Clara54 “Whatcha Doing” in Books for 2014!

Hello readers, writers and published authors! Well, stuff is happening in my world- some good, some not so good, but my creative juices will not be deterred:) Today, I’m reflecting upon some of the many books/authors I’ve read for my reviews here at Clara54, Goodreads.com and Amazon.com and I wanted to share and recommend some “Whatcha doing” in books to my wonderful readers.

You guys are so deserving and this is my way of saying ‘thanks’ for all you do and to remind you that great books and authors are rising up, many of whom I get to spotlight at clara54 writers blog. Today at clara54’s “Whatcha doing” book series:

“Through The Lens” by Kwana Jackson, is an enjoyable and romantic book. The protagonists discover their love for each other through the lens of a beautiful Island backdrop.

“Murder At Castle Rock” is a wonderful whodunit that takes the reader on a joyful and suspenseful journey through the love for rock & roll music and mysterious murders. This book was written for diehard music lovers and wannabe mystery solvers with a in a rock &amp ambiance. The author is Anne Marie Stoddard.

Want to read about women trailblazers in Basketball? Remember when women weren’t even allowed to play the sport? This memoir “Home Sweet Hardwood” was written by one of those women! I learned a lot about the tenacity and strengths that women had to muster in order to become ‘one of the boys’ in this male dominated sport. I’m also glad to report that Pat Mckinzie and I are great cyber ‘sistah’ friends. Keep going warrior woman!

“When One Door Closes” is one of my favorite women anthologies and not because I’m one of the contributors, but because of its author. Terri Spahr Nelson took the voices of many women and formed a community of a woman support system of shared truths and the voices of women in conversation on a global scale. I was thrilled to read and be a part of this book that reflects on Life’s turning points in the lives of women.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my own little contribution to sharing the authentic woman voice. With “A Life Toward Authenticity”, I’m not even trying to go to the place of published author (wip) with this short eBook of my personal journey to truths seeking, but I tell you it packs a great big wallop in an honest attempt to help other women on the path to living an authentic lifestyle. From my heart to yours, I ask that you receive the message in which it was given.

‘Eating Smoke” by Chris Thrall stayed in my mind long after I’d finished reading it. It’s a true to life story of addiction, psychosis and a man alone in Hong Kong, whose life force is quickly spiraling out of control as his addiction to drugs worsens and his sanity wan. I’m still waiting for an interview with this author, but he’s presently in talks and preparing this masterpiece for the big screen!

Wow, you talk about a master at work, “AS The Heart Bones Break” by Audrey Chin is so descriptive and detailed in its craftsmanship. The story unfolds via a mysterious voice painting tales of espionage and secrets that extends from Singapore to the shores of the USA. The protagonist is determined to stay true to his people; his heritage and considers it an honor to spy for his country from where he lives and works abroad. The secrets within his own heritage and insidious family dramas colors the story and lures the reader, making it impossible to put the book aside. I was pleased to hear of the author’s success with her book, only one of several. I predicted Heart Bones would become a bestseller and box office draw 🙂

These are some of the books I’ve enjoyed reviewing for my blog or at Amazon.com and there are others that I want to recommend, but those will come at another posting. I hope those of you reading this post will pick up one or more of these author’s books. Clara54 was selected as book blogger site in 2010 for a reason, people, so go on and get your read on.

Have you read any of my recommendations? Feel free to share.

Building a Mystery By Author Anne Marie Stoddard

Happy Friday readers and writers! Please join me in welcoming Mystery Author, Anne Marie Stoddard to Clara’s writer’s forum.

It’s no secret that I’m a lover of mysteries (and as you can tell from the title of this post, the secret’s out that I’m also an old school Sarah McLachlan fan—everyone has their guilty pleasures!). I grew up reading everything from the Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes’ series to Agatha Christie. Lately I’ve been enjoying some great who-dunnit’s from Charlaine Harris, Victoria Laurie, Madelyn Alt, and P.J. Morse. There’s just something so satisfying about curling up with a good puzzle in book form and challenging myself to solve the crime before the author reveals the culprit. Sometimes, I can point out the killer by the end of the second chapter, and other times an author leaves me stumped right up until the guilty party reveals him or herself.
It’s that exhilarating feeling of piecing the clues together along with the characters that led me to write my first mystery novel, “Murder At Castle Rock.” Why not? I thought to myself as I begin typing the first page of Chapter One. I’m pretty good at solving them when I’m in the reader’s shoes, writing my own should be a piece of cake—right? Not exactly. Still, it can be done, and here are the lessons I learned along the way:
Use an Outline to Plan Your Clues
One very important part of the writing process for most authors is creating an outline for the plot and scenes of the story. Sure, there are quite a few “pantsers” out there—myself included—who simply start from scratch and let the story evolve as they write, with little to no sense of direction. Plenty of books have been written this way and turned out great, but not planning ahead can often lead you to writing your characters into a corner that you can’t write them out of. I started writing “Murder At Castle Rock” with no outline, and I found my characters reaching dead ends (no pun intended) every couple of chapters. If I had created a full outline before I began writing, I might have saved myself a LOT of rewriting and stress!
Writing an outline helps you to put all your cards on the table before you begin the writing process. If you determined who committed the crime, you’ve got to decide where it’s best to drop some hints for your readers. In any mystery, readers want to pick up on clues along the way that help them narrow down the suspects along with the detectives. Make rational decisions about where to place your clues—is the killer the town baker? Perhaps you can include a hint in Chapter 4 where the sleuth smells yeast or finds a white powder at the crime scene that turns out to be flour.
Your Characters Know the Story Better Than You Do—It’s Their Story, After All
This will sound like almost the opposite of the advice that I gave above about outlines, but just hear me out: Sometimes during the writing process, you have to concede from your own ideas about a scene and let your characters do the writing. Get to know your main character—step into her two-inch heels for a minute and see your way through a scene through her eyes. It’s best to ultimately stick to your outline in order to arrive at the desired end result, but sometimes you have to let your characters decide how to get there. Would my main character, Amelia, run away if she heard footsteps behind her—or would she turn around and make a snarky comment to her stalker before defending herself? Once you’ve developed a character, make sure that his or her actions reflect his or her personality—not yours.
Get Creative to Keep it Interesting
If you’ve got an understanding of how to logically place your clues and plan your story, that’s awesome! Still, in order to write a mystery novel that will leave your readers craving more, you have to keep it interesting—it’s time to flex your creative muscles!
Here’s an example: Would you rather read a book about a detective who goes to the office every day, solves a crime from his desk, and then goes home to bed—or would you rather read about a crime-solving supermodel who goes undercover at fashion shoots to track down a ring of high-end designers who are producing their clothing in sweat shops?
See, it’s easy to plan a Plain Jane story that doesn’t include much action—but you’ve got to get creative in order to pull readers along to the end. Choose a fun or interesting setting (like the fashion industry), and create characters that have personality. Give them quirks, fears, doubts, ambitions—there should be more at stake in your novel than simply finding out who killed the mailman. In the model example, perhaps if our heroine doesn’t catch the culprits and shut down the sweatshops in time, New York Fashion Week will be cancelled. (And perhaps the mail man was killed because he was delivering photographs of the guilty parties to someone who wanted to turn them in to the police!)
Writing your own mystery is an invaluable learning experience that will test your own wit, creativity, and deductive reasoning skills—and the story you create might surprise even you!

About the Author:
Anne Marie Stoddard is a mystery author and writing tip blogger in Atlanta, GA. Her music industry thriller, “Murder At Castle Rock,” was the winner of the 2012 AJC Decatur Book Festival & BookLogix Publishing Service, Inc. Writing Contest, and it will be published in April 2013.
Website: https://www.amstoddardbooks.com
Connect with Anne Marie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMStoddardBooks
Connect with Anne Marie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmStoddardBooks
Connect with Anne Marie on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6949689.Anne_Marie_Stoddard

A Sneak Peak At My “Mystery” Guest

Hello to all of my Wednesday Children! How many of you love a good mystery? I’m talking, Sherlock Holmes, Ironside, Ellery Queen, Perry Mason, Columbo, Murder She Wrote or even “Bones” if that’s more your speed? I realize, these are based on television characters, except for Sherlock Holmes and I have read some Agatha Christie, Mary Higgins Clarke and a bit of James Patterson ‘Whodunits’as well.

Reading a book in this genre is a heck more easier than actually sitting down to write one, so, I’m taking the easy and enjoyable route on the matter,by reading “MURDER AT CASTLE ROCK” and bringing you guys the author of this great novel on Friday! How about that? You’ll want to hear from my guest, Anne Marie Stoddard on the ins and outs of becoming a Mystery Author. I’m paraphrasing a quote I read from another writer, stating how “good writing stays in your mind’ and let me assure you all, Murder At Castle Rock, will follow you in your sleep 🙂

You know why I love the shift here at Clara’s Writer’s Forum? ( not really a forum-‘forum’) Because I get to meet & greet so many wonderful writers, authors and lovers of the “Story” and I’m continually inspired to work on my own projects- maybe a tad slower:) but loving the ambiance where there’s a gathering of storytellers. Come on back here on Friday and help me welcome another great author…you have nothing to lose and who knows, you might gain valuable pearls to penning your ‘Mystery’…

Are you a writer or reader of the Mystery? Do you love keeping your readers guessing?