Leslie Keller Books

This is part two of my notes on the Desert Sleuths Write 2014 conference held in Phoenix, Arizona. The second speaker of the morning was author Mark Sullivan who has written his own novels and co-writes with James Patterson.  Mark's topic in the Mastering Crime Fiction - A Whodunit How-to was What Really Works, Optimizing Writing Time and Increasing Productivity.  A topic very near and dear to me as I struggle on a daily basis with finding time to write. Mark explained how he was able to go from barely able to write ten sentences to writing 5000 words a day. He asked us what we do which puts the brakes on. What things do you do when trying to write that slow you down, stop you or prevent you from starting work altogether? I know one of the ways I slam on the brakes in my writing is to never get the "car out of the garage" in a manner of speaking.  I self sabotage by telling myself that I'm too tired or not feeling creative or maybe I have laundry to do.  I can ...

One of my nightly dinner guests.  He and his friends are currently consuming carrots at the rate of 10 lbs a week. Happy trails - or should I say hoppy trails? Leslie

I thought I would post a few of my notes from the Desert Sleuths chapter of Sisters in Crime, Write 2014 conference.  It was a great day of speakers and networking and I can't wait for the next one! The topic of this conference was Mastering Crime Fiction:  A Whodunit How-to. The morning was kicked off by the delightful Catriona McPherson who spoke about creating characters who breathe.  Catriona told us she lets go of her characters so that they can breathe.  She asked those of us who were fans of the television series, Sex and the City who we would prefer to be with - Aiden or Mr. Big. Although Aiden was a sweet and loving boyfriend to Carrie the majority of the audience picked Mr. Big. His character had layers and captured our interest and ultimately Carrie's heart. Catriona pointed out how a character's flaws don't make the character real to the reader but rather the author's voice.  When you are writing do your characters jump off the page?  Do y...

Yes, I do know what the secret is to finishing your book.  You may want to sit down in front of your computer, have a glass of water (or wine) handy and prepare to be in this position for a long time. Now that you are ready - here's the secret.  If you want to finish your book you have to write.  That may seem anti-climatic but it's the simple fact.  It's great to have goals, to wish for it and to talk about it but ultimately the only way that book is going to be completed is by you doing the hard work of banging on the keyboard. Having recently been suffering from a bit of angst over my second book in the Jayne Stanford series I can understand why this advise seems silly and obvious.  Of course the book isn't going to write itself.  Of course I need to sit down and put words on the page.  What's so life changing in that? For me it was life changing.  At the writers conference I attended over this weekend it was a constant theme. Write, writ...

When you watch a Hallmark commercial do you feel a connection with the actors in it?  Do you believe they are real people experiencing an event in their lives and not actors at all?  Does it tug at your heart or bring you to tears?  If it does, then the advertiser has succeeded in creating an emotional connection between you and the actors on the screen. In your writing one of your goals should be to create the same kind of connection between your characters and your readers.  That doesn't mean your characters all have to be lovable.  Quite the contrary!  In fact you may want your readers to hate a character, fear him, feel sorry for him or relate to him (or her).  The key is that your reader makes an emotional connection on some level. There are a number of ways you can accomplish this.  For example, what is it about your protagonist that makes her real?  Perhaps she is married with children and is trying to be a super mom and wife. ...

  Wanting his share of the spotlight is the ever so handsome Magic, so named because he used to "magically" appear at our patio door hoping for food.  Smart enough to sleep on the roof of our two story condo he would jump from the ground up onto a six foot wall and from there to the second floor patio and onto the roof to stay safe while he slept from the coyotes. He would disappear all day long only to show up promptly at dinner time.  Panting from the extreme Arizona heat in the summer and snuggling into the blankets we would set for him in the winter. It took months for him to trust us enough to bring him in the house.  He was frightened but desperate for love.  Now several years later he has accepted we are his forever family. Happy trails,  Leslie

I just joined yet another writing group, well actually make that a new group and two sub-groups.  You may wonder why, when I already barely have time to catch my breath, that I decided to commit myself to something else.  The answer is simple - I get so much more than the time I invest. Every time I attend a meeting or read the publications from these associations I find my almost dead batteries are re-charged.  My inspiration (some like to call it their muse) returns.  My motivation to sit back down at the keyboard and bang away is back and I remember why I'm doing this at all.  I love books and even more than reading books I love to write. As hard as the task seems to be at the end of a long day, or an even longer week, putting my thoughts on paper is exhilarating.  The possibility of seeing my work in print or even in an e-book format is thrilling.  So despite feeling that I have absolutely nothing to contribute, nothing to say (which is shockin...