KN Magazine: Articles

2/5/16 2/5/16

State of the Industry: Contract Decoding, Part Two

In this second of three installments, Milt Toby explores perhaps the most popular of subjects: getting paid for your work.

As an accomplished author and attorney, Toby is better equipped than most to be your guide into the publishing world. In our January edition, Toby gave us a glimpse at contract decoding and how to determine where your rights end and the publisher’s begin.

So put the cushions back on the couch, leave the kids’ piggybank alone, and hold off on calling that bookie—at least until you’ve heard what Toby has to say. In this installment, he will show you how to understand your contractual payment rights. We’re not guaranteeing you profit (that’s between you, the publisher, and your audience), but we are guaranteeing that no kneecaps are assaulted due to a failure in communication.

Contract Decoding (Part 2 of 3)
By Milt Toby

As mentioned in the first installment of “Contract Decoding”, a publishing contract can often be riddled with mind-numbing legal jargon. The author must understand, among other things, the rights being sold and warranties/indemnifications present within the contract—difficult channels to navigate, at best.

The publishing contract also establishes how, and how much, the author will be paid.

Common payment schemes include:

Flat fee;
Advance with royalties deferred;
No advance, with royalties starting with the first sale.

A flat fee is just what the name suggests. The publisher pays the author an agreed upon amount, usually divided into two or more installments triggered by specific events such as signing the contract, delivering the manuscript, and final approval by the editor. A flat-fee payment before any book sales might sound a lot like an advance—both are upfront money—but there is an important difference between the two that authors should understand.

After the flat fee is paid, the publisher has no ongoing financial obligation to the author in the form of royalties from book sales. An advantage to a flat fee contract is guaranteed income for an author early in the publishing process; a disadvantage is that the author has no financial interest in how well the book sells. Over the long term, especially if the book turns out to be a popular one, an author might earn more from royalties than from a flat fee.

An advance against royalties, especially a large one, is the Holy Grail for authors—money when the contract is signed, plus royalties based on sales. Only a small percentage of publishers offer advances these days, however, and authors lucky enough to land one need to understand how the numbers work.

Unlike a flat fee, which is not dependent on sales, an advance is money paid to an author by the publisher in anticipation of future book sales. A typical structure for advance payments is one-third of the total amount when the contract is signed, one-third when the manuscript is delivered by the author, and one-third when the final version of the manuscript is approved by the publisher. For authors of fiction, who generally sell their books based on a completed manuscript rather than on a proposal, the first two installments in the example above could occur at the same time.

One aspect of an advance that sometimes confuses authors is the notion that an advance is free money. In fact, royalty payments to the author will not begin until the book has “earned out.” This is a term of art which means that the publisher recoups the advance already paid by keeping all royalties until the full amount of the advance is recovered. Only then, and only if the books earns out, will royalty payments to the author begin.

The majority of books do not earn back their advances, however, unless the author is among the Stephen Kings and Dan Browns of the publishing world. For that reason, it is prudent for many authors to consider the advance the only money they will earn from their books.

The third payment scheme, and the most common one for fiction authors, is a publishing deal without any advance. The downside is obvious, no money up front. On the other hand, the author earns royalties starting with the first book sale since there is no advance for the publisher to recover. Given a choice, most authors probably would opt for an advance. Realistically, though, a choice between an advance against royalties or no advance will not be an option in most situations.

Running the Numbers

Royalty payments will be listed as percentages in a publishing contract. A typical (and imaginary) royalty schedule for a hardcover novel might look something like this:

10% of cover price/net price/net proceeds for first 5,000 copies sold

12.5% of cover/price/net price/net proceeds for next 5,000 copies sold

15% of cover price/net price/net proceeds for subsequent copies sold

For this to make sense, some definitions are in order:

Cover price: Self-explanatory, the price listed on the cover of the book (and the price most readers never actually pay)
Net price/net proceeds: The cover price of the book, minus the discount given by the publisher to book retailers. This method recognizes that book publishers typically are wholesalers of their books. A publisher’s net price/proceeds should not include any deductions for overhead expenses.

The distinction between cover price and net price is important. The terms should be defined and the contract should be clear about which number is being used as the basis for the royalty calculations. The difference between royalties based on cover price and those based on net price can be substantial.

For example, an author’s 10-per-cent royalty for a book based on a cover price of $25.00 is $2.50 for each copy sold.

If, on the other hand, the same 10-per-cent royalty is based on net price (the cover price of $25.00 minus the publisher’s discount given to book retailers, usually between 40 per cent and 50 per cent), the author’s royalty drops by as much as one-half, to around $1.25. A basic understanding of the mechanics of royalty payments helps an author avoid an unpleasant surprise when the first royalty check arrives.

A word about ebooks is appropriate here, because there is substantial disagreement about how to calculate the appropriate royalty rate for those paperless editions. Authors argue that the royalty rate for an ebook should be higher than for a print book because the publisher has very little overhead compared to printing, storing, and shipping print versions of the same book. The Authors Guild is pushing for at least a 50%-50% split on ebook royalties, characterizing the author-publisher relationship as a joint venture, but publishers are resisting. This is an example of how the competing interests of authors and publishers come into play in a publishing contract.

Finally, authors should consider how often the publisher is going to write a royalty check. It might take longer to get a check than expected. Many publishers calculate royalty payouts every six months, on December 31 and June 30, for example. The accounting period sometimes is unreasonably long, however, with publishers asking for accounting on an annual basis. Six-month accounting does not mean that the publisher cuts a check at the end of each accounting period, however. Contracts generally allow publishers an additional period of time—30 days at a minimum, sometimes longer—before they have to actually pay royalties to authors. Lengthy accounting periods, along with additional time to actually pay authors the royalties due, amount to interest-free loans from authors to publishers.

Lessons Learned

Authors should try and negotiate as short an accounting period as possible.

Publishers also frequently hold back a portion of the royalties earned by authors, called a “reserve,” to account for returns of books from retailers. The rationale is that a publisher might pay royalties on sales to retailers on books that later are returned for refunds. Authors should try and negotiate either no reserve or a reasonable limit on the length of time reserve funds can be held.

Publishers usually give authors a few free copies of the book (always ask for more free copies!) and the opportunity to buy additional copies of the book at a reduced price. Although authors generally do not earn royalties on these discounted purchases, authors can generate profitable full-price resales at signings, book fairs, and other events, unless the contract seeks to prohibit such retail sales by the author. Resale restrictions do not show up in publishing contracts often, and publishers often delete them if asked, but authors should look for these clauses if they plan to resell books themselves.

In our next edition, Toby will guide you through understanding “warranties and indemnifications”—what they are, and what rights you have regarding them

Milt Toby is an attorney and award-winning author of nonfiction. He joined the Board of Directors of the American Society of Journalists and Authors in July, after several years as Chair of the ASJA Contracts & Conflicts Committee. The information in this article is presented for educational purposes only and is neither legal advice nor a solicitation for clients. For more information about Milt’s books, visit his website at www.miltonctoby.com.

2/5/16 2/5/16

Marketing Your Book 101: How Long Should a Post Be? Three Tips for Writing Your Author Blog

Blogging has become essential to the marketing machine. You Tweet and Facebook about yourself, but now it’s a “must” to share your knowledge, and ultimately your writing skills through blogs. Marketing expert Erik Deckers answers that burning question about blog length. When is enough enough?

How Long Should a Post Be? Three Tips for Writing Your Author Blog
By Erik Deckers

Someone once asked Abraham Lincoln how long a man's legs should be. "Long enough to reach the ground," he said.

I think of Abe's advice whenever someone asks me how long a blog post should be.

"Long enough to get to the end," I say. And then I have to explain the whole story, which ruins the effect.

Basically, there's no magic rule of how long a blog post should be. You need enough time and space to say what you need to say, and that's it. Don't say too much, but don't give short shrift to your ideas either.

Reading Is Different Today

People read differently today than they did 50, 20, or even five years ago. Readers skim and scroll to see what catches their attention. No longer can we write long, Faulknerian paragraphs that stretch on for pages, joined by semicolons and em dashes. In fact, this paragraph is making me uncomfortable, and I really want to hit the return key to make it—

GAAH! I couldn't take that much longer. You probably couldn't either.

Basically, we have become an impatient society. People read on their smartphones, tablets, and laptops. We're not a nation of readers, but a nation of skimmers. That affects how we write and engage our readers.

Here are three tips for writing the ideal blog posts to keep your readers coming back.

Use plenty of white space

Blogging is as much a visual medium as a written one. Imagine a book printed in a sans serif font, very little space between lines, and blocks of text that fill up an entire page. You'd probably quit after five pages.

White space (also called negative space because there's nothing in it) is important in making a post or magazine article appear readable. It's more pleasing to the eye, because it looks easier to digest.

I use short paragraphs partly because my fourth grade teacher said they had to be four or five sentences long, and I never do what I'm told.

But I do it mostly because when people skim-read, they think, "I'll just read a little bit. Oh, that next paragraph is short, I'll read that one. Oh, and that one. All right, this one too. And the next one."

If I've done a good job with my white space, people will jump from paragraph to paragraph, thinking they'll only read "a little more" until they reach the end.

And now here you are at tip number 2. See how that works?

2. There's no "magic number."

I can give you several good reasons why your posts should be less than 300 words, around 700 words, or why 1,000 words is perfectly fine.

For example, 300-word-writers will tell you a smartphone screen will hold 100 words. People who research this kind of thing know that readers have the patience to swipe two more times to read an article. That's—tap (100), swipe (200), swipe (300)—and they're done.

At the same time, long-form writers point to the growth of sites like Grantland.com and LongReads.com to say 1,000 word articles are perfectly fine, as long as the work is interesting.

Basically, whatever anyone tells you is the "best" length, just remember there's always a reason to pick another length. So just pick the length that suits you and your readers.

3. Identify "The Crease"

At the same time, you can have an article that's too long. If you've reached 1,500 words in one article, that may be too much, and you can break it up into smaller posts.

That's because when people tend to write about a big topic, they start combining two or three smaller points into one big point.

When that happens, look for the crease, that spot where you thought, "And another thing!" and kept writing. That "And another thing!" should instead be another blog post. Cut and paste everything from that point on, and save it somewhere else. Focus on what's left.

For example, I could have written this article as three separate articles—the importance of white space, word count, and the crease—and covered each of them in about 300 – 500 words. The crease happens between each point.

In fact, breaking up big posts is another blogging strategy. Rather than writing one big post about a subject, divide it up into several smaller ones. You can publish more posts more often, which boosts your personal brand by boosting your blog readership.

Did you see it? Did you see what happened back there? That previous paragraph was an added thought, but if I had kept going, I could have added another 300 words to this post.

That "In fact" was the crease. If this article really did run to 1,000 words, I could have cut that out and used it somewhere else. It was important to the central point of publishing, but it wasn't so important that I had to share it today.

Blogging is one of those specifically ambiguous art forms where you only have to write enough to make you happy. Just put your ideas out there, explain them thoroughly, but succinctly, and your posts will be exactly as long as they need to be. Just like Abe's legs.

His hat is a different matter.

Erik Deckers owns a content marketing agency in Indianapolis, and is the co-author of four books on social media. He is also a professional speaker and newspaper humor columnist, and was named a 2016 writer-in-residence at the Kerouac House Project.

Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.

2/5/16 2/5/16

Self-Publishing: The Perfect Title

I used to have a professor who would often ask, “So, what are you writing right now?”

The first few times he asked, I gave him a synopsis of whatever plot I’d been kicking around, major character traits, etc. Inevitably, my professor would stop me and say, “Yeah, but what’s your title?”

His lesson was simple: if you aren’t committed enough to a piece to sit down and think of a good, working title, then why should anyone else care about what you’re writing?

Granted, that’s a bit harsh, but his philosophy helped me to understand that titles are paramount to shaping readers’ perception of your work, and the creation of titles is not to be taken any more lightly than any other component of the writing process.

Often, though, finding the right title for your work seems impossible. Nothing fits; nothing inspires. In this month’s column, author and self-publishing wiz Tom Wood offers insight into how to find the perfect title for your work.

Finding the Perfect Title
By Tom Wood

"Vendetta Stone: The Force Awakens."

“Whaddya think?” the marketing genius said. “It’s got a nice ring, huh?”

A thoughtful pause.

“You’ve had some wild ideas that worked before, but I don’t know about this one,” the treasurer/vice-president retorted. “What do you think, boss?”

An instant response from the chief executive of Me, Myself and I Self-Publishing, LLC: “Next! One more like that and you guys are fired!”

Sigh.

As great as it would be to capitalize on the success of the latest movie in the Star Wars franchise, it probably wouldn’t be the best title for the sequel to my self-published debut novel. So, I’ll pass on this one. Go in a different direction. Try something else, perhaps a little more in tune with what the book is actually about.

A silly conversation, at best, but it illustrates the decisions you have to make about perhaps the most important aspect of your self-published novel: The Perfect Title.

Look at it this way: You’ve spent countless hours writing and rewriting your novel, then run it past an editor, your critique group, your beta readers—or maybe just the relatives—and you’re going to spend just a few minutes, perhaps several hours (or maybe even a couple of days) coming up with the first words a potential reader sees about your book? Traditional publishing houses hold scheduled meetings to consider different titles for books.

There are a number of facets to consider in boiling the guts of your book down to one catchy turn of a phrase when trying to connect with potential readers.

But you have to think of it as a smart business decision, one that intrigues/hooks a reader before they’ve read the back cover or the first paragraph of the first chapter. The title may or may not tie in to the cover art, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Inspiration for The Perfect Title can come from anywhere.

It might be a line from your book. Or it could come from “The Good Book.” Some of the great book titles inspired by phrases from the Bible include Chariots of Fire, East of Eden, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Sun Also Rises, and Vengeance Is Mine.

Titles inspired by our literary predecessors are also not uncommon. Lines from some of William Shakespeare’s greatest works have wound up in book titles, including Something Wicked This Way Comes, Brave New World, and The Fault in our Stars.

Inspiration might be found in a sense of whimsy, a twist of a popular phrase, some other form of media, or an off-hand comment from a family member or friend. It might take weeks, months, and perhaps even years, to decide on the right title for your book. Then after you’ve settled on one, something else comes to mind and you go in an entirely new direction.

And sometimes we’re just in the right place at the right time for that spark of imagination that will lead to a great title.

For me, inspiration was a combination of all these. And it came from one of the last things I wrote.

Vendetta Stone tells the story of Nashville advertising executive Jackson Stone and his quest to find his wife’s killer.

After months of kicking around ideas, and not being happy with any of them, at my wife’s suggestion I decided to spend an afternoon downstairs boiling the book down to its basics to come up with ideas for the title. I had the television on, but wasn’t really watching.

Ten minutes into what I expected to be a day-long process, I decided to focus on these angles:

Jackson Stone. I wanted the main character’s name somewhere, somehow in the title. Stone provided more opportunities and gave it a little more grit. Stone’s _____ or _____ Stone. OK. That’s settled.
Play up the revenge element. I started thinking about synonyms for revenge and pairing them with Stone. Avenge, vengeance, retaliation, payback and retribution all came to mind. I said combinations out loud, seeing if that had that certain ring to them. Stone’s Vengeance? Nah. Payback for Stone? Nope.

At almost the exact moment I said “Vendetta Stone,” a commercial for Rosetta Stone, the language-learning software, came on the television …

Ding, ding, ding.

Excited, I quickly Googled for Rosetta Stone and found this definition at dictionary.com: “A clue, breakthrough or discovery that provides crucial knowledge for the solving of a puzzle or problem.”

Light bulbs exploded in my brain.

I knew I had found The Perfect Title.

But these moments of inspiration aren’t always so easy to come by. More often than not, finding The Perfect Title requires long hours and several bad ideas before you land on a good one. Test out different methods and figure out what works best for you. There’s no wrong way to go about finding your own perfect title.

A veteran sports writer and copy editor, Tom Wood has covered a variety of events ranging from the Iroquois Memorial Steeplechase to the Atlanta Olympic Games for The Tennessean in Nashville. After retirement, he continues his passion for writing, contributing to the Civil War-based anthology, Filtered Through Time and conducting an interview with Stephen King for Feast of Fear: Conversations with Stephen King. In the last year, Tom has begun writing Western fiction short stories, two of which have been published by Western Trail Blazer. “Tennesseans West” is his next project with four other authors involved. He is also an actor and can be seen in several episodes of the ABC series “Nashville”. He also coordinates the Killer Nashville guest blog series. Vendetta Stone is his first novel and he is working on the sequel.

2/5/16 2/5/16

From the Classroom: Writing a Thrilling Short Story

In the past few decades, we’ve seen a surge in popularity of the short story format. This rising popularity can be attributed to many factors—our increasingly fast-paced lifestyles, the form’s place as a staple in college curricula, increased accessibility to short works by emerging/established authors through blogs, Amazon’s “Kindle Singles,” and a near-limitless amount of other online sources—but what are the advantages and challenges of the short story format? How can the traditional novelist try his/her hand at short story writing and find success?

In this installment of “From the Classroom,” author and teacher, Kimberly Dana, demystifies the short story so you, too, can learn to write a compelling short fiction piece.

How to Write a Thrilling Short Story
By Kimberly Dana

The Benefits of Short Story Writing

Just about everyone I know wants to be a novelist. But let’s be honest. Writing a book is a long and tedious process that can take years to finish. To that end, almost every wannabe novelist I know never even comes close to finishing that elusive manuscript. Even writing that first chapter can be a daunting task!

But writing a short story is an attainable endeavor with many benefits to the aspiring writer. At 1,000 – 4,000 words, there is power in the short story. It’s lean and mean, and can be read in one sitting. The short story allows the writer the opportunity to explore the uncharted territory of a plot, character, and/or setting and make it pop. In addition, one can experiment with other genres, develop their style, and use their short story to expand their platform as a marketing tool.

But most importantly, crafting a short story teaches the writer a vital skill: word economy. To paraphrase my idol Stephen King, writing is “refined thinking.” Nothing could be truer than when writing a short story, where the prose must be clean, compact, and concise. If you are prone to a producing a bloated manuscript, trim the fat and turn it into a short story. It’s quicker to write and if you’re lucky, quicker to sell.

SWBS — Somebody Wanted But So…

Okay, so the benefits of writing a short story are clear, but the question still plagues most spinners of words: how do I write a compelling story in a condensed timeframe, i.e. one sitting? One word—conflict! Conflict creates the need for story in the first place. It is what adds tension and moves the story forward. Without conflict, there is no story!

You need proof? Think back in school when you first learned about story structure through Freytag’s Triangle. Do you recall what’s on top? Climax! It is the decision-making, sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat moment of the conflict-ridden protagonist that determines the story’s outcome.

When I teach my middle school students about conflict, we use the following SWBS Statement:

Somebody ___________________________ Wanted ___________________________ But_______________________ So __________________________________.

(It is the “but” that is the heart of the conflict in the story).

Let’s look at a few examples of conflict in three classic short stories: “The Necklace,” “The Monkey’s Paw,” and “The Lottery,” paying particular attention to the “but” element. Note: MAJOR SPOILER ALERTS!

“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant

SomebodyMadame Loiselwantedto appear rich at a partyBUTlost the fake necklace she borrowedsoshe spent years paying it off.

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs

SomebodyThe White familywantedto wish for money on a cursed monkey’s pawBUTtheir son Herbert got killedsothey unwisely wished him back to life.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Somebody The Hutchinsonswantedto uphold the town’s traditionsBUTTessie won the lotterysoshe’s stoned to death.

The Thrilling Threesome

Okay, conflict rules. But how do I actually get started?

It’s literally as easy as 1-2-3. Think of a thrilling threesome story prompt consisting of 1) character, 2) setting, and 3) a compelling conflict.

Here are ten short story prompts just begging to be penned into a story:

Ten Thrilling Threesome Short Story Prompts

A C.E.O. (character) gives a keynote address at a convention (setting) when overtaken by a panic attack (conflict).
A passenger (character) discovers an unattended carryon (conflict) when flying over the ocean (setting).
A book club hostess (character) receives a threatening anonymous note (conflict) at her own home (setting).
A disgruntled claustrophobe (character) finds himself locked in an elevator (conflict) at work overnight (setting).
A weary taxi driver (character) picks up a sinister stranger contemplating suicide (conflict) who wants to drive around town first (setting).
A couple (character) celebrates their anniversary at a cozy restaurant (setting) when a mysterious bouquet of flowers is brought to the table (conflict).
A daughter (character) cleans out her parents’ attic (setting) and discovers an urn of ashes (conflict).
A valedictorian (character) gets arrested for shoplifting (conflict) right before graduation (setting).
An unappreciated secretary (character) calls in sick and goes shopping (setting) where she runs into her boss’s wife with another man (conflict).
A first-day-on-the-job nanny (character) takes the children to the park (setting) where she loses the master key only to have a burglar find it (conflict).

Need Suspense? Implement G.E.M.

Okay, now that you have a thrilling story starter, throw in a little suspense, which of course is the secret sauce to story telling. It’s easy with G.E.M.—an acronym I created to frontload my students when teaching the craft of suspense writing. G.E.M. stands for Gothicism, Expansion of Time, and Magic of Three.

GOTHICISM: All suspense stories can benefit from an element of the gothic genre, such as the supernatural; an eerie, mysterious setting; emotion over passion; or distinctive characters who are lonely, isolated, and/or oppressed. Throw in a tyrannical villain, a vendetta, or an illicit love affair - you've got Goth gold! Why Gothicism? It explores the tragic themes of life and the darker side of human nature. What’s more, readers are innately attracted to it. No one wants to read about someone’s perfectly wonderful life. It’s boring. Remember—conflict rules!

EXPANDING TIME: Next, I introduce the art of expanding time using foreshadowing, flashback, and implementing "well, um...maybe…let me see” dialogue." Expanding time allows the writer to twist, turn, and tangle up the plot. “Tease your audience,” I tell my students. “Pile on the problems and trap your protagonist with a ticking clock. Every second counts with suspense!” There is an old writing adage that says to write slow scenes fast and fast scenes slow. By delaying the big reveal, we build tension and punch up the plot, but with one caveat. Expanding time demands a fine-tuned craftiness when writing a short story because, of course, your time is limited. Remember, every word counts!

MAGIC OF THREE: Finally, the Magic of Three comes into play. The Magic of Three is a writer's trick where a series of three hints lead to a major discovery. During the first hint, the protagonist detects something is amiss. The second hint sparks a more intense reaction but nothing is discovered—not yet. And then—BANG! The third hint leads to a discovery or revelation. During the big reveal, I teach my students to use and manipulate red flags and phrases, such as Suddenly, Without warning, In a blink of an eye, Instantly, A moment later, Like a shot, To my shock, and To my horror.

Adding suspense to your short story tantalizes your readers and breeds amazing results. It’s what makes a perfectly adequate story “un-put-downable.” So go ahead, and write a short story that explodes with tension! 1) Start with a thrilling threesome. 2) Punch up the plot with conflict. 3) And, sprinkle it with suspense. Not only will you hone your craft and have your readers begging for more, it could morph into something bigger—like that elusive novel that no longer seems so impossibly unattainable.

Write on!

Kimberly Dana is a multi-award-winning young adult and children's author. She is the recipient of several writing honors from Writers Digest, Reader Views, the Pacific Northwest Writes Association, and various international book festivals. Kimberly’s most recent book is her YA killer-thriller, Cheerage Fearage, an award-winning Writers Digest Young Adult novel, Readers Favorite Young Adult Bronze Winner, and Honorable Mention in the 2012 New York Festival of Books. Kimberly invites readers to visit her at kimberlydana.com.

*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.

2/5/16 2/5/16

Dying for Dinner: Caroline's Eggplant Parmesan and Florentine Roast Pork

Dying for Dinner

Looking to serve your beloved a delicious meal this Valentine's Day? Look no further—Killer Nashville is here with tried and trued recipes that'll leave your mouth watering.

Because what's more romantic and intriguing than a recipe procured from a mystery/suspense magazine?

Caroline’s Eggplant Parmesan

By Caroline Davidson

As a new year rings in, the cold weather lingers, and Valentine’s day is right around the corner, there is something romantic about this time of year. It’s a time to reflect on what we want to accomplish over the next 12 months and time to maybe start a new hobby, or spend more time on one we already have! For me, cooking is my hobby and I always wish I could spend more time in my kitchen experimenting and trying new dishes. Maybe if you fear the kitchen and find it stressful, this year you can step outside of your comfort zone and impress your significant other with a warm, romantic dish on a chilly evening. I am sharing with you one of my personal favorite recipes, one that has taken me years to perfect after reading through recipe after recipe from both celebrity chefs and home-cooks. Pour a glass of red wine and dive into this comforting (& vegetarian) romantic dish…

Disclaimer: I’m a cook who doesn’t really measure anything…a dash of this, a spoonful of that…eyeball it and trust your tastebuds!

Serving Size: 4
Cooking Time: 1 hr and 30 min

Ingredients:
2 Eggplants

Salt & Pepper

Italian Seasoning

2 to 3 cups Panko Breadcrumbs

2 large eggs

3/4 to 1 cup Flour

3-4 cups Marinara sauce (homemade or store bought)

1 large ball of fresh Mozzarella cheese (cut into 1 inch slices…or you can use shredded if that’s more convenient!)

12 fresh leaves of Basil

Angel hair pasta

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Vegetable Oil

Instructions:

Slice the eggplant in 1 inch slices. You’d like to have 6 slices from each eggplant…creating stacks of 3 eggplant slices for 4 servings.
The key to a delicious eggplant parmesan is taking the bitter flavor that can sometimes be tasted when roasting eggplant. I have your answer! After slicing your eggplant, line them up on a baking sheet and sprinkle both sides of each slice with salt and let sit for 20-25 minutes. Why? This actuallypulls out juices that carry bitter flavors and it collapses the air pockets in the eggplant's sponge-like flesh, preveniting it from absorbing too much oil and getting greasy.
While your eggplant is soaking it’s “salt bath” prepare your marinara sauce…this can be homemade or from your favorite store brand. Although, I will admit homemade marinara is SO easy that once you learn to make a big batch of it at home you’ll never go back to buying it at the store! You can also freeze whatever you don’t use in ice cube trays and save in the freezer for months….pull out a few cubes when you want to whip up an easy spaghetti dish or a homemade pizza!
Preheat over to 425 degrees
Now you can set up your frying station. Here is how I organize my ingredients:
1. On 1 large plate—spread about 3/4 a cup of white flour
2. In 1 medium size bowl—crack the 2 eggs and add a tablespoon of water…add salt and pepper and beat until yolks are broken down
3. On 1 large plate—spread at least 1-2 cups of panko breadcrumbs and sprinkle a generous amount of italian seasoning into the panic.
Once the eggplant are finished soaking, rinse them off and pat dry
Heat about a 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in your frying pan until simmering. Note: you can drop a piece of panko into the pan—if it starts frying, you are good to go!
For each eggplant slice, follow these steps:
1. Pat both sides of eggplant slice in the flour
2. Dredge the eggplant slice in the egg wash
3. Dip both sides of the eggplant slice in the Panko Breadcrumb mixture (after about 4-5 slices, you may need to add some more panko to the plate so that the additional slices are coated well also)
4. Place in frying pan and fry at least 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown
5. Place all slices on a paper towel after they are fried and golden brown!
After all your eggplant slices have been fried, you are ready to assemble & pop in the oven!
In a casserole dish, cover the bottom with a layer of your marinara sauce
For each eggplant stack, follow these steps:
1. place 1 eggplant slice on top of the marinara layer in the casserole dish
2. top with a slice of mozzarella, 1 basil leaf, and a spoonful of marinara sauce
3. place the second eggplant slice on top
4. top with a slice of mozzarella, 1 basil leaf, and a spoonful of marinara sauce
5. place the third, and last, eggplant slice on top
6. top with a slice of mozzarella (no basil leaf here, it will turn brown and ugly in the oven…you will add it at the end for presentation!)
After you have your 4 stacks completed and in the casserole dish, pop in the oven for 25-30 minutes
When your eggplant has about 10 minutes left, cook your angel hair pasta. Be SURE to toss the cooked angel hair with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil…the pop of flavor here is incredible!
Pull your eggplant out of the oven and top each eggplant stack with one large basil leaf
To assemble:
1. On a large plate or in a large pasta bowl…add a layer of angel hair pasta
2. Add a spoonful of marinara sauce on top of the pasta
3. Top with 1 eggplant stack & add a few crack of fresh black pepper and a pinch of salt
4. ENJOY!

Arista alla fiorentina/Florentine Roast Pork

By Alana White

MAKES 6 to 8 SERVINGS
PREP: 10 MIN.; BAKE: 1HR., 15 MIN.
STAND: 15 MIN.
PREHEAT OVEN TO 475 DEGREES THEN REDUCE TO 350 DEGREES

1 (4-lb.) boneless pork roast
4 sprinkles fresh rosemary
4 cloves peeled garlic, thinly sliced
5 whole cloves (the spice)
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
Meat thermometer
Aluminum foiled-lined broiler pan, 4-qt. or 9"x13"

1. With a small knife cut slits in the pork roast. Insert the thinly sliced peeled garlic and the cloves.
2. Rub pork loin with the olive or canola oil
3. Insert meat thermometer in thickest portion of the roast
4. Bake at 475 for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350, and bake 50 to 55 more minutes or until the meat thermometer registers 160. Turn off oven.
5. Sprinkle rosemary over the roast and return to oven. Let stand in the warm oven for 15 minutes or until thermometer reaches 170.
6. Remove from oven, slice and enjoy!

JKS02small

Caroline Davidson graduated with honors from Belmont University with her Bachelors degree in Entrepreneurship. She worked for a start-up company a few months after college and learned the inside world of the distribution business. After this business dissolved, she joined Turner Publishing in Nashville as the marketing director. She organized marketing campaigns for 30-35 books a year and worked directly with Ingram distributors. Caroline joined JKS Communications as a publicist in the fall of 2015.

alana Alana White's debut historical mystery novel, THE SIGN OF THE WEEPING VIRGIN, is set at the height of the Italian Renaissance. The book features powerful (real-life) Florentine lawyer and diplomat Guid'Antonio Vespucci and his nephew and secretary, Amerigo Vespucci, as they investigate a plot involving a painting of the Virgin Mary that has begun weeping in the Vespucci family church, a missing girl, and Pope Sixtus IV's scheme to overthrow the Florentine Republic.

SignOfTheWeepingVirginLGfront-330 Alana's first short fiction featuring the Vespuccis was a Mystery Readers International Macavity Award finalist. Her book reviews appear regularly in the Historical Novel Society "Historical Novels Review." Her lifelong fascination with Renaissance Italy has taken her to Florence for research on the Vespucci and Medici families on many occasions, and she is currently writing her second Guid'Antonio Vespucci mystery.

In addition to fiction set in 15th-century Florence, Alana is the author of a biography of Sacagawea, SACAGAWEA: WESTWARD WITH LEWIS AND CLARK, and of COME NEXT SPRING, a novel set in 1940s Appalachia. She is a member of the Author's Guild, the Historical Novel Society, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the Women's National Book Association.

These recipes are so good they should be a crime. If you concoct either of these great recipes, let us know what you think and send us a picture. We may include it here with a link to your website.

What are you cooking? Submit your favorite recipes. They can be based on your favorite literary character, your Aunt Clara’s, or some amalgamation of ingredients you’ve discovered that makes life worth living (nothing with arsenic seasoning, please). Make sure to include your contact information and explanation of the origin of the recipe. Send your submissions (to which you avow in a court of law that you have all rights to and are granting the nonexclusive rights to Killer Nashville to use in any form and at any time) with subject line “Dying For Dinner” to contact@KillerNashville.com.

Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.

2/5/16 2/5/16

In The Public Eye: The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-Publishing

Self-publishing is becoming an increasingly popular option for many authors. And, in recent years, the industry has seen a flood of self-publishing companies hit the market—CreateSpace and Lightning Source chief among them.

In her latest article, PR expert Julie Schoerke discusses the pros and cons of self-publishing, and how companies like CreateSpace or Lightning Source simultaneously help and hurt writers, readers, and bookstores alike.

The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-Publishing
By Julie Schoerke

You may be, no you are, brilliant with what you’ve chosen to do with your life up to this point. However, nothing prepares you for book publishing and the myriad of ways that you can get screwed.

Because there are so many books being published today—some estimates based on ISBN purchases, put the number at more than 3 million in the United States alone each year. And 2.2 million of those are self or “indie” published books.

There is a whole industry that has emerged to “help” authors publish their books for the first time. But, a number of these are predatory or are not the right fit, and it’s tough for an author to know that unless they’ve been down the publishing path before.

Here’s what you need to do if you’re going to self-publish, while going for the “traditionally published” look of your book:

Hire a professional book editor. Not a journalist, not a former teacher, a book editor. At JKS, we require the book to be edited by a book editor that has either worked for a major publishing house (a lot of them freelance now) or has edited a book that has won a major national award. They know how a book is supposed to be packaged so that the reader has an enjoyable experience. This is developmental editing with copy editing coming at the very end.
Hire an amazing book cover designer. While there are lots of über-talented and creative graphic artists, a book cover is very specific and if you don’t do it correctly, it will look shoddy. Unless you’re coming from a publishing background, you really need to have a pro to create and evaluate the cover. A book is, sadly, judged on its covers oftentimes.
Find a book designer who has laid out interior books for a publishing house in the past. There are all kinds of amateurish mistakes that can be made here that will make your book look unprofessional. Trust me. I shudder when I see these, as I know that, no matter how good the writing is, it’s just not going to get the respect it deserves if it isn’t done well and to industry standards.
Hire a book publicity firm that you feel like you click with, understands what your goals are, and is enthusiastic about your particular book. There are various ways to find out if a book publicity firm is legitimate. Talk to friends. Research them online. Research the mid-list books that they represented 6 to 18 months ago to see if you can find plenty of things online about the book. Talk to the publicity firm and see if the personality fit is comfortable for you. Find out how they are held accountable for what they say they will do for you (there are no guarantees of specific media in book publicity, but reporting and transparency are paramount).

There are many questions about self/indie publishing through CreateSpace (Amazon) vs. Lightning Source or Spark (Ingram). If you are publishing through CreateSpace, and have that name inside of your book, then know that it will be looked upon favorably by Amazon when “optimizing” it’s viewability on the book buying site, but will be a total buzzkill for bookstores who want nothing to do with Amazon and consider the company to be ruthlessly setting out to ruin their business. CreateSpace indicates in it’s promotional materials that your book is available for order by any bookstore—just understand that no bookstore will order your book whether it’s available or not since it’s been produced by their toughest competitor.

If you publishing through an Ingram subsidiary, that is very friendly for bookstores and makes it easy for them to order your book—it’s always “in stock” because Ingram can produce a beautiful print-on-demand copy (they’ve come a long way, baby!) within an hour of the request and it will be mailed the same day. What’s more, if you publish through an Ingram subsidiary, the largest distributor of books in the U.S. is producing your book across all distribution chains. The best feature is that a bookstore can order your book and see it in the Ingram catalog without having to set up a new payment system to get your book. Indie bookstores would like to be able to keep track of all orders in one place and Ingram or Baker & Taylor are the top choices. Your book won’t be highly “optimized” on Amazon, but it’s not penalized either.

Many of our indie authors publish on CreateSpace for Amazon and Ingram Spark for bookstores—it takes two ISBNs, but is well worth it. Anyone who is going to publish a book, an ebook, or audio book, and will potentially write more books in the future, should buy a set of 10 ISBNs (cheaper in a bundle) from Bowker (www.bowker.com), rather than through CreateSpace (again, you will be tagged as an affiliate of Amazon if you use one of their ISBNs, which bookstores can see in their computer systems).

While both CreateSpace and Ingram subsidiaries have their benefits, you’re most likely to experience positive results if you eschew the Amazon self-publishing option. Whichever route you take, one thing remains constant: you will need professional help in order to turn your manuscript into a well-polished, marketable reality—or else risk undermining the book you worked so hard to create.

Happy writing in 2016!

Julie Schoerke founded JKS Communications, a Literary Publicity Firm, 15 years ago, and the firm has gone on to represent more than 600 authors, as well as publishers and literary organizations. Personalizing creative campaigns for each author, having an accountability system in place throughout the authors' campaigns and including former journalists on the publicity team are hallmarks of her vision for the firm. Julie speaks at writers’ conferences, universities, and book festivals across the United States. She also writes book- marketing and book-promotion columns for trade publications and is a featured guest frequently on radio. JKS Communications is headquartered in Nashville, TN with operations in New Orleans and New York as well. For more information please visit www.jkscommunications.com

2/5/16 2/5/16

In The Public Eye: The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-Publishing

The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-Publishing
By Julie Schoerke

You may be, no you are, brilliant with what you’ve chosen to do with your life up to this point. However, nothing prepares you for book publishing and the myriad of ways that you can get screwed.

Here’s what you need to do if you’re going to self-publish, while going for the “traditionally published” look of your book:

Hire a professional book editor. Not a journalist, not a former teacher, a book editor. At JKS, we require the book to be edited by a book editor that has either worked for a major publishing house (a lot of them freelance now) or has edited a book that has won a major national award. They know how a book is supposed to be packaged so that the reader has an enjoyable experience. This is developmental editing with copy editing coming at the very end.
Hire an amazing book cover designer. While there are lots of über-talented and creative graphic artists, a book cover is very specific and if you don’t do it correctly, it will look shoddy. Unless you’re coming from a publishing background, you really need to have a pro to create and evaluate the cover. A book is, sadly, judged on its covers oftentimes.
Find a book designer who has laid out interior books for a publishing house in the past. There are all kinds of amateurish mistakes that can be made here that will make your book look unprofessional. Trust me. I shudder when I see these, as I know that, no matter how good the writing is, it’s just not going to get the respect it deserves if it isn’t done well and to industry standards.
Hire a book publicity firm that you feel like you click with, understands what your goals are, and is enthusiastic about your particular book. There are various ways to find out if a book publicity firm is legitimate. Talk to friends. Research them online. Research the mid-list books that they represented 6 to 18 months ago to see if you can find plenty of things online about the book. Talk to the publicity firm and see if the personality fit is comfortable for you. Find out how they are held accountable for what they say they will do for you (there are no guarantees of specific media in book publicity, but reporting and transparency are paramount).

Happy writing in 2016!

2/3/16 2/3/16

Believability—How Much Can We Stretch Reality and Get Away With It? / Caroline Fardig

Part of the fun of fiction is escaping the constraints of normality. Although readers value consistency and authenticity in the worlds we construct, we have to be careful not to allow these concerns to squelch our creativity. This week’s guest blogger Caroline Fardig offers advice on walking that tightrope, drawn from her experience as an author of both cozy and forensic procedural mysteries.

Happy reading!

Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine

Believability—How Much Can We Stretch Reality and Get Away With It?

By Caroline Fardig

My agent, Ethan Ellenberg, once told me that if you can get the reader sucked into a good story, it’s okay for believability to take a backseat. I agree wholeheartedly, and in my writing I’m always stretching the limits of what “real” people would actually do in a given situation. That said, you can’t exactly introduce a family of sparkly, angsty vampires into your psychological thriller and expect your readers to go along with it. Yes, writing fiction gives us certain liberties, but you still have to play by the rules of your genre.

In any genre, you want to create characters who come to life for your readers. They should have faults as well as redeeming qualities, and you can exaggerate those traits, but only up to a certain point. For example, maybe your main character is a curmudgeonly, hard-nosed cop, never passing a chance to offer up a gruff comment or a fiery retort. You can play that to the hilt. However, he has to have a softer side; otherwise, he won’t seem real (or likeable).

Humans are complex, and characters with layers to their personalities are much more lifelike than one-dimensional caricatures, and thus believable. If your character seems dependable and real, you can stretch the boundaries of what they are able to do, like when the fate of the world hangs in the balance and only one person has the power to save it.

With mysteries, it depends on your specific genre as to how much of a stickler you need to be for accurate investigational procedure and forensics. In cozies, you’re never going to have a decomposing body lying in a pool of bodily waste with blowflies circling it. It’s just not done.

On the flip side, in a more hard-boiled detective novel, you’re not going to find dead Aunt Martha posed peacefully in her favorite chair and still smelling like roses after being dead for a day or two.

Case in point, in my upcoming humorous cozy, Mug Shot, the heroine lands herself in jail for a minor infraction. She’s thrown in the drunk tank, which is co-ed, and hilarity ensues. Do men and women ever get locked up together in the same cell in real life? Not likely. But when I asked my friend Rick Reed (a detective-turned-author and yearly Killer Nashville presenter) if he thought it was too unbelievable, he said I should go for it.

Rick assured me that it wasn’t too terribly far-fetched for a cozy and it sounded like a fun scene. Would I do the same thing in the forensic procedural I’m currently writing? Heck, no!

In fact, I am so intent that my grittier mystery series is believable, I’ve taken two criminology classes at my local college. My forensics professor also works as a firearms and tool mark specialist for the Indiana State Police Crime Lab, so for one of the class sessions, we got to tour the local lab facility and speak with all of the criminologists on staff. Both classes had a lot of guest speakers, so I was able to make connections with law enforcement officials who have been more than willing to answer my questions and explain the ins and outs of crime solving.

Did I go that far in researching for my cozies? Again… heck, no! In preparing to write my cozy Java Jive series (Death Before Decaf and Mug Shot), the most rigorous “research” I did was going on a couple of weekend trips to check out coffeehouses in Nashville.

Don’t scoff too much at that, though. If you’re writing a story based in a real area, you need to actually go to the area and get a feel for the place. I’ve either walked or driven down nearly every street in the Midtown area of Nashville, which is just south of downtown between the campuses of Vanderbilt and Belmont Universities, because I want the setting to be as true-to-life as possible, even if the situations the characters get themselves into are not!

If you’ve followed all the rules and are still worried that something doesn’t quite sound believable, fess up to it! At the end of Joyland, Stephen King admits to making up some of the carny slang he uses throughout the book. He basically said that we readers should get over it, and he very kindly let us know we could save our hate mail, because after all … it’s FICTION!

Caroline Fardig is the author of the Java Jive Mysteries series and the Lizzie Hart Mysteries series. Suspense Magazine recently named Fardig’s Bad Medicine as one of the Best Books of 2015. She worked as a schoolteacher, church organist, insurance agent, funeral parlor associate, and stay-at-home mom before she realized that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Born and raised in a small town in Indiana, Fardig still lives in that same town with an understanding husband, two sweet kids, two energetic dogs, and one malevolent cat. Find Caroline on the web at www.carolinefardig.com.

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.

And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.

*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.

2/3/16 2/3/16

Believability—How Much Can We Stretch Reality and Get Away With It? / Caroline Fardig

Believability—How Much Can We Stretch Reality and Get Away With It?
By Caroline Fardig

Rick assured me that it wasn’t too terribly far-fetched for a cozy and it sounded like a fun scene. Would I do the same thing in the forensic procedural I’m currently writing? Heck, no!

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.

And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.

2/3/16 2/3/16

Believability—How Much Can We Stretch Reality and Get Away With It? / Caroline Fardig

Believability—How Much Can We Stretch Reality and Get Away With It?
By Caroline Fardig

Rick assured me that it wasn’t too terribly far-fetched for a cozy and it sounded like a fun scene. Would I do the same thing in the forensic procedural I’m currently writing? Heck, no!

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

For more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.

And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.

1/27/16 1/27/16

Thinking Like a Horse / Lisa Wysocky

As a well-rounded adult member of society, you have more interests and areas of expertise than just the all-important writing world. (Right? …If not, well, I hate to say it, but you’re missing out.) Sometimes, viewing an aspect of writing through that seemingly incongruous lens offers you perspective, and can help you approach problems with new insight. In this week’s guest blog, equestrian mystery writer Lisa Wysocky applies her lifelong love of horses to decrypting the relationship between writers and readers.

Happy reading!

Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine

Thinking Like a Horse
By Lisa Wysocky

From the time I was very young, I have written about horses, and as I have gotten older I find that my most important lessons have come from the world of horses—including lessons about reading and writing (and about readers and writers).

Every “horse person” knows that humans are predators and horses are prey. Obviously, this is a fundamental difference between species, and as a result, each acts accordingly. Horses look to those around them for leadership. If their human partner does not display an ability to lead via business-like body posture, competent facial expression, calm voice, and sensible decisions, the horse will lose respect for the human and call them on their error by misbehaving.

What, you might ask, does this have to do with reading or writing a mystery? Everything, actually, as horses and humans are not the only ones to have differences. Authors and readers can also be very different, in terms of their roles. Authors, for instance, “lead” the reader into the story, just as a human might lead a horse into a new adventure on the trail. If the writer’s story is not engaging and exquisitely crafted, then, just like a horse, the reader will lose respect.

Mystery authors sometimes live with their characters long enough that it becomes difficult to find perspective in giving out needed details of character and plot. If they get it wrong, a reader will call an author on it every time. In this way, the horse/human relationship and the author/reader relationship are not so very different.

Horse lovers also try to impose human experiences onto horses, and that is an impossible task. From the way horses process thought, to how they see and process touch, theirs is a world apart from the human experience. It is the same with readers and writers. When I write, I try to think like my readers, even though I know my characters and the story inside and out, while the reader is at the mercy of the information I choose to deliver.

That’s why I am always conscious of how the typical mystery reader might interpret a scene, or the last line of a chapter. Will my description of a round pen, for example, make sense to a person who does not know about horses, yet not be too elementary for those who do? As a reader, I know that I would much rather have the comfort of a concise, accurate description of an object or a process, than have a “Huh?” experience. As an author, however, that balance can be hard to find.

I have been fortunate to have my nonfiction books about horses diligently edited by people who are seasoned horse people, because those are the only readers who will be interested in that kind of book. On the other hand, I am equally as fortunate to have a woman who knows little about horses edit my Cat Enright equestrian mystery series, including The Fame Equation (2015). Even though I try to think like my readers when I write, I sometimes forget that not everyone knows, for example, what a fetlock is. My editor calls me on those lapses every time.

What is relevant information? What description adds to the story? What words advance the plot? How much is too much? Authors must lead the reader ably into, through, and out of the story in such a way that the reader wants to come back for more. Horse lovers want their horses engaged with them. Authors want to engage readers. Both, in a way, are done through leadership.

That’s why I try to think like a horse when I write. Scientists’ best guess is that horses think in pictures, much as people on the autism spectrum do, and every writer wants to be visual. Horses are also quite literal. If they don’t like something, you know it immediately with the pinning of an ear or a swish of a tail. As a writer, I know pretty quickly if a reader doesn’t like something, as one is sure to speak up.

Whether it is through reading or writing, we all love to immerse ourselves in a new mystery. That focus and attention is also very horse-like, so whether you realize it or not, you have something in common with the horsiest of horses.

Lisa Wysocky is a registered level PATH International instructor and also holds a certification as a Mentor and Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning. The September 2011 publication of the four-time award winning Cat Enright equestrian mystery, The Opium Equation, marked Lisa's debut fiction effort. The follow up, The Magnum Equation, takes place at an all breed horse show and won best book at the American Horse Publications awards, the first fiction book ever to earn this honor. The Fame Equation was published in 2015 and the series has recently been optioned for film and television. Lisa is also one of the authors included in the best-selling anthology, Eight Mystery Writers You Should Be Reading Now, with a Foreword by Hank Phillippi Ryan. She splits her time between Tennessee and Minnesota. Find her at LisaWysocky.com.

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.

And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.

1/27/16 1/27/16

Thinking Like a Horse / Lisa Wysocky

Thinking Like a Horse
By Lisa Wysocky

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.

And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.

1/27/16 1/27/16

Thinking Like a Horse / Lisa Wysocky

Thinking Like a Horse
By Lisa Wysocky

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

1/20/16 1/20/16

Author vs. Reader / C. Hope Clark

Thanks to the Internet, and the proliferation of cliché-caching sites like TVTropes.com, it’s harder than ever to surprise a reader. We’ve become so jaded as story-consumers that even the phrase “I’ve seen it all before” is too predictable to bother uttering. Rather than allowing this to discourage her, however, guest author C. Hope Clark chooses to see genre-savvy readers as an exciting challenge for her creativity to overcome in her quest to trick and trap her readers to their hearts’ delight.

Happy reading!

Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine

Author vs. Reader
By C. Hope Clark

Mystery is the only genre that pits author against reader. When I state this in classes, attendees’ eyes travel up and to the left, as if searching through their mental files to see if their experiences prove my statement. They always smile in recognition.

At first blush, anything with X versus Y sounds like a bad thing. An adversarial experience. Readers hunting for mistakes, maybe. Finding blue eyes on your protagonist on page 43 and brown on page 76. Or spelling “Jesse” in one conversation and later having it “Jessie”.

But only mystery? What about romance? Sci-fi? Women’s fiction? Suspense? Ah, suspense! Still no. Suspense is about the chase, not the whodunit. Only in mystery does the story open with an unanswered question that, through clues, trip-ups, and numerous wrong turns, leads the reader to a solution he never saw coming.

Author vs. Reader is about more than the whodunit. It’s about the red herrings and twists, and writing them such that the reader can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t. It’s about leading him down one path with all its color, intricacies and three-dimensional style to make him feel that what isn’t real actually is. Then at the end, after the maze of this redirection, the solution rears up in the reader’s face all grinning, sly, and smiling, and whispers, “Got you.”

I get chills mastering that talent as an author, and it is entertainment of the highest order when an author bests my sleuthing skills as a reader.

I absorbed this Author vs. Reader tenet a long, long time ago in a small, uneventful class, but I didn’t realize the intensity of its importance until I got involved in a critique group. I’ve belonged to an online critique group for twelve years. A core within that group has followed and coached me from the first novel to the present. We have become so familiar that we scold each other when material triggers our BS meters.

While I can write without the group, I prefer to hear their questions as to why I chose a certain route. “If that’s a clue, you’ll need to flesh it out better than this, because it isn’t working for me.” Or, “Are you kidding? Sorry, but I can’t see this character doing that even if it is a red herring.” After feedback, sometimes I toss that twist in the trash. Other times I hone it more, so that it is smoking hot smart. It’s finding that subtle edge that makes a mystery brilliant.

No author, however, can know all the potential options to taking a mystery from Point A to Z. I dare say that no author can operate in a vacuum without running twists by someone they trust. As mystery specialists, we read so much and juggle so many options through our heads that we can become callous and flat in understanding what zings. However, beta readers or a strong critique group can help us zig instead of zag so that the zing really sings. The harsher you let them question your motives, the slicker you learn to adjust.

An avid mystery reader enters a story with radar on and eyes scanning for clues, accepting the challenge laid down by an author. The reader opens the book, thinking, “No way this author can best me.” The author writes, thinking, “You’ll never guess who did it before the end.” And the gauntlet is thrown down. Unless your theories and clues have been tested to the nth degree, a mystery aficionado will bust you by chapter ten.

This Me against You mentality makes for some of the best stories. But it makes for some of the biggest hurdles for an author. Every story has to be told well, with great dialogue, remarkable setting, and characters that pop off the page. The highs and lows, the emotional baggage, all must be presented with a deft hand. Each word matters, and in the best books, the reader appreciates this because he never sees the words… only the story.

A mystery author, however, must invest themselves deeper, because the reader enters Chapter One knowing that anyone on any page might be the culprit… or an author’s misrepresentation. Actions, choices, and even snippets of dialogue can snare and divert a reader.

A knife thrown in the bushes jumps out as a clue to watch, while the subtle mention of hot chocolate on the counter means nothing, only to become the real evidence. Or will the knife seem so obvious that the reader discounts it, only to learn that it did matter, a jousting advance and retreat between reader and author.

I’ve altered who died, shifted red herring suspects, and even deleted climaxes to avoid being too predictable. Killed the unexpected good character and saved the cad. My second Carolina Slade Mystery, Tidewater Murder, had an entirely different climax before a beta reader gave it a lukewarm rating as predictable. In the third, Palmetto Poison, a Silver Falchion award winner, I decided in the third draft to insure every single character represented a twist somewhere in the book.

Authors twist and turn, then twist and turn again, then ponder whether to undo one twist and replace it with another. Or twist the twist that came about from the first twist. There’s nothing wrong with stepping back from your work think, “How can I screw with this in another direction one more time?” Remember, your reader has many mysteries under his belt, and feels he’s seen it all. He tingles at the opportunity to experience something he hasn’t. Every paragraph and page must be taken to the point of ridiculousness, because anything less is fair game to the reader.

An author has to wow himself with the clues and answers in a mystery long before he wows the reader. And if a mystery author hasn’t completely amazed himself with his story, he’ll never win the fight.

C. Hope Clark attempts to amaze her mystery readers in her award-winning Carolina Slade Mysteries and Edisto Island Mysteries, both from Bell Bridge Books of Memphis, TN. Two of the Slade mysteries won Silver Falchion awards at Killer Nashville, and her latest release is Edisto Jinx. Her short mystery “Rich Talk” appeared in Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded and has been nominated for an Edgar. When not twisting mysteries, Hope manages FundsforWriters.com, chosen by Writer’s Digest Magazine for its 101 Best Websites for Writers for 15 years. Reach her at www.chopeclark.com. She lives on the banks of Lake Murray in central South Carolina, when she isn’t writing at Edisto Beach.

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.

And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.

1/20/16 1/20/16

Author vs. Reader / C. Hope Clark

Author vs. Reader
By C. Hope Clark

I get chills mastering that talent as an author, and it is entertainment of the highest order when an author bests my sleuthing skills as a reader.

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

1/20/16 1/20/16

Author vs. Reader / C. Hope Clark

Author vs. Reader
By C. Hope Clark

I get chills mastering that talent as an author, and it is entertainment of the highest order when an author bests my sleuthing skills as a reader.

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

1/13/16 1/13/16

Too Cozy or Not Too Cozy? / Linda Thorne

But what about when those definitions change? Can genres stretch to accommodate the needs and tastes of new generations? In this week’s guest blog, author Linda Thorne grapples with the constraints of “cozy”, and the different ways that modern cozies—including her own—diverge from these supposedly hard and fast rules.

Happy reading!

Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine

Too Cozy or Not Too Cozy?
by Linda Thorne

Anything you hear regarding cozy mysteries will likely slot them into a sub-genre that promises the reader escape from anything objectionable. Profanity is eliminated, or virtually imperceptible. If sex is written into the book, it will always be low-key. The protagonist is never physically harmed or subjected to true violence. I recently read a post online that said crime in a cozy would be “bloodless.”

The setting is a small town where the characters drink tea and have cats or dogs for pets (sometimes other animals). The lead will be a female amateur sleuth, often described as a sincerely nice and endearing person. The definition offered here is what I read in posts and articles. It’s the same when I listen to authors speak on the subject.

Before my debut novel Just Another Termination was contracted for publication, I submitted it to agents, publishers, contests, always referencing it as a mystery. My rejection letters referred to it as a cozy. One year when I entered Just Another Termination in the Colorado Gold Writers Contest, one of the judges wrote notes in the margin beside my description of the first dead body, a crime scene far from “bloodless.” He said I was stepping outside the bounds of cozy.

I made all the other changes both my judges suggested, but held on to the grizzly, real-life description of the dead body, as it seemed important to my story. When I found a publisher, the graphic details of my murder scene survived their edits, yet my book is still considered a cozy.

Are there cozies that are hybrids: mostly mystery with a touch of cozy? I presented the question to a panel of cozy authors at a Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference years ago, using Carolyn Haines’ Sarah Booth Delaney Bones series as an example. I told the group that I’d noticed Sara Booth’s sex life escalating in each new book and her consumption of Jack Daniels increasing. After some pause, one of the panel authors said, “Maybe we could call her books naughty cozies.” The whole room had a good laugh, but then the questions and responses moved back to the traditional elements of cozies.

But my question hadn’t been answered: why do the cozies I read (and write) not meet some or all of the typical cozy criteria? Goldy Schultz, the caterer protagonist in Diane Mott Davidson’s series, has been knocked down, bonked, bruised, and stabbed. She’s been left unconscious and has found herself confronted by many murderers trying to kill her. Any reader of the series should find solid reason to believe she is in true danger of physical harm or death. Often.

As for M.C. Beaton’s series character, Agatha Raisin, I’d hardly describe the character as nice. Certainly not endearing. To me, Agatha is a fun protagonist in her sarcastic, grumpy, cigarette-smoking, self-centered way.

Jennie Bentley has some horrific things happen in her cozy renovation series. The skeleton of a baby is found in a crawl space above an attic, a 98 year-old woman is pushed to her death down steep stairs, and more.

In Sunny Frazier’s second book in her Christy Bristol series, Where Angels Fear, Christy gets involved in a membership-only S&M sex club. I have to say, the subject added spice to the story, but an objectionable topic to some? I would think so.

The books I’ve mentioned are missing a lot of tea drinkers, and in one way or another have taken a brazen step outside the boundary of their subgenre. Regardless, I came away from reading these books with a feeling I’d been on a fun ride. One without gloomy afterthoughts or bad dreams. As these authors’ examples illustrate, books called cozies can move outside their definition and still hold their label, cozy, so long as they leave the reader with their hallmark—a warm and comfy feeling. It works for me.

Linda Thorne began pursuing her true passion, writing, in 2005. Since then, she has published numerous short stories in the genres of mystery, thriller, and romance. Four of her short stories made the selection process for publication in the 2012 anthology, Soundtrack NOT Included. Her debut novel, Just Another Termination, is the first in a planned series of mysteries that tell the story of Judy Kenagy, the first career human resources manager to turn sleuth. She is currently writing the second book in her series, A Promotion to Die For. Thorne resides in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and two border collies. Learn more at http://www.lindathorne.com, and connect with her @lindamthorne on Twitter.

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.

And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.

1/13/16 1/13/16

Too Cozy or Not Too Cozy? / Linda Thorne

Although it’s tempting to think of our own works as too special, too ground-breaking, too fill-in-the-blank to fit into any kind of genre, the truth is that every story fits into some kind of box, once you break it down enough. And that’s not a bad thing. Genre designations help us as a community of writers and readers to categorize our preferences, and reach the people interested in our particular niche.But what about when those definitions change? Can genres stretch to accommodate the needs and tastes of new generations? In this week’s guest blog, author Linda Thorne grapples with the constraints of “cozy”, and the different ways that modern cozies—including her own—diverge from these supposedly hard and fast rules.Happy reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine

Too Cozy or Not Too Cozy?
by Linda Thorne

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

1/13/16 1/13/16

Too Cozy or Not Too Cozy? / Linda Thorne

Too Cozy or Not Too Cozy?
by Linda Thorne

(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)

Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

1/8/16 1/8/16

Killer Cocktails: The Conundrum

This month’s exclusive Killer Nashville Killer Cocktail: The Conundrum

The great mystery writer Agatha Christie lived a bit of a conundrum. It turns out she was not a fan of her own character, Hercule Poirot. In fact, Christie hated Poirot so much—she said he was prim and fussy—that she wrote his death story, which was published before her own death in 1975. Much to her chagrin, Poroit’s death made the front page of the New York Times.

Mark “Spaz” Morris thought the story about Christie’s loathing of Poirot so compelling, he developed the perfect cocktail to ease any conundrum. We like to think Christie would approve.

The Conundrum

A Killer Nashville Signature Cocktail

Ingredients:

2-ounces Marquis de Montesquiou Armagnac VSOP

1-ounce Merlet Crème de Fraise

Orange slices

Sphere of ice

Directions:

This cocktail works best with a large ice cube or sphere. Molds for larger than normal cubes can be purchased at your local liquor store or wherever you might find kitchen gadgets.
To prepare The Killer Nashville Conundrum, place one sphere of ice into a shaker. Pour the Armagnac and add the crème de Fraise.
Do not shake, but swirl the shaker. With tongs, put another sphere in a martini glass, add a slice of orange, and pour the shaker contents.

Cheers!

Send us pictures and comments of you and the Killer Nashville’s Conundrum. We’ll share them here along with a link back to you.

About Spaz:

Spaz started in the restaurant/bar business back in 1984 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana when he was a student at Louisiana State University. Instead of becoming a chemical engineer, he became a social legend instead, he says jokingly. He later transferred to Knoxville, Tennessee, and received a Bachelor’s in marketing from the University of Tennessee in 1989. He has worked in biker bars to 4-fork-setting restaurants. An avid traveler, he has lived in 13 states and visited 40, so far. He enjoys reading sci-fi and sci-fantasy books. He currently holds court at Red Dog Wine and Spirits in Franklin, Tennessee. Check out the store: www.reddogwineandspirits.com.

Submit Your Writing to KN Magazine

Want to have your writing included in Killer Nashville Magazine?
Fill out our submission form and upload your writing here:

SUBMIT YOUR WRITING

KN Magazine: Articles

State of the Industry: Contract Decoding, Part Two

Contract Decoding (Part 2 of 3)
By Milt Toby

Marketing Your Book 101: How Long Should a Post Be? Three Tips for Writing Your Author Blog

How Long Should a Post Be? Three Tips for Writing Your Author Blog
By Erik Deckers

Self-Publishing: The Perfect Title

Finding the Perfect Title
By Tom Wood

From the Classroom: Writing a Thrilling Short Story

How to Write a Thrilling Short Story
By Kimberly Dana

Dying for Dinner: Caroline's Eggplant Parmesan and Florentine Roast Pork

Dying for Dinner

Arista alla fiorentina/Florentine Roast Pork

In The Public Eye: The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-Publishing

The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-Publishing
By Julie Schoerke

In The Public Eye: The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-Publishing

The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-Publishing
By Julie Schoerke

Believability—How Much Can We Stretch Reality and Get Away With It? / Caroline Fardig

Believability—How Much Can We Stretch Reality and Get Away With It? / Caroline Fardig

Believability—How Much Can We Stretch Reality and Get Away With It? / Caroline Fardig

Thinking Like a Horse / Lisa Wysocky

Thinking Like a Horse / Lisa Wysocky

Thinking Like a Horse / Lisa Wysocky

Author vs. Reader / C. Hope Clark

Author vs. Reader / C. Hope Clark

Author vs. Reader / C. Hope Clark

Too Cozy or Not Too Cozy? / Linda Thorne

Too Cozy or Not Too Cozy? / Linda Thorne

Too Cozy or Not Too Cozy? / Linda Thorne

Killer Cocktails: The Conundrum

The Conundrum

Submit Your Writing to KN Magazine

Home

About Us
Press
Success Stories
KN Gives Back
Sponsor KN

Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions

Conference

Register
Schedule
Conference Offerings
Who’s Who
Bookstore / Sign Books
Get Involved
Hotel Info

Awards / Scholarships

2023 KN Award Winners
The Claymore Award
The Silver Falchion Award
KN Reader’s Choice Award
John Seigenthaler Legends Award
C. Auguste Dupin Detective Award
Scholarships

KN Magazine

Search
Articles
Interviews
Reviews
Cover Archives
Submit to KN Magazine

2025 Sponsors

KN Magazine: Articles

Contract Decoding (Part 2 of 3)By Milt Toby

How Long Should a Post Be? Three Tips for Writing Your Author BlogBy Erik Deckers

Finding the Perfect TitleBy Tom Wood

How to Write a Thrilling Short StoryBy Kimberly Dana

Dying for Dinner

Arista alla fiorentina/Florentine Roast Pork

The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-PublishingBy Julie Schoerke

The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-PublishingBy Julie Schoerke

The Conundrum

Submit Your Writing to KN Magazine

Conference

Awards / Scholarships

2025 Sponsors

Contract Decoding (Part 2 of 3)
By Milt Toby

How Long Should a Post Be? Three Tips for Writing Your Author Blog
By Erik Deckers

Finding the Perfect Title
By Tom Wood

How to Write a Thrilling Short Story
By Kimberly Dana

The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-Publishing
By Julie Schoerke

The #1 Novice Mistake in Self-Publishing
By Julie Schoerke