a slide presentation lishing have gotten creative and have taken or provide polls and quiz- these events online. zes. Take some time to think about the primary As a book publicist and owner of an entirely virtual company, I’m no stranger to online purpose, and then deter- events. Our team meets regularly over mine the format. Google Hangouts and Zoom, and we’ve Don’t Wing It hosted virtual launch events for our Practice with your platform. clients who are unable to connect No matter which platform you with their readers in person using choose, it will require some prac- Crowdcast. While it comes naturally tice! If you’re hosting an event to us, I remember that when we first with multiple people, I recom- started, it felt a bit overwhelming and mend recruiting a few friends for a cumbersome. test run. If you’re leading a panel discus- As many of you attempt to take your events sion or interview, schedule a quick test run online, here are a few best practices to keep with your speaker(s) ahead of time. in mind. Get the Word Out Know Your Goals Promote often, but not too early. Unlike Understand the primary purpose of the in-person events, online events are not a event. The format and software you use for “if you build it, they will come” situation. your online event are dependent on your Remember to share the event with your goals. If you want to facilitate community newsletter subscribers and social media and conversation, such as in an online book followers, and to post the event on your club, you may want a software where every- website. You can even partner with a book- one is able to appear on camera. If the pri- seller, writing organization, or fellow author mary purpose is for you to discuss your book to cross promote. The more people who and answer questions, similar to a bookstore know about your event, the more are likely or library reading, then you may not need to to attend.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 7 The timing for promotion is a bit tricky Who’s Watching? and may require some testing. I find that Engage the Audience. When you’re host- announcing these online events earlier than ing an online event, it’s sometimes easy to 10 days prior may result in people forgetting forget about the hundreds of people tuning about it, but anything less than a week and in from around the world. The more you you run the risk of people’s calendars already engage your audience, the more they’ll feel being filled. I recommend a part of the community. At the beginning sending an announce- of most events, I’ll invite participants to ment to your newslet- share where they’re tuning in from and I’ll ter list 7–10 days in read their responses aloud as they come in. advance, promoting on Our preferred webinar platform, Crowdcast, social media through- allows you to create polls to not only engage out the week, then sending your audience, but learn more about them. a reminder the day before. For example, you can ask them if they’ve Depending on what software you use, par- read the new book in your series or not, so if ticipants will receive a reminder right before necessary, you can avoid spoilers! the event, but you may need to schedule that email as well. Like most things, the more online events you host, the easier it will be. Don’t be Get the Right Equipment afraid to start small with an intimate book Use a mic and/or headphones. You don’t club or writing group, before creating a big- need anything too high tech; it can be as ger launch event. a simple as using the headphones that came with your cell phone as long as they have a microphone built in. You can also purchase an inexpensive lavalier mic for around $20 on Amazon (see links at right). If you’re Helpful going to be doing more podcasting and video recordings, you may consider upgrading your audio equipment, but there’s no reason to do so right away. Google Hangouts You may be thinking, can’t I just use the f Zoom microphone and speakers that are built into f Crowdcast my computer? Unfortunately, relying on the f Lavalier mic with phone hook-up internal mic and speakers will result in an f Lavalier mic with USB hook-up echoing, scratchy audio quality, which is a f turn off for attendees.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 8 Fabulous

Forewomenby Susan Rowland, PhD Fractured Families from Noir to Cozy Dorothy B. Hughes & Georgette Heyer

his second edition of “Fabulous eruption of violence from within. Death is provoked Forewomen” looks at examples from inside the family and from within the upper of two subgenres: The noir of class, including Hollywood fame and haute couture. the urban uncanny, and the cozy Fascinatingly, the protagonist is Griselda, the name country house mystery associated with England. in folktale of a long-suffering wife. This Griselda in For detective fiction inherits a range of earlier noir begins very differently. Divorced from Con, Tplot motifs. Perhaps the earliest is the Grail quest. she has moved from film star to in-demand clothes Typically, the cozy supplies a trustworthy detective designer and is resting in absent Con’s New York whose solution heals the wasteland by restoring, apartment where Griselda is terrorized by sinister re-storying, a community to health. seeming unstoppable murderous male twins, David and Danny. In the noir and hardboiled, the detective discovers that the corruption of city and/or soul is so great Finding herself stripped of almost everything except that it cannot be solved or dissolved. “She” becomes the determination to protect Con, Griselda’s under- the wounded fisher king, standing for the wasteland lying devotion is made visible to him only in the of the spirit. final moments. Fulfilling the folktale of “patient Griselda” gives the reader the only possible relief These two novels not only encapsulate, they also from the horror. Folktale plot motif ultimately pro- vary these iconic plots. Dorothy B. Hughes’s noir vides some containment of the wasteland of psycho- protagonist discovers a shadowy network reining in pathic violence. the dizzying decay, while Georgette The So Blue Marble builds its tension Heyer’s cozy ends with a woman of by the insidious nature of its peril, first ambiguous guilt whose anti-social ten- from the charming twins ever will- dencies are enabled. What can today’s ing to demonstrate their nonchalance crime writer learn from these fascinat- about killing for the mysterious mar- ing examples of genre variance? Well, ble. Even more difficult to repel is their in the first place, that similar ingredi- accomplice, Missy, Griselda’s sixteen- ents can create very different worlds. year-old sister. She has been living The So Blue Marble (1940) with the twins in Europe and is now This debut novel by Dorothy B. addicted to their drugged cigarettes. Hughes (1904 – 93) charts a terrifying With Missy dangerously obsessed with

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 9 Danny, even elder sister Strikingly potent is the language of horror distin- Ann succumbs to their guished by limited details. To find a corpse with “no charms. Griselda is forced face” poisons the reader’s imagination, especially into complicity by love, for when Missy’s false piety is accompanied by “behind Con, Ann, and even vicious her face a leopard licked his chops” at the elimina- Missy. tion of a rival. In fact, her eyes “slitted like a snake,” Missy says that “… Danny wants beauty the way Two qualities important for David wants power, the way you want clothes,” writers today are the gal- which says more about her corruption than it does loping plot and the sparse about Griselda. poetry of the characteri- zation. The plot hinges on Above all Griselda is alone. Although she makes a gradual revelations about the marble and gradual friend of an intelligent policeman, he cannot help realizations of Griselda’s priorities, by her and the her. It is incapacity of the law to protect and purify reader. Narrated from Griselda’s point of view in the that distinguishes the noir genre. What is distinc- third person, we witness the deceptively innocent tive about The So Blue Marble as a genre novel, is beginning when two handsome young men invei- that the strong woman can be a source of strength gle their way into the apartment. Only later is it against the noir evocation of evil. revealed that she does know about the so Envious Casca (1941) blue marble and is determined to keep it Heyer too provides the independent safe for Con. woman as a source of moral steadfast- The introduction of her disturbed sister, ness, although Mathilda Clare is far less Missy, is yet another hook for Griselda. central to the narrative. Like Griselda, Evil comes from abroad and infects Mathilda’s beauty is less obvious than the two cities of the novel—New York, in the other young women in the plot, where action occurs and Hollywood, and she too is known for her brilliant origin of many characters. Most terrify- clothes. Also like Griselda, Mathilda ing is Griselda’s discovery of the body of crystallizes her true desires in the course Hollywood star, Nesta. She disappeared of the novel. On the other hand, unlike to the country with Danny, the twin Griselda, she is not the target of malice whose violence is uncontrolled compared to David’s from her family, in part because she is one of the deliberate kills. Griselda and Nesta’s fake film star few without designs on the murder victim’s for- boyfriend, Jasper, discover Nesta murdered in bed. tune.

Con arrives late in the plot and then disappears. He is no Assembling for Christmas at Lexham Manor are protecting male, and the feminist quality of The So Blue the unhappy Herriard family. Few of them like Marble lies in Griselda’s gradual assumption of courage each other, but eager Uncle Joseph insists that his through steadfastness. Up until the very end, Griselda wealthy brother, Nathaniel, actually wants a family believes that keeping the marble from the twins will party. Nothing up to the event of Nathaniel’s mur- protect Con. Yet at the very last, the marble, object of der suggests that Joseph is correct. What nephew all that terror, proves to be fake. Only Griselda’s love for and presumed heir Stephen wants is acceptance for Con and desire to protect her family is real. Missy could his beautiful yet mercenary fiancé, Valerie Dean. Or not be saved, but Ann can return to the fragile “precious is he using his uncle’s sure nose for a gold digger to lacquer mask” of her privileged life. end the relationship? Stephen’s sister, actor, Paula,

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 10 pesters Nathaniel to finance a play with a part spe- inside. In fact, the murder trick is borrowed from cially written for her. Unfortunately, she brings the Maud’s library book, so pointing to the cozy genre lower class playwright to the Manor and insists on inviting the readers to enjoy the fiction as fiction. a dramatic reading with herself playing a prostitute. Clues released covertly enable readers to follow Such a spectacle is just what Nathaniel will hate, she along with the detective in spotting the killer. is reliably assured. Above all, with the meta fictional devices and light Edgar Mottisfont, Nathaniel’s business partner, also yet reassuring touch of a likeable detective, the quarrels with irascible Nathaniel. Later it is revealed world of Envious Casca feels safe, eminently restor- that Edgar has ventured into illegal gun running. able. Not so in The So Blue Marble where the reader Surely this too gives him a motive for murder if it shares Griselda’s despair that nothing seems to pre- will cover up his crime? A snooty butler and secre- vent more crime. tive valet make up the palette of suspects. Jealous, Today’s writer might take note that the plots of greed and irritation come both novels hinge on different questions. For The So to a head with a dramatic Blue Marble, it is not whodunit, but can they ever scene on Christmas Eve be stopped? Envious Casca contains a Shakespeare that is actually about reference in its title to the main orchestrator of the drama. Several characters plot against Julius Caesar. Its key question is who is have been or want to be on manipulating this fractious house party? Here the the stage. They also play police are a far more successful “family” or coopera- parts in the family drama tive unit. that centers on the wealth and power of Nathaniel For Envious Casca restoration is rejuvenation. For Herriard. example, solving the murder forces the dissolution of Stephen’s self-hating engagement. He finds that After Uncle Joseph insists upon the disastrous acting a part as lover proves to be incompatible play reading, Nathaniel rages against everyone in with the role of chief suspect. Coming suspicion the house party. An extra incendiary ingredient is gives Stephen more clarity about himself and who Joseph’s wife, Maud, who will not stop asking about actually cares for him. He realizes that Mathilda is her lost her library book, even after the murder. the right partner and she agrees. No longer acting True to the mystery genre, what appears to everyone against their feelings, their descent into emotional as trivial, actually is a vital clue. honesty also serves to identify the ruthless murderer. Typical of the cozy is the meta fictional nature of What’s in it for you? the plot, that it is a fiction about fiction. The play For today’s crime writers, cozy murder forces reading provides a pivotal scene for the action and relationships out of dead ritual and into aliveness is thematically apt because everyone is acting. The and revelation. It is the opposite in Hughes’s noir, challenge for the police and the reader is to locate where only increasingly fragile manners offer any the actor whose role playing conceals a plot to kill prospect of containing violence until some aspect and to mystify the circumstances enough to get of the world’s disorder can save the characters who away with it. are not vicious. Accompanying the self-conscious device of the play Close scrutiny of these two novels written almost reading is a very specific trope of the traditional simultaneously can help today’s writers see how mystery: the murder in a room locked from the genres are distinct yet overlap in themes and

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 11 techniques. Focalizing reflects upon the bombers overhead nor the risk Griselda keeps back of invasion in 1940 England. The cozy mystery about a similar amount restores home, and that it why is remains important of plot and clues that are today. Perhaps its significance is even greater in the denied to Heyer’s read- 2020 of the coronavirus where “home” becomes a ers. Both set amongst place of restriction and hoped-for security. the privileged, they offer vicarious pleasures of I intend to offer an ongoing series of these “fabulous foremothers” and plan to do Dorothy Salisbury Davis and Margery Allingham next time. I am happy to receive suggestions for future authors. The luxurious living as well as So Blue Marble is published by American Mystery the satisfaction of charac- Classics and Envious Casca by Arrow Books. a ters suffering like anyone Susan Rowland is a British-born scholar of women’s else. While the world of detective fiction with books From Agatha Christie to The So Blue Marbleis not Ruth Rendell and The Sleuth and the Goddess. She secure, at least the romance is also an aspiring novelist with her first mystery, of Con and Griselda is. “Murder by Alchemy,” with Artellus Literary Agency. No one in Envious Casca

Reading/Rereading Classic Mysteries?

any publishers are bringing out classic mysteries both in print and e-reader editions. And they’re just in time for nostalgic reading. I’ve downloaded lots of favorites that I read more years ago than I’d like to admit. I’ve also been adding recent releases and M titles by new-to-me authors. When you’re reading this, I’ll be reading them. I’ve got a huge box of Georgette Heyer books on a shelf in my office — both the mysteries and the Regencies. For years I reread my favorites every year!

Since my eyes have aged at the same time as my body, I don’t read as much in the eve- nings as I used to do. (I’ve also had to give up long soaks in the bathtub where I formerly read for hours.) I’ve been binge-watching crime TV shows and movies. I just purchased The Prize on Amazon Prime because I know I’ll want to watch it more than once. A couple of weeks ago I was glad I’d done the same for The Sting.

Be sure to let Susan Rowland about your favorite forewomen. — Molly

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 12 Legal Matters

by Jodéby Jodé Millman Millman

Going Viral: Force Majeure and COVID 19

riginally in this quarter’s column, topics as acceptance of work I had intended to examine some for publication, contract of the key provisions of a pub- termination by the Publishing Company lishing agreement, but overnight O for the Author’s failure to submit the man- our world seemed to change. Topics such as royalties, subsidiary rights, the advance and uscript, or termination by the Author for author’s input regarding book title and art- non publication of the manuscript by the work will have to wait for another time. company. As a nation, we’re not dwelling on the big They recommend the insertion of the follow- national issues like the Presidential election, ing language in that section: the environment and education. Instead, we’re focused on a microscopic organism that Publisher’s failure to Publish or cause is threatening our country and the world. publication within the time period provided in this Section 9 will not be deemed Similarly, I’d like to draw to your attention to be a material breach of this Agreement to an often overlooked boilerplate provision (and Author shall not be entitled to any that appears in most contracts — leases, house purchase contracts, bank loans, manu- of the remedies set forth above) if the facturing contracts, etc. called Force Majeure. failure (i) is permitted by any provision Since we are writers, I’m going to zero in on of this Agreement; (ii) results from any its application to publishing agreements, and business decision made by Publisher with how the effects of this obscure paragraph the prior written approval of Author; or may linger longer than the pandemic. (iii) is attributable to strikes, war, govern- In March 2020, the Authors Guild updated mental restrictions, fires, natural disasters, their Model Trade Book Contract for the acts of God, or any other cause beyond first time in a decade in an attempt to Publisher’s reasonable control for the time remove contractual biases against authors. covered by the conditions, and in no event Among other things, they suggested subtle for more than 6 months past the original changes to the Publication Section of pub- publication date.” lishing agreements, which deals with such

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 13 Force Majeure bookshelf to a period of up to two years. For The last subsection of this article, (iii), is several reasons, the book may not be pub- called the Force Majeure provision. This legal lished at all or at least not in a print edition. concept dates back to the Roman times, and At the present time, publishers such as Simon recognized that certain unforeseeable events and Schuster, are delaying their scheduled may render the performance of an agreement releases. Publisher’s Weekly has compiled a list impracticable. In the modern publishing of over seven hundred titles that have been world, and in the context of the current world delayed due to COVID-19. Included in that health crisis, this provision has long lasting, list is Stephen King’s long anticipated Under the Dome, which was pushed back until widespread implications for an Author. Christmas Eve, when only the ebook will go Force Majeure releases Publishers from pub- on sale at the same price as if it were in paper lishing your novel in a — $35.00! timely fashion as other- According to Publisher’s wise agreed to in the con- Weekly, presently there is a tract between the parties. boom in all formats, especially Generally, the standard ebooks, as readers hunger to contract provides that a fill the void and empty time Publisher shall publish in their lives. These digital and the work within 12 to 18 audio formats are also easier, months after acceptance of quicker and cheaper to produce, and easy for the manuscript. Often there is no deadline the reader to purchase and download with the for the release of an audiobook or foreign click of a button. However, with the scale of edition, but some authors insert a reversion of the epidemic, government lockdowns and the those rights if the Publisher does not use them closures of bookstores and other distribution within two years of the initial publication of channels, the future of book buying appears to the book. be uncertain. This uncertainty may be fac- It is unprecedented that a virus could be the tored into a publisher’s decision to apply Force impetus for declaring Force Majeure, but Majeure. COVID 19 is not your common cold. It is quarantining cities, overwhelming hospitals, Steps Authors Can Take and leaving streets, stores, and workplaces While most contracts award Force Majeure to vacant, to say the least. It is a nightmare that the Publisher, it is noteworthy that the pro- we are all living with as best we can, with the vision is not mutual. In other words, there hope that it will soon be over. is no Force Majeure favoring the Author. An Author can be held to the contractual dead- If a Publisher invokes the Force Majeure clause lines for submitting their manuscript to the claiming that COVID 19 prevents immediate Publisher during a crisis, while a Publisher is publication, they will be entitled to delay pub- not similarly bound to publish. It would be lication for an additional six months, extending the time from manuscript acceptance to prudent to negotiate a provision extending

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 14 the Author’s delivery and editing deadlines the Force Majeure provision of a publishing for the same Force Majeure reasons as given agreement may seem trivial. However, as to the Publisher. Additionally, a provision writers, our joy and our livelihood exist to should be inserted that any Publisher delay share our stories with the world. And with- cannot exceed six months beyond the origi- out publication, there are no royalties and nal publication date. no income. Also, readers depend upon us to Further, that if publi- entertain them, spark their imaginations and cation does not occur transport them to faraway places after the expiration and times, which are dearly needed of the six-month in distressing times like these. Force Majeure period, Moving forward, writers should and after Author has demanded publica- beware that even the most obscure tion in writing, that contractual provisions can have the publishing com- lasting, unexpected results, and pany forfeits its right to publish the work. take heed. Make sure that your contract is Then, the Author should have the right to reviewed by a lawyer prior to signing it and terminate the agreement, recover all rights don’t forget to ask for a simple few changes granted and retain the full advance. to level the playing field. Clearly, what is good for the Publisher is To keep abreast of the latest publishing good for the Author. news, special offers, events and discounts, If you presently have a book pending publi- Publisher’s Weekly is offering free access cation, discuss this wrinkle with your agent during the COVID crisis. Also, The Authors or your publishing company. With a small Guild has compiled a guide to help authors press, you have a direct line to the editors find economic relief. and publisher, so have a frank discussion with them about their plans regarding your Remember, to think positive. We’re all in book. Communication is key, so keep the this together. a dialogue open and understanding about Jodé Susan Millman is an attorney practic- both sides of the issue to achieve a goal ing in New York’s Hudson Valley, a member that is in everyone’s best interests. After all, they’ve invested in you and your manuscript, of the New York State Bar Association, and and will have no income without publishing a contributing editor to the Kaminstein your book. Suggest digital format releases as Legislative History Project Analyzing the a way to keep the book on schedule. Copyright Law of 1976. Her debut thriller, The Midnight Call, was published by In the grand scheme of life, and while we are Immortal Works in June 2019 and is now worried about our friends and families, our available in audiobook format, and she is a jobs, our towns, first responders, our medical community, the economy, and our country, regular contributor to Booktrib.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 15 How Not to Play House Do Your Disability Research. Please.

by Cindy Brown

ou know what drives me crazy? When Crime meetings. But I can’t tell you the number actors in movies or TV shows use their of books I’ve read where the authors get characters canes wrong. “C’mon,” I want to shout with disabilities wrong. Why the reluctance to (and sometimes do). “Do your research.” research disability? TakeY the otherwise great actor Hugh Laurie, hob- A couple of reasons come to mind. To begin with, bling around on House with his cane positioned on many people believe they can imagine what it the same side as his weak leg. The vast majority of us would be like to have a disability. But imagining a hold our canes with the opposite hand from the leg disability — or even acquiring a short-term disa- that needs support — and there’s a reason for that. bility — is not the same as living with a permanent It better supports your balance, and if you use your disability. The barriers are more varied than you can cane on the same side as your affected leg, you end ever imagine, and long-term barriers pose different up with a wonky gait, which can cause difficulties problems than short-term ones. Being on crutches down the road. for six weeks may mean you get to work at home and let the housecleaning slide, but if those crutches If you Google “House, cane,” you’ll find Laurie and become a permanent accessory, you’ll have to figure his director talking about the reasons they decided out how to carry a laundry basket or get to your to use his cane incorrectly. To me, their excuses second-floor office job. sound like exactly that — excuses. And sure, using a cane incorrectly is a small transgression, but it feels It’s difficult to imagine the attitudes toward disa- like disrespect, and it’s indicative of a bigger issue: a bility, too. When I use a wheelchair, for example, lack of research. adults ignore me more than when I use my cane, but children are more likely to talk to me (“How We mystery writers are pretty good about research. do you turn?” “Can you go backward?” “Does your We attend the Writers’ Police Academy to learn wheelchair fit in the bathroom?”). Attitudes towards about cop work, go to firing ranges to shoot guns, disability vary depending on the disability, and even and view slides on blood spatter at Sisters in the severity of the disability. A friend who is blind

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 16 complains that people often talk to her in an overly Ironside about a crippled former police chief loud voice (“I’m blind, not deaf,” she says), and an of detectives). However, it was realized that observant friend of mine once said she was startled limiting the character’s mobility in this way by how differently I was treated when I would severely restrict the way used a wheelchair versus my crutches. the character could be used… And speaking from experience, I can tell Once a cane was accepted you that some bosses, colleagues, and another problem cropped up — even partners view a permanent disability a cane takes a couple of inches much differently than a temporary one. off the height of the character when it’s being used; and in Another possibility is that people don’t moving shots it was important know where to go to do the research. that House stand out.* I can help: Ask us. Most of us would love to help you portray disability cor- I’m pretty sure that paragraph was not rectly. There’s a great national network of written by someone with a disability, Centers for Independent Living, which because it contains three words/phrases are cross-disability, community-based nonprofits that are offensive to many in the community and designed and operated by individuals with disabili- one outright inaccurate statement. Can you spot ties. Call the one near you and tell them what you’re them? looking for. If they can’t help you, they can refer “Handicap” is no longer used by most people in you to someone who can. f the disability community. The preferred term is More on Research “disability.” Of course you can do online research, but make f “Confined to a wheelchair” suggests that a sure to use information posted by people with wheelchair victimizes the user, when in reality it disabilities. Check out general information sites provides freedom. including the National Council on Independent Living or Ability Magazine, or disability-specific f “Crippled” is just a nasty word. ones such as the National Association of the Deaf f I am no shorter when I use my cane than I am or New Mobility Magazine. Don’t accept any old when I don’t. Where in the world did that “fact” information, or you might find something like this come from? about House’s cane use:

The creators, producers, and writers were But Then… sure that a handicap of some sort should There are exceptions to every rule. A very few people be integral to the main character, but there use their canes on the same side as their affected leg. was an argument about how it should be I knew a gentleman in his 80s who liked the word depicted. At first, it was proposed House “handi-capable.” Many parents of children with dis- should abilities use the term “special needs,” but most adults be con- in the community don’t want that word applied to fined to a them. (We want equal access, not special accommo- wheelchair dations). But as with anything, it’s best to know the (which rules before you break them.

worked in *This quote is from the Wikipedia entry about House. the televi- Any inaccuracies would reinforce Cindy’s imperative sion series about doing proper research.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 17 Knowing the rules and getting your facts straight is And Then… important. Poor research is not only disrespectful, So please, do your research. Not just for those of but also irresponsible. A friend recently gave me a us with disabilities, but for you and your readers. novel, saying, “Your disability is mentioned. I’d like You’ll discover that you get more than correct infor- to know what you think.” In this mystery, a charac- mation. You’ll also gather details that can deepen ter was diagnosed with Zebra-itis (fake name; not your characters. I could tell you how when using a for my privacy, but to avoid recognition of this par- wheelchair in NYC, I had to hide while my friend ticular book). The character was told Zebra- itis was hailed a cab because most cabbies refused to stop a terminal illness — one that would cause him great when they saw a wheelchair. My friend who is blind pain and eventually paralysis and death. Rather than might tell you about the difficulty of picking up after live with her service dog. My friend who was deaf all her life Zebra-itis, could describe how she was frightened after she got the character cochlear implants — what was that deafening noise killed him- in her house? (Crickets.) Or maybe my other friend self by jump- who got cochlear implants would tell you how it felt ing in front to hear her 40-year-old daughter’s voice for the first of a train. time.

Though There is a lot to know about living with a disability besides what you see on the outside. Please, ask us I am not a physician or an expert, I am a good about the inside. Thank you.a researcher (plus I’ve lived with Zebra-itis for more than 20 years). I could not find any research that Cindy Brown is a full-time writer and author of the described the type of Zebra-itis portrayed in the Agatha-nominated Ivy Meadows series, madcap mysteries set in the off, off, OFF Broadway world of book as life threatening, or any mention of peo- theater. She lives in Portland OR, though she made ple becoming paralyzed and dying in the man- her home in Phoenix AZ for more than 25 years and ner described. Zebra-itis is a rare and relatively knows all the good places to hide dead bodies in unknown condition. Can you imagine how fright- both cities. She’d love to connect with readers at her website (where they can sign up for her “Slightly ening this misinformation could be to someone Silly Newsletter”) on Facebook or Twitter, or at recently diagnosed? Or to a friend or family mem- Plentynice, a good news site and blog. ber? (I did reassure my friend that I was not going to become paralyzed and die.)

Keep Up with your conferences!

We all need a little help now and then with our calendars — don’t we? If you’ve preregistered (and paid) for conferences, be sure to cancel everything associated with the trip — hotel, airline, special services. Thankfully, some organizers have done so much for us that it would be easy to let something slip through the cracks. Save your money for something you can use — like printer ink!

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 18 Schedule t has taken a team of Sisters to put together Perdita Halley have been published in 14 languages the LIVE webinar program, and we’d like you and have reached bestseller status here and abroad. to meet the women who make this happen. They have been named New York Times Notable Accepting the title Books twice, have received starred reviews. Her newest SinC Education Liaison, Chris mystery, Crimes and Survivors, about survivors of the Goff helped kick off the LIVE Titanic, was published April 15. webinar series three months Lisa Malice, PhD. As Ilater, in January 2019. Now, a psychologist, Lisa with more than 20 Webinars started her organiza- in the archives, the commit- tional development tee is on track to producing career in the corporate more than 36 webinars by the sector, then found her end of 2020 and more than passion supporting 25 SinC-Ups (the popular video clips found on the school-home-com- Sisters in Crime YouTube channel.) An award-win- munity partnerships in Georgia’s K-12 system. ing author, Chris’ debut thriller, Dark Waters, was An 11-year member of SinC, Lisa is now a psych nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Crime thriller writer shopping around her first novel, Fiction Audiobook and won a Gold Medal from “Don’t Look Back,” and working on her next, the Military Writers Society of America. The sequel, “Dead Ringer.” During her two-year tenure as SinC Red Sky, took silver, and both books were finalists Atlanta president, she introduced programs for new for Colorado Book Awards. She is also the author of member outreach, author-community engagement, the bestselling Birdwatcher’s Mystery series, which was nominated for two WILLA Literary Awards, and education — including monthly webinars a Colorado Author’s League Award, and was pub- and virtual book club meetings. She’s delighted lished internationally. The series is now being to be serving SinC members nationally as part of rereleased in ebook and POD in both the US and SinC National’s Virtual Learning Team/Education UK by British publisher Sharpe Books. Committee.

One of the original members of the SinC Education “I’m thrilled to be working with such a wonderful Video Committee, Sarah Smith works full time and group of people who share my passion for educa- writes full time. Her young adult ghost thriller, The tion. We work well as a team, thriving off each oth- Other Side of Dark, won er’s unique talents, skills, and creative bents. I love both the Agatha (for best YA meeting and working with our webinar presenters, mystery of the year) and the who are enthusiastic, giving, and patient when the Massachusetts Book Award for occasional technical difficulty arises. I’m grateful to best YA book of the year. Her our SinC National Board for the support they offer Edwardian mysteries starring our team, not just financially, but with the enthusi- Alexander von Reisden and asm they show for our work.”

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 19 Nicolette Lemmon is an award-winning marketing and advertising executive, the founder of LemmonTree Marketing Group, and the We also want to give a shout author of three marketing out to Kelly Harrell, a long- books. She earned her MBA time member of the team, who from Arizona State University is currently on hiatus. Last and served on the faculty of year, as she began transition- the University of Phoenix. Having served on many ing out of the event manage- boards and committees for charitable, community, ment company she owned, she civic and professional organizations, she is a past simultaneously picked up work board member of the SinC Desert Sleuths chapter, a as a private investigator. When current member of the national organization of mys- offered an opportunity to join a team working on tery writers, and an active member of the Sisters in wrongful death investigations, autopsy reviews, and Crime Education Video Project Committee. She is other interesting cases on a national level, she just the driving force behind SinC-Up. Her newest writ- couldn’t say no. Could you? Watch for her moderating project is The Reluctant Psychic Mystery Series. ing upcoming webinars with Tiffany Yates Martin, The newest member of our and know we’re hoping she continues to participate team, Michelle Corbier has as she’s able for the unforeseeable future. quickly become an invaluable Meanwhile, we’re looking for some more great peo- asset. We are delighted she ple to join the team. If you are interested in helping stepped up and volunteered. us plan programming and/or moderating, it requires She moderates panels, offers no experience. Bring interest and we will train! Send her insight into programming, an email to [email protected]. and shares her enthusiasm. A a pediatrician with more than 25 years of experience, she writes mysteries, suspense, and thrillers; and is a member of Crime Writers of Color, Sisters in Crime, and Capitol Crimes. An avid reader, she also enjoys gardening and collecting stamps in her spare time.

Want more webinars? Check our archives! Do you still want more?

Did inspiration strike for a topic you didn’t see on the list, a topic you just know SinC siblings will get a lot from?

While we can’t guarantee we can snag your suggested topic/speaker, we can guarantee that we consider all suggestions seriously and will do our best to match them with our mandate to provide valuable, actionable resources for SinC siblings and the crimewriting community at large.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 20 Upcoming Webinars

How to Launch a Book Kellye Garrett, Vanessa Lillie, & Toni Kelner Tuesday • June 16 • 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT

We’ve all heard stories about authors who thought once they sold their book, the next stop was The New York Times bestseller’s list. Well, these Sisters are here to tell you. Like how the most valuable promotional tool may be free — though it does cost time. It takes a little more work than just sitting back and waiting. They have some great tips on using social media and what bling to invest in that will help you be successful in today’s market.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Agents, But Were Afraid to Ask Terrie Wolf (AKA Literary Management), Nicki Terpilowski (Holloway Literary Agency), & Peter Rubie (FinePrint Literary Management) Tuesday • June 23 • 7:00 to 7:30 – p.m. EDT

In today’s world, publishing has changed — but there’s one constant: The agent, who is in the business of selling books they love written by writers like you. This is your opportunity to draw on the insights and knowledge of three of the best.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 21 Suspense Essentials: Keys to Creating and Maintaining Suspense Steven James Tues. • July 14 • Law Enforcement: 3:00 – 4:0 p.m. EDT Fact and Fiction Bruce Coffin and Isabella Maldonado Thriller writing? Mystery writ- Tues. • August 11 • 8:00 – 9:30 p.m. EDT ing? Literary fiction? It’s all the same: Building apprehension in the minds of your readers is Want to learn how to add real- one of the most effective keys to engaging them early in ism to your mystery novel? Come your novel and keeping them flipping pages late into the listen to two accomplished former night. Steven James is a master of suspense. law enforcers turned crime writers discuss the art of writing Mystery in the realistic crime fiction. Midlands Bruce Robert Coffin is Dana Kaye, MC a retired detective ser- Sat. • July 25 • 10:00 – geant with more than 2:30 p.m. EDT twenty-seven years in law enforcement. Isabella What better way to beat the heat Maldonado is a retired police captain and regular of July than spending time at a law enforcement expert for Phoenix’s Channel 12 midsummer conference spon- NBC affiliate. Together, they are going to help you sored by the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime separate fact from fiction. and the Southeastern Region of Mystery Writers How To Weave in of America. Special guest Charlaine Harris will be Backstory (Without joined by John Floyd, Tara Laskowski, Art Taylor, Alexia Gordon, Toni L.P. Kelner, Gigi Pandian, Losing Your Dana Cameron, and Jeffery Deaver. Readers) Tiffany Yates Martin Finding, Working Tues. • August 18 with, and 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EDT Keeping an Agent Ideally, if you’ve developed Abby Saul, Agent them fully, your characters are “real,” fully dimen- Tues. • July 28 sional people with complex backstories and experi- 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT ences. They start at point A and inform the journey A good agent is a true partner for through your manuscript. Yet how do you weave all your writing career: helping you to get published, write that depth and complexity into your story without well, and maximize your author brand. So how do you bogging down in info dumps, flashbacks, or just get and work with one, and what, exactly, can an agent too much exposition? Come learn some practical do for you? This talk will discuss finding an agent (includ- techniques for developing and revealing who your ing the art of the query letter), the winding way of the characters were and are without slowing down the publishing path (and how an agent guides you along it), pace of your story. a and what to expect of your agent partnership (including business management, contracts, and editorial processes).

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 22 by Kerry Cathers

Author Mills and What You Need to Know

uthor mills are publishers whose Agents and legiti- business model is based on selling mate publishers judge a limited number of books from authors by their pre- Amany authors — the opposite of vious works. Many trade or commercial publishers (what we books produced by author mills are of poor think of as traditional publishing) whose quality (more about this later) and, because model is based on selling many copies from of this, the author gets pegged as an amateur, a limited number of authors. The phrase was as unprofessional, as a producer of subpar coined by Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware after encountering multiple complaints about readership. With so much competition, such some emerging publishers and finding sim- a negative reputation could ruin an emerging ilarities in their business practice that were career. exploitative of authors. Why They’re Bad The primary characteristic of an Contracts. These are often (if not always) author mill is that it targets first-time exploitative and non-standard for the indus- authors — people who are keen to be pub- try. There are two areas which are particularly lished, but have little knowledge of how the harmful to an author’s career. publishing world works. In their eagerness to be published after repeated rejections or Termination Clause months of silence they overlook those things These are standard for publishing houses, but that seem amiss. with author mills they can be particularly draconian. They are designed to discourage Author mills can seem attractive to aspir- you from leaving. Some will punish you by ing authors. They’re looked at as an oppor- prohibiting you from publishing anything tunity to get their career underway, get with any other publisher (or literary maga- their name in print, establish themselves zine) for a period of time. Others stipulate as an author, get some sales under their belt, then approach larger publishers or that the publisher retains the right to use the agents on a more solid and attractive foot- author’s name and sell their books after the ing. Unfortunately, what usually happens is contract has been terminated. This allows the opposite: Rather than helping a career, them to publish books you’ve not written author mills can damage it. under your name and brand.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 23 Unfortunately, once signed, the author is some require you to surrender copyright for bound to the terms of the contract, includ- your ideas. They do this by requiring you ing the conditions under which the busi- to submit proposals. Even if they reject the ness relationship is severed. Your only hope idea, it’s theirs. They can assign that story to is that they fail to fulfill their side of the another writer who gets authorship and roy- contract whereby you can hire a lawyer and alties. Because they own the copyright, you sue them for breach of contract. If success- can’t pitch that idea or something similar to ful, it terminates your commitments to another publisher. Ever. them. All very expensive. Poor Quality Best thing to do is hire a lawyer before you The most common complaint about author sign the contract. Choose one familiar with mills is errors in text and formatting, many intellectual property or publishing specif- of which were introduced by the publisher. ically. This is good advice for any contract Some authors have complained of large tracts that crosses your desk, whether from an of text, or even complete pages, missing or agent or legitimate publisher. out of sequence. When an author asks for corrections, they are ignored and the book Copyright goes up on the site for sale replete with all Authors have to be particularly protective of the errors. this. Some author mills require you to sign copyright over to them, claiming Because their profits are not depend- that this is standard practice ent upon a quality product, they with traditional publishers. invest as little as possible in the It isn’t. Others have altered books. They recycle covers, there their approach and, rather than is minimal or no editing, and they seeking copyright, they say that have no interior design. “discontinuance of publication” is Expensive for Authors at their discretion. Meaning, even though Though they don’t charge upfront fees, you still own copyright, they are allowed to authors can end up paying considerable sums publish your book for the life of the copyright, for their own books. Many contracts require thus preventing you from taking that book either a guaranteed number of sales or that to someone else or getting them to remove it authors buy a certain number of their own from their catalog. books. Authors have been harassed to pur- Some author mills offer an annual salary chase copies of their books or ads for the in return for a minimum number of books publisher’s website. They are bombarded with written. The promise of a regular, guaran- specials (buy two, get one free) or offers of teed salary can seem very appealing, but it “free copies” if they purchase certain pub- comes with a few unattractive hitches. Some lishing packages or service upgrades. Some require that you write only for them during have been reprimanded for not attending that period, which can be constricting. They enough book conferences or signings to can dictate what stories you write. But worse, increase sales.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 24 Authors pay out more than they get back. near absence) of marketing doesn’t neces- The high price of error-ridden books by an sarily make them an author mill. To detect unknown author doesn’t encourage sales. them, it’s about a combination of what’s Questionable Business Practices listed below. Having said that, there are some Authors have experienced sudden and arbi- characteristics which are themselves reasons trary changes to the company’s policies, such to avoid the publisher. as increases in shipping costs or price hikes Warning Signs on books. They experience difficulty order- Most of Catalog by First-Time Authors ing books (many book stores will not order Author mills target aspiring writers — those from known author mills) or contacting staff. who are unfamiliar with the publishing There are questionable royalty calculations, industry and who are intimidated and dis- and author mills deduct a sales commission couraged by the submission process or the from royalties even on copies the author pur- need to have an agent. They don’t attract chases. When they complain, many are har- people who have met with success or who assed and threatened with legal action if they understand the industry. discuss their problems with anyone. Fast Read Times / How to Spot Them Acquisition Turnaround It can be tricky to identify Publishers carefully evaluate each them. Author mills make book they are interested in before appearances in legitimately making an offer. Given the quan- produced listings of publish- tity of submissions, the process ers, so scrutiny has to extend takes time. Author mills need beyond looking up the compa- a high volume of titles to make ny’s name. Best advice: Research a profit, so they accept books a company thoroughly. Sites quickly, sometimes within a few days. For such as Writer Beware should be among some their “acquisition” process is a quota your best friends. Keep in mind that a few system: a specified number of manuscripts complaints do not make an author mill. No accepted each day, the rest rejected. matter how reputable a company, there are Publish Numerous New Titles Each Year always complaints. What separates author The argument can be made that the Big Five mills is the quantity of complaints and exist- publishers release a lot of new titles each year. ence of class action lawsuits against them. True. But they’re big and the exception. Most One thing that makes them difficult to spot do not produce high quantities of new titles, is that some of their practices are standard and of those only a few are by new authors. in legitimate small presses. For example, the Author mills rely on volume and therefore level of marketing provided by a publisher is produce hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dependent on their size and how important new books each year. your book is to their catalog. So, a lack (or

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 25 You can access output numbers using an Never Require Agented Authors advanced search for the publisher on Amazon An agent isn’t necessary to be published, and then sort the results by release date. but if a publisher has absolutely no agented Substantial Catalog but Young Company authors, that’s a red flag. Some publishers have sizeable catalogs, but Pay on Net Royalties these are companies which have been around Royalties are based on the selling price of for years and a large percentage of their the book, not net profits. Calculating royal- catalog is backlist titles. If they are relatively ties based on net profits allows the publisher new with a large catalog, it’s because they to pay no royalties at all. They claim that are dependent upon volume to make a profit marketing and production costs, along with rather than sales. employee salaries, resulted in a net loss. The Small Staff author gets nothing. This on its own is not a red flag. Website Aimed at Authors Not Small presses have limited staff, Readers but they also only produce a Legitimate publishers want to small quantity of books attract readers to increase their sales per year. If they are publishing a and profits, and their websites reflect disproportionately high number of this. They promote their authors’ books compared to the number of staff, it’s books and submission details are sometimes probably an author mill. difficult to find. Author mills need to attract No Differentiation of Departments/Genres writers. They promote their services and encourage authors to submit, making it easy Larger houses (Penguin, Random, to do so. They talk more about themselves Harlequin) publish a wide range of genres than their authors. and subjects, but they operate with imprints, each with its own specialty and each with Advertise in Writers’ Magazines or Google specialized editors. Legitimate publishers do not advertise for authors; they don’t need to. Some author mills specialize in a certain genre, but most don’t. They accept any book In the end, the best way to protect yourself on any topic. Given their limited (and often is getting a lawyer to look over any contract unqualified) staff, they don’t have editors before you sign, no matter the reputation of with expertise in a particular genre. This is the publisher or agent. (Of late, even legiti- a sign of poor production; you can’t have mate publishers have been offering contracts quality editing without specialized editors. If detrimental to authors.) It’s a tax-deducti- they don’t care about the quality of the edit- ble investment and, if things go wrong, it’s ing, they’re not going to care about any other cheaper and less heartbreaking than signing aspect of the book. an exploitative contract. a

Kerry Cathers is a contract editor and writer who entered the publishing world as a production editor for a university press. Having sat on both sides of the table, she understands the industry from both perspectives. She has often been approached by aspiring authors asking the wrong question: Where they can get the best editor. inSinC • June 2020 • Page 26 Emma Cline’s The Girls Inspired by the Charles Manson Cult

eaders seem to love fictional books about seen through Evie’s innocent eyes and through her murder. The sales from this type of genre experience of what it is like to be part of a group of account for more than 80% of print and people so unlike any others she has known. ebook sales. Murder — like sex — sells, R The plot is simple. One day, lonely and bored, and sells well. When a fictional book is based on an Evie spots a few young women in the park and actual murder, there’s an added bonus. It takes the becomes interested in their activities. They’re not reader into the mind of the real-life murderer via the like girls Evie knows. They have a reckless sense of mind of the fictional character. We become armchair freedom about them — their uncombed long hair, forensic scientists and psychologists. The story gives their revealing clothing — they seem impervious us a new insight into the criminal mind. to the norms of society that control other people. Fascinated by the way they act, Evie longs to be like Remembering the grisly Tate–La Bianca murders them. Their rebellious freedom against societal con- committed by members of the true-life Charles straints is intoxicating. The longing to be a part of Manson Family in Los Angeles the intense intimacy of female friend- CA in the summer of 1969 makes ships they seem to have, something Emma Cline’s debut novel, The that is so insular and all-consuming, Girls, a disturbing read to say the appeals to her. least. Based on facts deftly inter- The fictional cult member charac- twined with fiction, Cline poses the ter named Suzanne, to whom Evie chilling idea that a seemingly average person under is drawn, is based on the Manson Family’s Susan the right conditions — loneliness, drugs, and a Atkins, who is believed to have been the one who desperate need to connect to others — will tap into fatally stabbed Sharon Tate. The women in the their strong, albeit hidden, potential for evil. Manson Family were known to be recruiters. A few days after seeing the women in the park, Evie In The Girls, readers are introduced to a lonely and is being invited by Suzanne to “come home” with impressionable teenager named Evie Boyd, loosely them and meet the beguiling leader, Russell, who based on the real-life member of the Manson fam- like Charles Manson, has a hypnotic hold over the ily, Dianne Lake, who joined the cult when she was cult members. Led like a lamb to slaughter, Evie only 14 years old. The Manson-like cult is passively goes along with them.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 27 Since Evie seems mesmerized by Suzanne — Cline on Beach Boys drummer strongly implies a girl-crush and budding sexual Dennis Wilson, who had attraction to Suzanne — she is eager to please her. actually befriended Charles So begins her journey into their circle of drugs, Manson and promised to sex, and, ultimately, being exposed to unthinkable make him famous by intro- violence. Evie is introduced to all levels of sexual ducing him to music indus- activity including a threesome with the leader and try executives. However, Suzanne. unlike the musician Mitch in the book, who promises The way they live, dirty and smelling of dumpster- cult leader, Russell, a record- diving, their talk of criminal activities, their disre- ing contract, no contract of gard for the law, and their penchant for violence any type was ever offered by Wilson to Manson. only seem to make Evie want to become like them all the more. She is not turned off by how they live, When Mitch fails to deliver on his promise to she is turned on. Russell, the cult leader tells his members to kill the musician. While driving to the house, Suzanne Despite her enchantment with this group, and despite sees Evie looking at her with a blind adoration and the thought that she could participate in their corrupt suddenly becomes unnerved. She stops the car and life, even committing violence, Evie, like her real-life orders a bewildered Evie to get out, thus saving her counterpart Dianne Lake, is spared becoming a mur- from being a participant in the murder. derer by spur- of-the-moment The others drive decisions. on to the musician’s house Dianne Lake RUSSELL FACES TRIAL eager for the kill. was not involved Frustrated at not in the Tate-La In CULT MURDERS finding him at Bianca mur- home, the mem- ders or the crime sprees that were undertaken by bers kill the groundskeeper, the groundskeeper’s other members of the cult because of a punishment girlfriend, the musician’s ex-girlfriend, and as well as decreed by Charles Manson. Having left the ranch her five-year-old son. The murders are committed in without Manson’s permission one day when he had a horrifyingly similar manner to the murders at the explicitly told her not to do so, Dianne was pun- Tate residence. ished by not being included in the group chosen for Both the character of Evie and Manson follower the Tate-La Bianca murder spree. No longer being Dianne Lake learn of the murders after the fact, and part of Manson’s inner circle may have been her both are conflicted when their leaders and other cult saving grace. members are arrested and put on trial for the brutal The fictional Evie Boyd of The Girls is spared being murders. Their lives, both real and fictional, have part of a similar murder but not through any exclu- been forever changed by their encounters with their sion decreed by the leader Russell. Her being spared cult families. is due to a quirky, and unexpected, moment of Though the book was listed on the LA Times best- kindness by Suzanne. seller list, it isn’t everyone’s reading choice.

The members picked by Russell are on their way to Dwight Garner of The New York Times stated in his kill a musician named Mitch — a character based review, “Ms. Cline can’t come close to sustaining

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 28 ystery in the Midlands is a midsummer a personal presentation by Charlaine, panels will conference sponsored by the Palmetto be presented by John Floyd, Tara Laskowski, and MChapter of Sisters in Crime and the Art Taylor (short stories), Alexia Gordon, Toni L.P. Southeastern Region of Mystery Writers Kelner, and Gigi Pandian (paranormals), of America. It was scheduled to be held and Charlaine Harris, Dana Cameron and in “Famously Hot” Columbia SC on Jeffery Deaver (novels to screenplays). Saturday, July 25. Our guest of honor Although there is no charge for Mystery Charlaine Harris headlined a host of in the Midlands, you’ll need to register other terrific panelists. Then, the pan- on the national SinC website. Sign in as demic hit! What to do? Our scheduled a member (or have a friend sign in as a guests were too wonderful to cancel. guest) and follow the steps all the way So… through so you’ll be registered for this We decided to offer Mystery in the FREE conference. Don’t forget to clear Midlands FREE as a virtual half-day workshop your calendar for Saturday, July 25, from 10:00 to moderated by Dana Kaye via Crowdcast. Besides 2:30! a

Truth cont’d.

her novel’s early momentum. After 30 or 40 pages, my enthusiasm for The Girlsbegan to wane. After 60 pages, I was scanning for the exit signs.”

Some readers who were interviewed after reading the book seemed to agree with Garner, finding the work of almost 400 pages “too lengthy, lacking sustainable pace.” Others called it “unnerving, frightening, and overwhelming, invoking the brutality and the inhumanity of the actual murders to a distressing degree.” Still others labeled the work as having “uncomfortable content,” citing the drug use and assault-like sex as overkill.

Cline’s success has been overshadowed by her ex-boyfriend, writer Chaz Reetz-Laiolo, who claims Cline plagia- rized scene outlines and phrases from one of his writings that she used as her own work in The Girls.

It’s been 51 years since the world was shocked and sickened by the murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and her friends on August 8, 1969, and Leno and Rosemary La Bianca the following night. The horror of those two nights can still chill our blood and make us wonder anew at the power of cults to attract the innocent. a

Kristen Houghton is the author of the popular series A Cate Harlow Private Investigation. The Hawaiian Word for Murder Book 5 is now out. She is also the author of nine fiction and two nonfiction books. Her short stories appear in many horror and crime anthologies.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 29 by Susan Hammerman

ue to current events, libraries are closed, and everyone is stuck at home. For those of you missing your favorite library, consider checking out the wonderful online exhibits at the Smithsonian Libraries, D the Morgan Library, or the St. Louis Public Library, to name just a few. You could also spend a few minutes, or hours in my case, scrolling through the digital collections of the New York Public Library, the British Library, the Library of Congress, or browse the fascinating historical collections on crime at the Lloyd Sealy Library in New York. You might want to search for scanned declassified documents provided by the “Electronic Reading Room” of the CIA. I used the advanced search to find 711 documents that include references to flashlights and 4 documents that mention aardvarks. Isn’t that intriguing? By the end of your scrolling, browsing, and searching, you will remember why you love libraries and why the We Love Libraries prize is so fabulous. The $1,000 prize is used to purchase library materials that may inspire readers, writers, and you! Please encourage your local library to apply. Find grant details and the brief grant application on our website. A WLL winner of $1,000 is selected each month. The most recent WLL winners include a middle school library and two public libraries.

In Michigan The April WLL winner was the Bullock Creek Middle School Library in Midland. The school was closed when I notified the librarian of the win, but she was thrilled to have positive news to report to the students, teach- ers, and parents. Displayed on the wall just behind the students, the excellent photo shows a handwritten sign, “Because of reading we want to be….” Guessing, based on their outfits, there is a chemist, a construction worker, a teacher, and a doctor. The kids are holding books by Alan Gratz, Joelle Charbonneau, April Henry, and the late Mary Higgins Clark.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 30 In Illinois The Cook Memorial Public Library District in Libertyville, served by the Chicagoland Sisters chapter, was the March winner. When it is possible to hold a check presentation ceremony, the Chicagoland chapter members and our president, Lori Rader-Day, will be on hand to help the library celebrate. Pictured in the photo are library staff holding novels by local chapter members: Sara Paretsky, Lori Rader-Day, Patricia Skalka, Tracy Clark, Julie Hyzy, Victoria Thompson, and Libby Fischer Hellmann.

In Virginia The Augusta County Library in Fishersville was the February WLL winner. Fishersville has a population of approximately 8,000 people and is located about 30 minutes from Charlottesville. The photo shows an expres- sive library staff member holding a novel by Ellen Crosby and displaying books by Dana Stabenow and Louise Penny. a

Susan Hammerman lives in Chicago and writes neo- noir and crime short stories.

Booklist ran an article on the 10th anniversary of the Doris Ann Norris We Love Libraries Grant!

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 31 Library Rescue Effort Needs Your Help isters in Crime has always supported libraries, and we’re pleased to announce that the Doris Ann Norris We Love Libraries grant for May will go to the Porterville Public SLibrary in Porterville, California. Vikki Cervantes, Porterville City Librarian, wrote in her We Love Libraries grant application:

Our beloved Porterville City Library was destroyed in a tragic fire on Tuesday, February 18, 2020. Sadly, Captain Figueroa and Firefighter Jones lost their lives battling the blaze. It has been the most devastating fire in the history of our tightly knit community. Our collection of over 70,000 items were totally lost. As well as our irreplaceable local history collection. Now, we look to the city leaders to determine what comes next. So please continue to check in on us to see where our future journey takes us. We plan to utilize the prize by building up our children’s English and Spanish materials for our virtual story times.

As you can imagine, trying to rebuild a library during a pandemic is especially challenging. Sisters in Crime member Anna Lee Huber is spearheading a drive to benefit the library. Please consider donating to this effort. See Anna Lee’s site for more complete information. a

The photos show a plywood panel painted with the word “Read” that miraculously survived the fire. The library plans to preserve the panel and display it in the new library building.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 32 by Shari Randall ooking Back at PLA in Nashville, the Music MAD Librarians, Christina Boys, City — Before Covid19: Sisters in Crime Lisa Wysocky, Ashley Hagan, Robin had a booth at the Public Library Association Yardi, Russell Eberhart, Jaden LConference in Nashville February 25–29, Terrell, VM Burns, Alana White, connecting with librarians who welcomed us back Abby Vandiver, Jacqui Castle, Lynn and librarians who were new to everything we offer. Cahoon, Robert McCready, and Kelly Oliver. The conference came complete with 8,500 librarians, a jam-packed schedule of panels, speakers including Former library liaison Cari Dubiel helped organize Stacy Abrams and Samantha Bee, a bustling Exhibit the booth, but her husband, Ed, was our MVP, staff- Hall, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash impersonators, ing the booth and handing out We Love Libraries a delicious Tex Mex buffet, and a booth with AI that info in every booth he visited. Hank Phillippi Ryan, let players “visit” the library at Hogwarts. Angie Kim, Marcie Rendon, Katherine Hall Page, Kellye Garrett, and the Cozy Mystery Crew offered Several winners of the Doris Ann Norris We Love booth prizes, including SKYPE/ZOOM visits and Libraries grant stopped by our booth to thank SinC book club packs. and tell us how they’d used their grant. A devastating hurricane hit Nashville the night after So many Siblings worked to make the booth a suc- the convention ended. I join with all those who cess. Members of SinC chapters from across the US attended in wishing Nashville a speedy recovery and volunteered in the booth and several did signings: being certain the vibrant city will recover. a Kay Tyler, Peggy Peden, Michael Guillebeau and his

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 33 How Libraries $ell Book$

by Cari Dubiel

ongratulations — you’re a first-time titles for my library. And author. You want all your friends to that’s one suburban library — C preorder and purchase your book. think of how many copies are You’ve got book signings scheduled and purchased by larger systems. are ready to see those sales numbers rise. And then, If more libraries get to know you hear from a friend — “Can’t wait to read your you, more libraries will pur- book! I checked it out from the library.” Cue sad chase your books. trombone noise. e Libraries host author signings. Not all library In 2018, author Heather Havrilesky tweeted, events are created equal when it comes to sales “Never tell a writer you can’t wait to get their at signings, but it doesn’t hurt to do your home- book at the library,” and Library Twitter revolted. work. My library in Twinsburg OH, has an Librarians bemoaned the lack of connection ongoing program called the 50 Book Challenge. between them and authors, discussing all the ways Readers commit to finishing 50 books in a year they help sell books, while authors reassured librari- to win prizes and invites to special parties with ans that Havrilesky’s take was poor. Havrilesky later author visits. Those authors usually do well. A apologized, and when Library Journal’s Kiera Parrott neighboring library is home to a fabulous local interviewed her, she also discussed how little she bookstore and often partners with them to make did know before her tweet. This was a watershed sales. Visit the library you have in mind and find moment in the conversation, opening the door to out who organizes programs, then make your more transparent communication between authors pitch. You can always ask the SinC library team and libraries. for advice, too. As a librarian and a writer — and a former library “The library big-mouths” are a group of librar- liaison to SinC — I’ve answered so many ques- f ians who tweet using the hashtag #ewgc (Early tions about the misconceptions between the two Word Galley Chat) on the first Tuesday of the professions. Maybe one day I’ll write an article like this for librarians about what writers want them to month. I am a part of the group, and we get know. For now, I’ll pass on my thoughts about why galleys from publishers through Edelweiss or authors should support libraries, because librarians NetGalley. We get them directly from our library boost book sales. marketing representatives, too. Find out if your publisher has a library marketing department, e Libraries buy a ton of books. I purchase all the and get to know those people. Get your galley fiction for my library. As a SinC member, I’m into our hands — if we love it, we will be tweet- familiar with our authors and their different ing about it every month until your release date. series. I always make a point to purchase those Many librarians use our monthly list to purchase

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 34 titles, and readers on Twitter see those recommendations, too. There’s also #askalibrarian on Thursday afternoons at noon. e We recommend books to patrons all the time. Your backlist thrives on library recommendations. If the latest bestsellers aren’t on the shelf, we hand-sell what we have on hand. And if we Key West Literary Honor loved your book when it first came out, we’ll continue to sell it way past its release date. he island of Key West has always been Librarians call this “readers’ advisory,” and it’s a draw for artists and writers. This past an art. We also post our reviews on GoodReads, fall, one of my favorite museums, the which may spur a new customer to buy a book T presented an exhibi- Custom House, — and our patrons will do that, too. tion called “literary figures of Key West.“ I Want more data? The Panorama Project is a was astonished research initiative that strives to show more clearly when a friend how important libraries are in the reading eco- tagged me on system. Their reports have shown the growth of Facebook to show sales after author events — a key initiative was me that I, Lucy the Community Reading Impact Report, which is Burdette, had viewable on their website. They compile Panorama been included Picks from anonymized library holds list data, in the collection, which they share with local booksellers. They’re also working on a consumer survey on reading as well side by side with as a library marketing valuation toolkit, which will Thomas McGuane report on specific ways libraries can help to drive and Ernest Hem- sales at events. ingway and Eliza- Remember, we’re all in this together, and we all love beth Bishop and books. So, build bridges with librarians, and they’ll Judy Blume and do everything they can to help you become a suc- Jimmy Buffett and Meg Cabot and Annie cessful author. No sad trombone noise necessary, Dillard and Robert Frost and Shel Silver- but maybe a trumpet fanfare. a stein and more! Definitely a literary career Cari Dubiel is a former library liaison for the SinC highlight. I plan to continue the tradition board. She is currently a writer and a librarian living with the publication this summer of the in Northeast Ohio. tenth book in my Key West series, The Key Lime Crime. (Covid permitting). a

As Roberta Isleib she earned a PhD in Psychology, wrote two mystery series, and served as president of SinC National. As Lucy Burdette she’s still writing the Key West food critic series.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 35 by Robin Agnew

At Sisters in Crime, We Love Bookstores! As a part of our mission to promote the ongoing advancement, recognition, and professional development of women crime writers, every month we award $500 to a bookstore to use for promotion, marketing, or hosting book signing events. With COVID-19 keeping foot traffic at bookstores down, the SinC national board decided to award the remaining nine We Love Bookstore awards for 2020 immediately.

e April Novel Bay Booksellers Sturgeon Bay WI; May Dog Ears Bookstore & Cafe Buffalo NY; June Tsunami Books Eugene OR e July Poor Richard’s Booksellers Easley SC; August Chapter 2 Books Hudson WI; September Bookends Pagosa CO; October BrowseaboutBooks Rehoboth Beach DE e November Bank Square Books Mystic CT; December BookPeople Austin TX

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 36 by Shelley Blanton–Stroud

hat draws women readers to crime tests to check on more complex measures of diver- fiction? All the dead girls? (Kidding, sity.) At the urging of DC Comics screenwriter kidding.) Christina Hodson, designers of screenwriting apps W like Highland 2, Writer Duet, and now even industry I know it’s a ridiculously unwieldy leader Final Draft, have incorporated these tests into question. But still. I’m wondering if film and televi- their writing programs. The tests are surprisingly sion can teach us something about the answer. Or at simple. Some people think they set the bar pretty least a sliver of it. They’ve got a few “tests” for this. I low. put that in quotes because Diane Pomerantz, PhD, explained to me that though Hollywood calls them First came the Bechdel Test tests, they’re not valid psychological measurements Here’s its origin story. In 1985, Alison Bechdel of female audience attitudes. But still, I wonder, can (graphic memoirist of Fun Home and Tony-winner these non-scientific tests reveal anything relevant for for the Broadway version of the book) wrote a comic crime fiction writers? panel in her “Dykes to Watch Out For” strip, in Hollywood’s been struggling to fix their woman which two women are on a walk. One says, “I have problem for a while now, especially propelled by this rule, see… I only go to a movie if it satisfies three work done by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender basic requirements. One, it has to have at least two & Media, and the USC Annenberg Inclusion women in it, who, two, talk to each other about, Initiative. Though it still underwhelms feminist three, something besides a man.” By 2013, this critics, industry buy-in intensified post-2017 in the method was a ubiquitous way of judging a movie’s Harvey Weinstein, #metoo, melee. woman-friendliness. Now it’s baked into the screenwriting process. Some in the industry are trying to respond to what’s been revealed — ta da! — that, even in films To be explicit, the Bechdel Test asks whether a film has: released in 2019, women are only lead characters 1) At least two women in it, who 29% of the time. To rectify this, they’ve mainly 2) Talk to each other, about focused their attention on literal representation 3) Something besides a man. counts: how many female lead characters, writers, Mako Mori Test directors there are, how many lines they’re given, Now there’s also the Mako Mori Test, with an origin how many scenes. story directly tied to the Bechdel Test. Mako Mori But to deal with it in terms of content, in addition is a character in Guillermo del Toro’s sci-fi monster to head- and line-counts, they’ve turned to the film, Pacific Rim. In the film she wins independ- pop-culture-based Bechdel Test and Mako Mori ence from a protective father figure and achieves her Test. (Some also apply the Shukla and DuVernay dream of becoming a pilot. The character became

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 37 a huge hit in Tumblr sci-fi fan girl discussions. In It may indeed seem trivial on its surface, too lit- spite of all the fem-fan love, the movie doesn’t pass eral. Crime novels that fail to engage two women the Bechdel Test. This fact led to the Mako Mori as in conversation about something other than a man an alternative or supplement to the Bechdel. may still be totally woman-centered, empowering, surprising, gratifying to the reader. Such Bechdel- The Mako Mori Test asks whether a film has: failing books may shatter gender stereotypes, pro- 1) At least one female character, who viding fresh, nuanced characters, out of the norm. 2) Gets her own narrative arc, that is 3) Not supporting a man’s story. Crime novels that do pass the Bechdel Test may do so through even one inconsequential, unmemora- Though it doesn’t often appear in the list above, ble scene between two women, a scene that reveals the Mako Mori also pleases audiences because the nothing compelling about the story, the theme or eponymous character is also a woman of color. the characters. Just checking an item off the list.

Help to Crime Writers? In certain crime fiction story-worlds taking place in Producers now apply both of these tests as short- mostly masculine settings — the military or cuts to understanding whether their stories are professional football spring to mind — it would seem friendly or unfriendly to women viewers. So, can silly for the author to shoehorn in female charac- this provide any help to writers of crime fiction who ters just to be able to pass the Bechdel. Though an want to draw in women readers? unlikely what-if in this setting — It may be that because it emphasizes one wom- what if a woman became head an’s narrative arc, the Mako Mori Test implies the coach of an NFL football team heroic potential of each of us, which is owned by another woman, a obviously compelling. It’s also not hard team in which a murder takes to see that women authors of crime place — might be fresh and fiction often already make stories that interesting, it may also be fulfill this test. Especially if we have more interesting to women a woman detective, P.I., or avenging readers to read an accurate crime victim, we have a woman at the account of the power dynamic in center of her own arc. If she succeeds, real-life NFL board rooms they’re that empowers the reader. If she fails, at least in not often allowed in. part, it reinforces the bittersweet reality that many Items on the Bechdel list may not reliably provoke women readers know. a meaningful response from female crime fiction readers, because of the natural differences in individ- Though it seems self-evident that a good Mako ual women. Mary E. Plouffe, clinical psychologist, Mori score will make stories gratifying to women author, and mother-in-law of Christina Hodson, readers, it doesn’t seem like many woman writers of the screenwriter described above, says preference crime fiction actually need prompting by this test. is, “highly age- and culturally-dependent. Younger, On the other hand, the older Bechdel Test may well-educated women are likely more agitated, seem at first less likely to provoke what readers want. offended, or put off by stereotypes like female con- Writer and prison therapist, Juliette Kelley, calls it versations only about men, and females always being “derivative and meaningless.” So it’s not like some in supportive roles. Readers often seek affirmation of perfect litmus test of compelling feminist storytelling. their life stories unconsciously, so their psychological

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 38 response will vary according to age, socioeconomic not — sorry guys — especially if a woman is going status, and cultural beliefs.” So, for instance, female outside the boundaries of a patriarchal social struc- fans of the stock characters in some genre fiction ture or operating within it in an unexpected way.” may not necessarily prefer the work of a writer Female-to-female conversations may also be able to applying the Bechdel test. “Note, females comprise a reveal character flaws more completely than female- good number of 007 fans. We know the women are to-male conversations, which often in crime fiction props, but we accept the caricature in context.” are tinted by sexual overtones. PhD and crime But still. The Bechdel may at least reinforce charac- television fan, Theresa Margetich, says she likes the ters’ authenticity. Alison Bechdel says that her test show Scott & Bailey because the duo female pro- was partly inspired by Virginia Woolf’s 1929 essay, tagonists’ bathroom conversations often reveal the “A Room of One’s Own,” in which Woolf observed, relevant fact that they struggle in the ways male “All these relationships between women, I thought, police always do, “they drink too much, take risks, rapidly recalling the splendid gallery of fictitious sleep around, regret it.” Those conversations are just women, are too simple. ... And I tried to remem- the two of them. Usually at the sink and in the stall, ber any case in the course of my reading where two where their voices echo against tile, different than women are represented as friends. ... They are now their voices in other rooms, with other people. and then mothers and daughters. But almost without So, though the Bechdel may at first appear to be exception they are shown in their relation to men… an unambitious test to gauge whether a crime story And how small a part of a woman’s life is that.” might get something right about female charac- Authentic Friendship ters, something that may draw To show real female friendship, in women readers, as author and maybe even frenemyship, may make podcaster Betsy Graziani Fasbinder characters more believable and says, “I agree the bar is low with interesting. Says crime writer Mel these questions, but sadly the real- McGrath, “We know how deep and ity is lower. It’s a start in the right complex our relationships with other direction even to begin to ask such females can be. And while plenty of things.” contemporary male crime writers Next time: crime fiction that passes wisely reach beyond the misogynistic femme fatale/ the test and how. a Madonna-whore tropes of old school noir, few are able convincingly to portray the myriad ways Shelley Blanton-Stroud is a writer of historical mystery (Copy Boy, She Writes Press, June 2020). She women exert power over and betray each other with also teaches college writing in Northern California the brilliance and dark wit of, say Liz Nugent or and consults with writers in the energy industry. Megan Abbott.” Writer and crime fiction fan, Nikki She co-directs Stories on Stage Sacramento, where Cardoza, says stories that include authentic female actors perform the stories of established and emerg- friendship “are often rich, messy, and complex in a ing authors, and serves on the advisory board of 916 Ink, an arts-based creative writing nonprofit for way that the stories of the ruling power (men) are children.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 39 by Sherry Harris

e’ve known for the past several years that the day would come when Beth Wasson, SinC Executive Director, would announce her retirement. One day on a call, Beth told me it was time. And miraculously she gave us fourteen months’ notice. Sadly because of the pandemic we aren’t going to get to throw the public celebrations we’d planned at Malice. So I reached out to a few people who worked with Beth during her 28 years withW Sisters in Crime. Liz Stuewe, Beth’s Daughter One of my favorite memories of SinC was going to Bouchercon in Monterey CA in the late 90s with a story I had written about my grade school classroom gerbil who turned into a talking detective and solved crime at night. I made a bunch of people read it. I’m pretty sure Nancy Pickard even gave me notes on it! Everyone was so sweet and supportive. Sarah Glass, former Sisters in Crime Web Maven (and so much more) Ten years ago Beth Wasson served as my guide to all things Sisters when I began the process of converting member database files and moving content from the old systems to the new. She’d surprise me with her intricate knowledge of odd dates or notes in the database which helped us to make sense of it all.

After years of working with Beth only by teleconference I met her in person at Bouchercon. While manning the table in the dealer’s room, I watched as she greeted old friends, swapped stories and hugs and shared her friendly smile to any newcomers to Sisters. I learned the patter and enjoyed the hours spent over those long weekends.

At the Chicago Bouchercon, Sisters held a chapter presidents gather- ing after the member breakfast, possibly the first time we had done this. Karen Pullen began the meeting but there was still some chitter-chatter going on in the hallway. Upon investigation, I pinpointed the source of the problem. Sara Paretsky was having a lively conversation with Beth and other Sisters. Using my nicest, diplomatic phrases — “Of course, I hate to interrupt,” and “I don’t want you to stop you visiting with each other, but if you could just move the discussion just a bit farther down the hallway, it would lessen the distraction for the meeting-goers,” — but the gist of it

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 40 was to shush! Beth pulled me aside and whispered, wide-eyed, “You just told Sara Paretsky to hush-it!” I thought I was about to be fired, but Beth smiled and chuckled.

Board members cycle through and at the regularly held board meetings, questions would often arise about how to do something or why didn’t we do something a certain way. Beth had institutional knowledge that could dazzle the newbies on the board. Beth’s desire to safeguard the history of Sisters in Crime can be seen in the care put into the archive at Rutgers, her work on an accurate timeline as well as finding a means to preserve the memories of the SinC foremothers. She is a true steward of Sisters in Crime.

Beth knows Sisters, she is Sisters, and Sisters will not be the same without her. Molly Weston, inSinC Editor 2009 – present Knowing Beth as a member, I was awed that she called me by name every time we crossed paths. When I became editor of inSinC, I became impressed with both her knowledge of the organization and with her tactful guidance in every instance. My respect for her grew every year — I saw many opportunities for her to become frazzled , but she handled them with her usual grace under pressure.

While handling all the responsibilities of her job, Beth has always exhib- ited both kindness and thoughtfulness to me and so many others . She has a truly generous spirit.

Beth’s position will be filled, but we will find her extremely hard to replace. We love you, Beth! Margaret Maron, President 1989 – 90 Almost from the moment Sisters in Crime was formed, Beth Wasson has been the beating heart at its center. Endlessly patient and helpful, she made my term as president easier and she has remained patient and helpful whenever I have called on her for help or information. It’s hard to visualize Kathy Wall, Sue Henry (Pres. 1997–98), Beth Wasson SinC without her calm and competent presence. She will be much missed. Malice Domesstic 2007 Elaine Raco Chase, President 1995 – 96 Memories and well wishes for Beth!

From the moment I burst on Beth’s scene, I’m sure she cornered the market on headache medication!

That was 1990, when I became publicity manager for Sisters in Crime. Beth and I were in daily contact via telephone, letting her and the current SinC president know what was on my planning calendar to make SinC become: Ubiquitous. (I had to look that word up to make sure we weren’t being insulted!)

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 41 Letting libraries around the country know about the Sisters in Crime author’s map, shipping them out, setting up speaker’s bureau…it was fun, exciting and I’m so glad Beth was my partner in crime!

When I discovered the new alternative to the telephone and those big phone bills, [email protected] was born with Beth’s help. I can’t even remember a world without email!!!

I became vice president in 1994 and Beth was always there to help in the setting up of SinC’s first Writer’s Conference in Houston TX. Later, as president in 1995 – 96, I can truly say Beth became part of my body and often more than a few brain cells as SinC indeed had become known around the world.

Beth helped me organize copies of our author’s books so that a mystery library was donated to the Clinton White House and housed at Camp David (both Clintons were mystery readers)

In my humble opinion, Beth has been the backbone of Sisters in Crime since its creation.

Beth, you so deserve a relaxing ‘retirement’ but damn – you will be missed.

Love, good health, and happiness – to you and your family.

Kate Grilley, President 2003 – 2004 How long has it been? When I think about Sisters in Crime, you are always there. Our rock. My rock during my 2003 – 2004 presidential year. Thank you is so inadequate for everything you did. But it must be said. Thank you!

I also think about all the good times we shared... at Malice, at Bouchercon. Fun times, treasured memories.

Sisters in Crime won’t be the same without you. Happy retirement, dear friend. You will be missed!

Libby Hellman, President 2005 – 2006 Beth helped make that celebration special by letting us do some crazy things, some of which worked and some which didn’t. I will always remember her support, generosity, warmth, and humor, especially when there was conflict. It was rare, but occasionally, it did happen, and Beth had a way of smoothing things over so that everyone felt they’d come out of it with something. Oh yes, and the wine. Doris Ann Norris, Libby Hellmann, Judy Clemens, and Mary Booth in Ohio celebrating our 20th A wonderful director who has SinC in her soul. I will miss her, but wish Anniversary in 2005. her great adventures and happiness as she opens her new chapter.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 42 Judy Clemens (aka J. C. Lane), President 2008 – 09 Beth is so much fun at conferences — we’ve roomed together, gone out to eat with each other and with groups, “womanned” the SinC table, and worked together to make events run smoothly and joyfully. She is lovely and a peach and a great friend.

When I had the honor of serving as president, Beth made the whole thing feel doable. I’m sure I’m not alone in realizing that without her guidance, wisdom, and calm demeanor, my year in that position would have been a lot more difficult. Beth is organized, knowledgeable, and diligent, and those things can’t be emphasized enough.

I love you, Beth!

Marcia Talley, President 2009 – 2010 In the mid-1980s, I was a librarian. I first met Beth Wasson at the annual American Library Association conferences where I’d hang out at the Sisters in Crime table with the other fan girls enjoying the opportunity to chat with Beth (who knew everybody!) and with mystery authors I had always admired.

More than a decade later, I became a published mystery writer. I still hung out at the SinC tables with Beth, but by then I’d be greeting librarians and signing and giving away copies of my own mystery novels. At some point, I believe it was a Malice Domestic in Crystal City, Katherine Hall Page twisted my arm and asked me to serve as secretary for SinC National. I was enormously flattered by the invitation, and after consulting with Beth (who knows everything!) I agreed. For the next five years, I worked closely with Beth and the SinC Board, the last year as president. A lot was accomplished during those years, and none of it would have happened without Beth whose intimate knowledge of the organization proved invaluable time after time.

Beth knows: all the usual suspects, the combination to the locks, and where the bodies are buried. What will Sisters do without her?

Cathy Pickens, President 2010 – 11 Stories about Beth Wasson? That can be shared with a wide audience? That certainly limits the options. What I can say is that Beth has been everything that holds SinC together.

When a board member suggests “Why don’t we do this?” with no thought about the difficulty of carrying out this, Beth steps up and does it. She just quietly makes things happen.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 43 Her real gift has been that she lets each board find its way, deftly pointing out potholes but, at the same time, letting the energy of each new group find its path. That is a rare gift indeed—to hold so much organizational history and experience without exercising a dictatorial rule. I don’t have the words to describe my awe at watching her, over a lot of years, hold her tongue, hold our hands, welcome new members, encourage us, and let the organization grow and change.

Without that wise, constant, flexible support, could SinC have grown and changed with the times as easily? I don’t diminish the amazing gifts and hard work of the membership and those who’ve served on the board, but I also recognize the quiet, rare talent that has helped all those parts come together into an organization that truly supports writers and readers.

I can’t forget Beth’s wry good humor. And the many conference dinners we’ve shared. And I must admit to being a little bit afraid. Beth has made it look so easy. We haven’t paid her enough in money or gratitude for what she’s done. It’ll take a lot of people to do what she’s done so artfully.

And I can’t thank her enough for what she’s helped build. SinC helped me realize a dream I’d had since I was 11 years old; SinC continues to help writers and readers enjoy their dreams. And Beth’s name is writ large in all that this organization has meant.

I know she has a stack of good books to read and lots of adventures to enjoy. I hope she also feels all the hugs and good wishes and deep gratitude!

Frankie Bailey, President 2011 – 12 Dearest, Beth. Wishing you a wonderful, happy, productive retirement. Thank you for seeing me through my year as president. I couldn’t have done it without you. Hugs, Frankie

Laura DiSilverio, President 2013 – 14 A Limerick Honoring Beth the Magnificent In the office of Sisters in Crime Reigned Ms. Wasson, whose work was sublime. With tact and a smile And a soupçon of guile, She is our queen for all time.

With oodles of gratitude and great fondness.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 44 Catriona McPherson, President, 2014 – 15 When Beth suggested a weekly phone call every Friday afternoon (which she did when I came in as president) I thought, “Why not just email as and when things come up?”

What did I know? Nothing. Not only did that weekly call mean that thoughts were marshaled, issues prioritized and — often — answers already found and actioned, but that call came to be the sweetest bit of my entire week. Some of it was Beth’s calm, med- itative voice; some of it was the repeated experience of her being entirely unfazed by a matter that had me spinning; most of it was the laughter, affection, and understanding that was all I ever had from this busy woman who had seen so many presidents come and go but never said an exasperated word to what was surely one of the most challenging ones to train. I missed those calls so much when my year was done. I miss them now sometimes. Beth, thank you!

Kendel Lynn, President 2017 – 18 What a treasure you’ve been to Sisters in Crime. I’m so grateful for your guidance during my presidency. But most of all I will forever remember your compassion during the Bouchercon Dallas 2019 SinC breakfast. Your kind words meant everything. I’m sending you wishes for a joyful retirement.

Sherry Harris, President 2018 – 19 Transitions are always hard and this one is made harder by the pandemic. Beth, I wish we were celebrating you at the Malice breakfast with a large crowd of sisters and your family there to wish you well in your retirement. You have always stayed behind the scenes and I wanted just this once to be able to push you to the forefront so we could celebrate all you’ve done publicly.

During Hank Phillippi Ryan’s interview Beth said something that really hit me. Beth said the organization has a soul. And Beth, a big part of the reason it does is because of you.

On behalf of the board, the goddesses, and our members, thank you for your dedication and hard work! a

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 45 Kate Mattes — a Few Thoughts

hen we were starting Sisters in Crime, Kate enlisted Charlotte MacLeod to join the first steering committee to represent the voice of writers of domestic crime. Kate, a strong feminist, was naturallyW also on that first steering committee, to speak for bookstores and basically anyone in the mystery world who needed an advocate. Kate and I used to sit next to each other at Edgar dinners back when they were held at the Sheraton on 53rd Street. We’d smuggle in a bottle of Chivas to avoid the steep mark-ups, and pass it back and forth underneath the table. We’d edit everyone’s acceptance speech if they rambled too much, and then we’d share a cab back to wherever we were staying. One year, when we walked for blocks without finding a cab, we persuaded one of the Central Park horse carriages to drive us. David L. Rhyne, Boston Globe, 2000 Kate opened her bookstore, Kate’s Mystery Books, in 1983. I’d published my first novel a year earlier. She reached out to me, inviting me to do an event at her store. It was the first of many. Many of you remember that store— the ground floor of a Victorian mansion in Cambridge, with all the little parlors and crannies filled with books— noir in one room, Gothic in another, and so on. Kate held court out front with wine and snacks. After a signing, we’d have dinner with people she chose— I will always remember the night a private investigator joined us, and subjected me to an intense — friendly, but intense — critique of VI Warshawski’s methods. I’d spend the night on the third floor of Kate’s place before moving on. The store closed in 2009, along with so many other brave indies of that era. Kate had a heart of gold and a moral sense like a plumb line. She’d been a social worker before opening her store. Her advocacy for her clients was legendary, including taking their needs straight to the Massachusetts State House. During Edgar week, we’d meet for tea with Sara Ann Freed, one of the world’s great editors, and Charlotte MacLeod. Charlotte was one of Sara Ann’s writers, and a client of Kate’s brother, the literary agent Jed Mattes (who died in 2004). These are hard times in these United States, and writing these words, I’m crying, for the loss of Kate — because in losing her we lost a fearless speaker of truth. — Sara Paretsky

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 46 Barbaraneely*, 1941 – 2020: An Appreciation hen Barbaraneely published Blanche on the Lam in 1992 (winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel), she had already accomplished more than most of us do in a lifetime. As an urban planner, she had created a housing Wprogram for women leaving prison. She was cofounder of Women of Color GoodReads for Reproductive Freedom, had been a radio talk show host, and was executive director of Women for Economic Justice.

While she was creating these empowering programs for women, particularly for women of color, she was also nurturing her writing voice. The four novels in her Blanche White series remain unusual, powerful, and necessary three decades after Blanche first appeared.

Blanche White is an African American woman doing the most stereotypical work of black women: she cleans houses, almost always for white people. She’s a big woman, and dark-skinned in contrast to her name. Since Blanche is French for “white,” her name, as Barbaraneely deliberately intended, is “White White.”

Through the four books in this all-too-short series, Barbaraneely upends multiple stereotypes about black women and the way they are positioned by white society and within African American society. She reveals the richness of African American life, which most white people have no knowledge of — and often no desire to experience. That took a particular kind of reckless courage as a writer — to expose the personal to people who might ignore or demean it.

At the same time, Barbaraneely confronts head on the racism that is part of the daily bread of most African Americans. In the final Blanche book, Blanche Passes Go, readers walk with Blanche as she wrestles with the residue of her own rape by a white man. Blanche has grown in stature through the series; she claims her role as detective even as she has to continue to do ordinary work, she brings her tormentor to justice and rescues a younger woman at the same time.

For lovers of crime fiction, Barbaraneely delivers what we want: good writing, believable characters, nail- biting action. The books also showcase the author’s passion for claiming an authentic black narrative that upends the tired but persisting tropes of white America. She claimed as her greatest influence Toni Morrison, whose voice empowered generations of African American writers. Zora Neale Hurston’s influence is present as well as Blanche connects to the long history of African American traditions, many brought from Africa and remaining alive during long years of slavery and its Jim Crow aftermath.

In her essay “The Butler Didn’t Do It, so Now They’re Blaming the Maid,” Nancy Tolson puts Blanche in the West African tradition of the trickster. Her name itself, White White, is a trick, both camouflaging and drawing attention to her essential blackness.

Barbaraneely’s books are not in print, which is sad proof that as a country we weren’t strong enough for that strong voice. Barbaraneely died on March 2, 2020.

— Sara Paretsky

*The author used no space between her names, thus lower case in her surname.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 47 by Gay Kinman

Tracy Clark’s Borrowed Time won the Sue Grafton Memorial Award Matt Coyle’s Lost Tomorrows won the Lefty for Best Mystery Novel Samantha Downing’s My Lovely Wife was nominated for the ITW Thriller for Best First Novel Carol Goodman’s The Night Visitors won the Mary Higgins Clark Award Rachel Howzell Hall’s They All Fall Downwas nominated for an ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel Sheila Connolly Angie Kim’s Miracle Creek was nominated for an ITW Thriller Award for Best First Novel; won the in Memoriam Edgar for Best Novel by an American Author heila Connolly passed away Tara Laskowski’s “The Long Term Tenant” was on Monday, April 20, 2020 nominated for an ITW Thriller Award for Best Sat home in her beloved Short Story; and her One Night Gone won the cottage in Ireland. The first thing Agatha for Best First Mystery Novel you noticed about Sheila Connolly Sujata Massey’s The Satapur Moonstone won the was her big, beautiful smile. Then Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel her amazing laugh. Soon after you realize how smart she was, a Edith Maxwell’s Charity’s Burden won the Agatha prolific writer of 37 novels and for Best Historical Mystery multiple short stories, and how Catriona McPherson’s Scot & Soda won the Lefty willing she was to give back to the for Best Humorous Mystery Novel writing community. Among her Frances Schoonmaker’s The Last Crystal won the many accomplishments, she served Agatha for Best Children/Young Adult as president of the New England Shawn Reilly Simmons’ “The Last Word” in Mystery Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Sheila Most Edible won the Agatha for Best Short Story will be missed by her many readers and friends. Carl Vonderau’s Murderabilia won the Lefty for Best — Sherry Harris Debut Mystery Novel

Please send nomination and award information (SinC members only) to Gay Kinman.

inSinC • June 2020 • Page 48