murder.booklocker.com

Good news! I’ve just spoken with Jennifer Gervase at the Des Plaines Senior Center. She’s very excited about having me come to their book discussion group in January. One of the other program managers had taken my call yesterday. “When she told me about your book — the idea of pinochle players killing people off — I thought, ‘What a hoot!’” I warned her that the book has its humorous moments (including murder by banana) but that it definitely was not “light” reading. It didn’t bother her at all. She said that she couldn’t wait to read it this weekend.

What we’ve planned is for seniors (the public will also be invited) to purchase the book now and begin reading. Then in January, we’ll get together and use the Discussion Questions I’ve created to talk about the book. I will also be available to talk informally about writing and autograph books.

We had quite a chat about the writing classes I teach at Park Ridge: poetry, creative writing, memoirs, mysteries. That’s when she said that she thought PARK RIDGE would make a great play. “Funny you should say that,” I replied. Then I told her how the book had started life as a short story. I mentioned the murder-writing contest at the senior center and that the three winners had been adapted as plays that would be performed in January. She immediately asked if we were selling tickets!

The date for the book discussion is Tuesday, January 16.

Following the advice posted all over the web, I created a press kit. I have dutifully included these with copies of the book that I have sent out for review. I also posted copies of my press release to several local newspapers. Wonder of wonders, this week I received a call asking if I could come in for an interview!

Denise Fleischer from the Journal-Topics newspaper immediately put me at my ease. May all interviews go so well. She’s a fellow author so the questions she put to me were probably a little different than they might have been. Things like how long have you been writing, do I have a fixed schedule for writing. She asked about who helped to edit the book (Linda Mowry and Holly DeVogt) and who did my cover (Julie Sartain). She also asked about the self-publishing process - was I happy with BookLocker? The answer is yes.

I told her about Cheryl Peterson’s comments about the fun of reading about places that you recognize, even to the interrogation room at the police station (“More from City Hall”). We went off-line as it were to talk about the book which Denise is working on. Part of her research involved going to the Des Plaines Police station. She assures me the walls of the interrogation room are pink (which is supposedly to unsettle those being interrogated).

This morning she called to let me know that the interview was running this week already. I had expected it to appear in the Des Plaines version but to my delight it is also in the Rosemont, Mount Prospect and Park Ridge papers. The headline reads: “Senior Center Writing Instructor Turns Assignment into Novel.” It fills a half page and carries my photo as well as the book cover. Ah me. A few minutes of celebrity status.

The text of the interview is here

I love language and what can be done with it. Which is why I want to tell you about an extraordinary book that I pulled off the shelf at the local library: Glory Goes and Gets Some by Emily Carter. Here’s a sample:

“There was this one summer that began in June and ended quite some time later, when I could hear the voices of men in traffic, while I was walking east on Houston. They honked and squealed, barked, drawled, groaned, purred, hissed, whispered, and raggedly begged at me as I twitched down the street in a borrowed dress that was as red as the stoplights, the stoplights gleaming in the black air like costume jewelry from a sunken Spanish galleon, gleaming from the bottom of the sea: the night on Houston like a black tropical shipwreck ocean, fathoms deep and full of trinkets for a young girl like yours-ever-true.”

I recommend you pick it.

After making my post about the large-print book, Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter, I contacted Thorndike Press, inviting them to look. To my pleasant surprise, Jamie Knobloch, the Publisher, wrote back after having visited my blog. I replied asking for permission to quote her. “Yes, certainly!  I am happy to add to the discussion, and always appreciate feedback from readers.”

This is what her original message said:

Thanks for sharing that, Cheryl!  I’ll share it around here.  We
chose to use Arial italic (wherever the original publishers used italics) in our books after testing it for readability with sight impaired readers.

I also was interested in the comment about thinner paper being a problem.  I had never heard that before, but it makes sense. Unfortunately, we also need to make accommodations for weight, and the thinner paper helps.  We’ll keep trying to find ways to please all our readers!

Spoiler Notice - please don’t go any farther if you don’t want to know details about the plot of PARK RIDGE.

While investigating the murders at the Center (brick and mortar), Detective Stan Nevins discovers that his mother, called “Stunning Stella” by the men at the Center, is dating one of his suspects. She agreed to her gentleman’s request to “keep his personal life separate from the Center,” even if it meant keeping him a secret from Stan and the rest of the family.

Using the psychological meaning of “center,” what does Stella’s statement imply about Gus (the Professor).

When you have the answer, ask yourself, “Why did Stella agree to keep his secret?

I am pleased to announce that the Park Ridge Senior Center Book Discussion Group has selected my murder mystery novel, PARK RIDGE, for its November book. The group leader was particularly pleased that my media kit included discussion questions, which will make her preparation easier.

My book addresses the detrimental assigning of labels such as ”active” and “passive” to seniors within a setting such as the senior center. Furthermore, it tackles the sense of superiority which “active” seniors can take toward those perceived as “passive.” I used the idea that resentment can fester into murder. In fact, I probably could have called the book, Revenge of the Pinochle Players. Because of this, I felt it would be useful to create a discussion guide which could be used to facilitate an examination of attitudes, hopefully an adjustment of them.

SPOILER NOTICE!

The questions in their entirety are posted on my website, but if you haven’t read the book yet, be advised that they reveal some of the plot and the ending.

I’m planning on looking at some of those questions on this blog. I’ve already posted the first. You’ll find it under “Study Qs.”

Ah me. Ain’t life wonderful? My first book signing will take place November 20 and 21 at the Park Ridge Senior Center, 100 South Western Ave., Park Ridge, Illinois. The Senior Center, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, will be hosting its annual Thanksgiving luncheons that Monday and Tuesday. When Teresa Grodsky invited me to join them, I said, “Whoopee! Of course!”

I understand from a source, who wishes to remain anonymous, that there’s already some fingerpointing going on at the Center — someone’s convinced that a particular fictional character is based on “you-kno-who.” Let me state (as it reads on the Copyright page of the book):

This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real people and places are used only to give a sense of reality. All of the characters are the product of the author’s imagination, as are their thoughts, actions, motivations, or dialog. Any resemblance to real people and events is purely coincidental.

By the way, you don’t need to be a member of the senior center to buy a book — but I’m pretty sure you need to be if you want to reserve a place at the luncheon. For more details, call (847) 692-3597.

We were warned in grad school about using the names of real people. What I don’t remember talking about was where to find names to substitute. Most of my characters were composites, the blond hair of this one, the brown eyes of another, the temper of him, the sweetness of her, whatever. But then the challenge came to find names for these creations.

Since I was writing about a real place, I wanted to be very sure that none of my characters was remotely identifiable as a real person. Which I’m pretty sure I succeeded at. However, imagine my shock when I talked with the Park Ridge Senior Center director this morning and she said, “You managed to get all of us in there!” Worse, she was basing this on just the three chapters available on-line! [chapters 1 & 4, chapter 2]My heroine is named Teresa Cusentino. Yes, I know I wasn’t supposed to use Teresa since that’s the name of the current director (Teresa Grodsky). But every time I changed the name to something else, I lost the sense of reality — for me, as an author, that is. So I talked with Teresa and assured her that the character didn’t look like her, sound like her, etc. and I promised on my honor that the character would never do anything disreputable. And all this was because I was having trouble writing the book using another name! Sort of sad, isn’t it? But then my excuse is that this was my first book. How was I to know what to do?

To return to the problem that ”everybody’s in there!” that Teresa (the real director) raised this morning, however. She raved that Gloria had been included as the receptionist (her real name and occupation), Bert the janitor (real name and occupation). She told me that I even found a way to use Bert’s LAST name in the book — Cusentino!

Now that made me pause. Cusentino is the last name of my heroine. I thought I had borrowed it from one of the ladies in my writing class, Angela Cusentino Scott). I even say thanks to Angela in my Acknowledgments for letting me borrow it. Here’s the kicker — Bert is Angela’s cousin. Surprise!

As long as I’m on the subject of names:

I borrowed the last name of a great-nephew of Theodora Ward (about whom I am writing a biography) for one of my murderers.

I also borrowed (with a small change in spelling) the last name of my partner’s sister’s husband.

Stan, the detective, is named after my uncle who was on the Park Ridge Police force.

Nevins is my brother’s ex-wife’s maiden name.

End of confession

Cheryl Peterson, Senior Administrative Assistant and Deputy Clerk for the City of Park Ridge, wrote this morning:

“Growing up in Park Ridge (and now a City employee), I could really relate to the story and the places mentioned  such as the Senior Center, Lincoln Middle School and even the interrogation room at the Police Department.  I could actually put myself in that place of the story.  The book kept my interest because it was not only a murder mystery, but also a romance.  Best of luck with your future novels and keep up the good work!”

I couldn’t help myself — I HAD to write back and ask if she really meant to suggest that she was somehow familiar with the interrogation room at the Police Department !

She responded:

“About the interrogation room — I assist in the preparation of the Aldermen’s packets that are delivered to them each weekend by a community service officer.  I place the packets in the police interrogation room every Friday before I leave for home.  Not too exciting, but thought I’d explain.”

What makes this particularly funny (to me) is that I have never been in the Park Ridge Police Department! My description was just a guess.

Why is when you’re looking for something that you can’t find it? I find all sorts of things when I’m NOT looking for them. Yesterday I was searching for information on the Ragsdale Foundation’s artist’s retreat in Lake Forest. Never did find their home page! But found a great article at Satisfaction Magazine’s site on the proliferation of writing classes for older adults. According to the article by Lisa Goff, “The Chicago area is awash in writing classes, workshops and degree programs that appeal to the growing number of older adults.” She lists many of these and gives clues as to where to find more.

As someone who has been teaching writing classes at the senior for several years now, I agree with Gary Wilson (quoted in the article) that “Older people have more to say,” he notes. “They’re not groping for content.” What they are looking for in most cases is a bit of guidance getting started and encouragement to keep writing.