Changing Reader Paradigms: Info for Writers with Sean McLachlan

In this article, we will be looking at two ideas that writers who want to write it right come across. First, how do we write authentically about another culture? Second, once we have done our research, and we know that we are writing in opposition to what our reader understands as true, how do we bring them along with the plot and make the story believable?

A big welcome to Sean McLachlan. 

Sean, can you tell us about your new book and how a man who lives in Spain found himself writing about the west from the POV of Apache Indians?

Sean - 
Back in my archaeology days, I spent 12 years living in Arizona. I got to visit a lot of the sites from the Apache Wars, plus excavate at Tubac Presidio near Tucson, where I lived. So I've always had an interest in various Southwestern peoples, the Apache especially. A couple of years ago, Osprey Publishing, a leading military history publisher, asked me to do a book on the Apache Wars. Osprey's books tend to be brief, heavily illustrated histories, so I had a lot of material left over. Since I'd always wanted to write a Western, I decided to write one from the Apache point of view in order to debunk a lot of popular myths.

Fiona - 
Popular myth busting is our favorite sport here at ThrillWriting. Can you you share some of the ways that you helped to dispel myths in your book without lecturing your reader? 

If they have a paradigm in their head, you have to make them believe your information is more credible in order to keep them agreeing with your premises. 

Sean - 

Amazon Link

Warpath into Sonora is set in what is now Arizona in 1846 and is about a group of young Apache warriors just into manhood who are eager to prove themselves. To do this, they raid Mexican settlements and other tribes. So basically it's a Western from the Apache point of view. Their carefree life disappears when a nearby Apache settlement gets destroyed by a group of Mexican and Texan scalp hunters, who take Apache scalps for a reward from the Mexican government. Under the leadership of their war chief, who has gone insane with the desire for revenge, they pursue the scalp hunters deep into Sonora.

The main myth I'm trying to debunk here is that the Apaches gleefully took scalps any chance they got. Actually they were more often the victims of scalping than the perpetrators.

The provincial governments of northern Mexico offered a reward in gold for Apache scalps—100 pesos for a warrior’s scalp, 50 pesos for a woman’s, and 25 pesos for a child’s. At this time the peso was worth about the same as an American dollar, and thus killing even one large family would be enough to support a scalp hunter comfortably for a year. The scalp bounty in the province of Chihuahua continued as late as 1886, with the notorious Ley Quinto (Fifth Law). Established in 1849, the Ley Quinto offered 150 pesos for each live woman and for each child under fourteen, 200 pesos for the scalp of a warrior aged fourteen or above, and 250 pesos for each live warrior. Slavery as well as extermination became official policy.

Movies and poorly researched novels have consistently shown Apaches scalping their victims. While this was the practice with some tribes, especially on the Great Plains, scalping was not generally practiced among the Apache. Their culture has an aversion to death and Apaches avoid dead bodies, graveyards, and recent battlefields. This is documented in nineteenth century accounts by both the Apache and Americans. Numerous passages written by U.S. cavalrymen relate how the Apache rarely if ever took scalps, and that if they did so it was in the heat of the moment and the scalp was quickly discarded. The Apache maintain that they never took scalps or mutilated bodies before the Mexicans started doing it to them.

Fiona -
So interesting. And I'm assuming you use the plot, inner thoughts, and dialogue to educate as well as entertain your readers.

On the topic of dialogue. How do you construct the Apache's internal and external dialogue to show culture without doing what the cowboys and Indian movies of the 1950s did with their scripts?

Sean - 
Dialogue is tricky. It is easy to avoid the grunting savage dialogue of old Westerns, but making it accurate is very hard, especially since this is a full generation before any Apache wrote down their memoirs. I modeled it a lot after the style of the few precious memoirs we do have of Apache from the last decades of the 19th century. Also, what's not said can be equally important. For example, it was a very sexually conservative culture and so the hero, Nantan, and his love Liluye, don't even speak to each other in the entire book. They're not married and so it would be inappropriate to talk to each other much. Of course a lot can be said with eye contact and with actions.

Also there's the misconception of what a chief is. Western cultures, accustomed to Western ideas of hierarchy, would deal with chiefs thinking they had complete power. They did not. They were more like respected specialists. The war chief in the book, Tarak, is the best and most experienced warrior in the group, but he can't command people to follow him, he must convince them.

Fiona - 
If writers don't have the benefit of an education and over a decade of interaction with a foreign culture they would like to portray in their book, how would you advise them to proceed. For example, I am about to write a book that includes a man who was born in El Salvador from an American mom and and El Salvadorian dad. I picked a mix lineage so I didn't have to be worried about the linguistic issues mentioned above, but that doesn't mean culture wouldn't shine through. If you were mentoring such a project how, in your opinion, should a writer proceed?

Sean - 

Research, research, research. Get thee to the library! Also, Youtube and other video sites are handy too. They help you see the style of talking, physical mannerisms, how individuals interact. And don't be afraid to ask questions. It's remarkable how open people are when you say you're writing a book. For example, in my Toxic World post-apocalyptic series, Chinese-Americans are persecuted even worse than Japanese-Americans were during WWII. So people of Chinese descent take on Korean names to hide their identity. I spoke with a Korean woman married to a Chinese man about Chinese names that could pass for Korean, and also common Korean names that Chinese people with distinctively Chinese names could take on.

Fiona -
Here on ThrillWriting it's our tradition to ask you to tell us the story behind your favorite scar OR a harrowing story that you survived.

Sean - 
When I was 19, I went on my first archaeological excavation overseas. It was in Israel, and it was my first big trip alone. While I was staying in Jerusalem, I heard a bomb go off outside my hotel. It was a car bomb in a parking lot near the Damascus Gate. Being young and stupid, I went out to see the wreckage. Luckily, no one was hurt. The police were pushing everyone back away from the bomb site, and I soon discovered why. A second car bomb, in a vehicle parked close to the first, blew up right in front of me. The tactic was obvious: attract a crowd with the first bomb, and then blow it up with the second. Basically that was the world saying to me, "Hey, you wanted to experience life outside your First World bubble, well here it is! Sure you want to continue, Sean?" I did. I've spent much of the past 25 years in the Middle East and Africa and don't regret a moment of it. Well, except for a few cases of food poisoning, but that's just the price of admission.

Thank you so much for sharing.

You all can stay in touch with Sean:

Goodreads

Facebook

Twitter

Amazon Author Page

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

Under the Weather? How to use Mother Nature in Your Plot

I'm blog hopping from ThrillWriting over to Thriller-Writer in this article.

BTW, I wanted to name my blog Thriller-Writer but someone beat me to it. And then, I found out it was my friend Eric - great minds and all that. So join me as I hop.

My Guest: Fiona Quinn

My Guest this week is a little under the weather...  in fact, we all are, as are the characters in the novels we read, and she's going to show us some clever ways authors can use this to immerse readers into scenes on the page. Ladies and Gentlemen...

Fiona Quinn

How’s the Weather? 

In Your Novel, 

It Makes a Difference.

Last weekend, I was out in the woods on an Evacuation Team with Search and Rescue. It was ninety degrees (32º C). Things had cooled down quite a bit from the last time I was out on a manhunt; that day it had been over a hundred (39º C) with a wall of humidity. 

Amazon Link

Since I write Romantic Suspense/thrillers, I always try to note my experiences so I can bring my written words to life. In the case of searching for someone in the woods, weather matters. And I want to make the broader point that weather matters in all of our writing scenes.

Let’s start with my evac event as an example. In order to go into the woods, rescuers need to dress out; that is, we’re required to wear certain clothing to maintain our safety: boots, wool socks, long pants, long sleeved shirt, eye protection, helmet, heavy leather gloves. I was covered from head to toe except for the three or so inches between my glasses and my shirt collar. On top of that, I carried a rescue pack and equipment like rappelling webbing, a backboard, and a litter, as well as first aid bag, water for the victim and food. Water weighs a lot. Especially the amounts carried in for the heat. Ninety degrees. Remember that.

Amazon Link

In ninety-degree weather, a rescuer can quickly need rescuing. Rescuers are human beings, too. While often portrayed as heroic and never being aware of things like heat, Mother Nature really isn’t that kind. In ninety-degree heat, with or without the extra equipment, in that clothing, your character will be sopping wet with sweat. The sweat will make the dirt on the skin muddy. It will bring the bugs a-buzzing. It will make the character thirsty, tired, and probably a bit irritable. It will make the clothing cling uncomfortably to the skin, will increase the friction on the feet, forming blisters. Physical exertion in that weather will increase the need for water. Increase the chance of heat stroke. Use the weather to increase the misery of your character (nothing should be going well for them anyway.) 

Think about all of the wonderful ways you can describe the event once you take into account the weather: heat, cold, rain, drought, wind – it’s all plotting fodder.

The weather gives a writer plenty of ways to add beats into conversations instead of tags. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term 'beat', what I mean is that I would give environmental information or physical activity to the scene. It’s very important to resituate a reader. . . 

GO HERE to read the rest of the this article, thank you!

Military v. Civilian Crime Investigation Who's in Control? Info for Writers with Daniel Chamberlain

In this article, I'd like to introduce you to Daniel Chamberlain, who
was a Special Agent with the Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Recently, he was telling me about a case (none of this is classified, I promise) which involved an Air Force asset who had been working as a double agent for nearly a decade. They were surveilling the final meeting between this guy and his handling agent in Germany. At the end of the night, he got a nasty surprise and the German government was able to roll up a fairly large network. Oh, and if you want another case, check out Jens Karney. Karney was another spy Daniel had a hand in trailing. While never friends, Daniel had dealings with him before it was discovered he was also a spy. 

And now, Daniel, you're turning your experiences into fiction. What are you working on? What genre do you enjoy writing?

Daniel -
My first two books were categorized as "Westerns," but the first was a murder mystery, and the second an historical fiction. My 3rd was my first venture into an action/adventure. Right now, I'm working on a sequel to that. I don't want to get fenced into a particular genre.

Fiona -
Can you tell us a little bit about your job in the Air Force and how your experience influences your writing? Or does it?

Daniel - 
Prior to the Air Force, I was a street cop. After entering the Air Force, I was recruited into the Office of Special Investigations following a fairly brutal crime scene where some of the agents had an opportunity to watch me work. A few days later, I was summoned to the detachment and asked if I'd consider a cross train. I worked a lot of drugs and crimes against persons, but my heart was really in larger crimes, espionage, black marketing and things like that.

Fiona - 
Does this influence how you write scenes in your books?

Daniel -
I'm a very visually oriented person. At the same time, I'm very observant. I want my scenes to be imaginatively stimulating as if I'm looking at the scene that very moment. I also insist on authenticity. I won't make a mistake about a weapon, or piece of equipment, or for that matter, an investigative technique. Nothing can be imaginary. It has to exist and I have to know how to use it. 

Fiona -
You fit right in here on ThrillWriting - we are writers who strive to write it right and readers who like to be entertained and also learn cool new stuff (that's the technical term) from the books they choose.

How were you trained to enter a scene? As an investigator can you take us through the steps and thought processes?

Daniel - 
A scene - as in crime scene - may have defined borders, but initially you may not know this. You have to enter from the spot it was discovered, or as closely as you can. I stop and do an overall scan to get a sense of the scene, then I move closer to my point of observation, mentally marking anything that may be of evidentiary value, what I might want photographs of later. I decide what track I'll use when entering, because nothing irritates me more than someone who blunders into a scene and steps on things that could be evidence. (Read more about that and Locard's Exchange Principle HERE)

After I decide the route I'll use to enter, I do so, slowly and with great deliberation. Even a fleck of blood is evidence.

I once had an agent step into a death scene and accidentally kick an expended bullet that had gone through the victim's head, bounced off the ceiling and lay on the floor at the entrance to the apartment.

Fiona - 
You mentioned kicking a spent bullet case. What other things might you be on the lookout for? How do you decide that something is significant?

Daniel - 
Ah, everything has the potential to be significant. I didn't work this case, but OSI had a murder involving a Non-Commissioned Officer in base housing. He was bludgeoned on his patio. The case agent swept the patio with a vacuum. In the bag, they found a grasshopper with one broken leg. Later, once they'd identified a suspect, a search of his room involved taking his clothing that he'd worn that day. In the cuff of his pants, they found the broken leg of the grasshopper!

Often, one doesn't know initially what will be significant and what won't. So, you take way more than you need to, and sort it out later.

Fiona - 
Very cool story.

You worked in public arena and in the military dealing with criminal activity. Here at ThrillWriting, we're trying to help writers write it right. Are there any differences writers need to be fined tuned about -- differences in how crimes are handled by these two entities?

Daniel -
I think the biggest difference isn't so much how things are done technically, but what resources are available to various departments. 

If you watch CSI, you get a very false idea of how crimes are processed in major departments. It's exciting and thrilling, and nothing could be further from the truth. 

Crime scene processors, or criminalists are methodical people who gather evidence, bag it, tag it and the majority of it is sent to a crime lab for inspection and analysis. That's not to say major departments don't have labs at their disposal, but many departments across the country rely on contract labs, or the FBI. The military has some very good crime labs as well, but in many cases we send our stuff to the FBI. Regardless, very little of it is thrilling.

Fiona - 
When is the military investigator the one who covers the crime and when is it a public investigator?

Daniel - 
Jurisdiction is determined using several factors. 

• If the victim is involved with the Department of Defense, and the likelihood the perpetrator is as well, but the crime occurs off base, then it's a joint venture. 
• If the crime occurs on base, it's the military's purview. Many of my investigations occurred off base, particularly the espionage investigations, black marketing and fraud. In these instances, we briefed the cases to the US Attorney, and if they wanted to exercise control, we'd bring in the FBI.

Fiona - 
What if you cross catch the bad guy? The military catches a civilian or vice versa, is there a hand over? How does that work?

Daniel -
A lot depends on what crime has been committed. But, we cannot prosecute a civilian for a crime against persons. We must brief the case to a civilian prosecutor. If the bad guy has been apprehended, then he's turned over to a civilian authority with the appropriate jurisdiction. Any crime that occurs on a military base, is a Federal crime and depending on the severity, the FBI gets first shot at seeking prosecution. On the other hand, we often investigate civilian entities independently of the FBI when there is a service connection, such as contractor fraud or espionage.

Fiona - 
If it's a military arrest is the brig (vocab?) like a jail house?

Daniel - 
The Air Force calls it a "Detention Facility." I don't now about the other branches. There are military and federal prisons...but that comes later.

The detention facility functions like a jail in terms of processing prisoners.

Fiona - 

When you read accounts in books or see them on TV or in the movies, what do writers do that make you throw your hands in the air and scream?

Daniel - Where do I start? 

For one, the use of weapons, while technically correct, tends to be fanciful. A whole lot of missing goes on in real life. I want to throw something at the television when I watch the investigator moving from room to room and apparently deliberately ignoring the very closet the bad guy will come out of and knock them on the head! 

Speaking of knocking people on the head, that gets way over used in Hollywood. Knocking someone on the head hard enough to knock them out, will more times than not, result in a brain bleed!

On my web site, daniel-chamberlain.com, I have several essays on death scenes, violence, firearms nomenclature and capabilities, aimed at writers who don't have any experience in those areas.

Also, I hate the Bourne movies where it appears the CIA has every surveillance camera in the world patched into their command center
It's total bull crap! They want you to believe there's a bustling command center monitoring every terrorist hot spot in the world. Total fantasy.

Fiona - 
Wait! You mean that stuff's not true????

So let's go to something that is true. It's a tradition on ThrillWriting that we ask the story behind your favorite scar. Will you indulge us?

Daniel - 

One evening, I was talking to a member of the Ojibwa nation named Ray, and he noticed a scar on my right wrist. He asked me where I got it. I told him I’d received it in a fight with a drunk driver suspect. Ray asked, “Did you win?” I replied, “Well, I got the handcuffs on him and took him to jail, so I suppose you could say I won.” Ray thought for a moment, and then asked, “Does he have a scar?” I smiled, “No, Ray, I don’t think he does.” Ray nodded. After a few seconds he said, “You lost.” “How do you figure that, Ray?” I asked. “For the rest of your life, you’ll remember his name. But he can forget he ever knew you.” Ray’s wisdom was soon forgotten. Then, about 20 years later, I encountered the man who I’d arrested and said,” How are you Merlin?” He looked at me for a moment, and asked, “Do I know you?”

Fiona - 
So good. Thank you for sharing.

So tell me about one of your books. What about that story was compelling to you?

Daniel - 
My latest and it's a thriller/mystery with totally authentic tradecraft. A little Jason Bourne but with a real smart ass for a protagonist, rather than a brooding Matt Damon. 

Amazon Link

Fiona - 
We love authentic tradecraft! And my gosh - your cover! It's beautiful.

Daniel - 
The story revolves around an organization that was ended at the close of WWII, but resurrected under Reagan (fiction)







You can stay in touch with Daniel on Facebook. 

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

What I Learned Playing the Victim in a Mock Bombing: Info for Writers

IN THIS ARTICLE: None of the photos depict anything real; this is all MOCKed up. 

There. Right there. That's where the imaginary bomb went off. And then all hell broke loose.

For a long time, it was just us victims lying on the ground, confused and "injured."

Injuries were sorted beforehand. 

I had bilateral leg breaks, so I was non-ambulatory, but not in a life threatening situation. That's moulage on my legs - they made us up so the first-responders were better able to interpret this situation as real. You'll also see on my task sheet that I was a sixteen-year-old male and somehow also alert and following directions. I don't remember ever meeting a sixteen-year-old who was both alert and following instructions. Mostly, I get eyerolls and mumbles that sound like "no way, dude" from my sixteen-year-olds.

Let me tell you a story here about communicating in an emergency. First, I texted. You should text in an emergency so the cell towers aren't overburdened. So, good on me.

This is what I texted though:
Kid #3 has a broken ankle and head trauma. I have two broken legs.

I attached the above picture of my startlingly white legs and these photos of kid #3.

Hubby knew that #3 and I were volunteering in a mock event. He knew we'd be moulaged. He wondered what injuries they would give us. That's why I sent him the quick text. Sigh.

Hubby did not remember any of that in the middle of his national sales meeting where he received my quick text and three photos. My husband, bless him, was terrified that he was on the wrong coast when we needed him. He had a full blown adrenaline rush and horror/fear for us. I learned that we should never assume and be very very very clear in our real life communications.

In your book? The more confusion the better.

Things I learned:

• It will be a very long time before responders get themselves organized and treating people. They have to get the call and get themselves on scene. There's a hierarchy that is put in place. Organizing that has to happen. Practiced and quick, for sure, but seconds count.
• They can't send the responders in until it is deemed safe. This makes sense. If the responders are hurt, then who is there to help? The responders had to sit outside of the perimeter and wait for the bomb dogs to come and check out the area before an all-clear was called. (for some people, that was a lot of bleeding time.)
• Your character had better have some first-aid skills in their personal mental toolkit, and some supplies in their purse.
• When it's ninety degrees outside, your character will cook if you lay on the road until help gets you moved. Serious skin burns. I'm not kidding. Please remember that when you lay someone on the ground in heat or cold in your writing - save them some extra agony. Or don't. Who am I to make it easier on your characters?
• If you are ambulatory, get your character up and ambulate. Seriously. No. One. Is. Coming. They're last on the list, and they confuse the workers trying to get to those with life or death injuries. Just need to prove that character is a prima donna? Fine, leave her out their crying over her scraped knee while someone is looking for the bottom half of their leg. Character development at its clearest.
• If your characters are non-ambulatory, the responders will put them to work if they're conscious. I, for example, was next to a kid with an amputated thumb. I did my best to help him until they set up the triage tents (green, yellow, and red - indicating who gets treatment first). Then I sent him on his way. His feet worked, no need to fry him on the macadam.

 (That's a rubber thumb, and some blood gel and he tucked his real thumb and screamed bloody murder.)

• There will not be enough first aid supplies.
• There will be an insane amount of chaos; it's noisy and confusing, smoke, debris, people's belongings scattered as they escape. . .
• People who are in bombing events have the same issues they had before the bombing event. So heart patients have heart issues. Diabetics can have low blood sugar. People with mental health issues still have mental health issues. These things increase the problems.
• The first responders are human. They get hot. They get tired. They get overwhelmed. They get frustrated. 
• The hospitals divide the patients based on capacity and expertise. They may send Hubby to trauma hospital C because they can take 4 more traumas there. They may send Wifey to hospital B because they have two extra orthopedic surgeons on hand. They may send Kid #3 to the pediatric hospital because they have expertise in adolescent head trauma. Now the family has to find each of their missing members and go from hospital to hospital to talk to doctors and give support.

I hope this has given you some new insights for the mass casualty event your writing. I have other such articles available with more information about how responders respond and what it felt like to be on the receiving end of their care. Look at the top of this blog for the Out and About tab or go HERE

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

Spend a Year in Cupid's Coffeeshop: Info for writers about serial publishing.

Fellow Kindle Scout winning author, Courtney Hunt, joins us ThrillWriters and ThrillReaders to talk about her year-long writing project, Cupid's Coffeeshop.

Fiona -
Welcome Courtney. Can you set the stage by telling us a little bit about your writing and your project?

Courtney - 
I prefer to write in the contemporary romance genre, though I'd like to eventually branch into women's fiction. I also have some paranormal and sci-fi ideas rattling around that I hope to get to before 2050.

As to how I became a writer, I've always enjoyed writing down the stories I created. I pursued traditional publishing for about 10 years before giving up after the birth of my son. In my day-job I'm an attorney for the federal government. When we furloughed in October 2013, I suddenly had the life I'd always dreamed about. My son was in school and my husband at work. I wrote 54k words in 17 days. I self-published my first novel in July 2015.

Fiona - 
You are working on what I would call an ambitious if not daunting adventure. Can you explain how you got this idea? And tell truth, was this a dare accepted over too many rum and Cokes?

Courtney - 

COURTNEY HUNT - author page

No, but there was some cough syrup with codeine involved. Like many writers, I often write in coffee shops and thought that a coffee shop would be a great "meet cute" place for a hero and heroine. But, I couldn't settle on one hero and heroine. Finally, while I was sick with bronchitis (that's where the cough syrup with codeine comes in) and lying in bed, I jotted down a list of 10 story ideas. From there, I got the idea to do one per month throughout 2016. Still on the cough syrup, I came up with the three core characters who own the coffee shop and the Cupid's Coffeeshop series was born.

Fiona -
Would you take us through your production process? Writing a first draft is simply a step on the path to a reader's hands.

Courtney -
When I structured the Cupid's Coffeeshop series, I based it more on episodic television writing than a traditional romance series. So, I had the three main characters, who each get their own "very special episode" in their own books. And then, from there, I branched out to the other stories.

I have a four stage process--Capture, Development, Drafting, and Production. I use Evernote to capture all my story ideas. I usually tend to think in series, probably because as a life-long romance reader, I enjoy reading romance series. Once I decide to develop an idea, I do some basic research and character work to build an outline. I have to limit myself on the character work because I'd spend months on it if I let myself. I usually work on it for about a week and have a few favorite character exercises, like Holly Lisle's the Shadow Room and the intimacy questions. Once I have an outline or a scene list, I draft from beginning to end. I usually write 2-5k words a day on my writing days. Once a first draft is done, I consider the book in production. It goes to my developmental editor, my copy-editor, my formatter, my cover designer, and it's up on Amazon.

Fiona - 
If someone else were to think this was an awesome idea, first they should download all of your books and see what you did and how with the stories, but second could you share some of your insights? What worked? What didn't? How would you change things if you were to do this again? And would you consider doing this again? Ha! I piled on this time.

Courtney -
First, yes, I absolutely would consider doing this again. In fact, I have ideas for two different year-long series that I'm seriously considering pursuing in the future. 

Having said that, yes, there are some things I'd do differently. I would have all the stories written before I published the first one: 

• I wouldn't be writing under so much pressure.
• I'd have had the same editors for the entire series. My copy-editor abruptly closed up shop over the summer which left me scrambling to find another. 
• I would make them longer so I could charge $2.99 per book. Right now, I have them at about 50 pages and 99 cents. The sales volume has been very good but the revenue is lower than what I'd prefer.

As to what worked, I had all the covers designed at one time so they are well-branded and look great together. I also released a boxed set of the first four which I had made into an audiobook that has sold really well.

I also think setting up a core story, with the three main characters that appear in each book, helped a great deal with writing it. It always comes back to the three owners. And, while two of the owners have already found their happily-ever-afters, the last one doesn't until the final book. Readers have been clamoring to know what happens to Patrick.

I also think I've built up a core of really loyal readers who love this series and that's been great too. So, overall, it's been great to get a lot of titles up on Amazon quickly (I've been published just over a year and have 12 titles for sale and 3 for pre-order).

Fiona -
You brought up the idea of branding through your cover art. Who is your audience, and how did you develop your branding to appeal to them?

Courtney - 
The books are small-town contemporary romance. I was really going for a Gilmore Girls vibe with the books. However, writing such a long series, I've been able to have an older couple (Cherry Blossom Cappuccino features a couple in their 70s) as well as a high school couple (in November's Thanksgiving Dream). I've also had some college-aged heroes and heroines. So, even within the small town vibe, I've had young adult, new adult, and--what do we call older adults? Hen lit?-- opportunities. The books also vary in their heat levels from sweet to mainstream steamy. So, by varying the ages and the heat level, I've attracted a wide swath of contemporary romance readers.

As for the branding part, I've used the same cover designer for all my books (Kim Killion) and she also designed my Cupid's Coffeeshop logo. I've used Fivver.com to get some great promotional photos to use.

Fiona - 
Let's talk about the big author time suck, marketing. You have a great story to tell, you've wrapped it up in a pretty package, and now you need to get it out into the world. Can you take us through your strategy?

Courtney - 
Marketing has been a challenge for this series because many of the popular sites, like Bookbub, don't advertise novellas. I spent a good amount of December setting up promos for the first book, Java Frost. 

To celebrate each new release, I've put the prior month's book up for free for 5 days. I have a newsletter and send that out each month. I'm also just starting to use Facebook ads after Mark Dawson's class. 

I think having each book up for pre-order for 90 days helps too. I had just 29 pre-orders of the first one and the more recent ones are in the 150 range. So, that's been better. I have a review crew too that has helped spread the word. But, like with all author promos, it's never enough, and I have to limit it or I'll never get new words on the page.

Fiona - 
What do you wish I had asked you but didn't know enough to ask?

Courtney -
How difficult it is to change course with a series like this. For example, I realized in the spring that 99 cents was just too low to be very profitable. But I had 8 more months, and I didn't want to triple the price because I felt I'd already set reader expectations. 

Also, when I got sick in April and got behind on my writing schedule, I'd spend the next few months frantically working to catch up. When I do this again, I'll have all 12 books done before I start publishing. 

But for the next few series, I think I'll stick to the trilogies and quartet model for a bit.

Fiona - 
As always, ThrillWriting would love to hear about your favorite scar.

Courtney - 
My c-section scar because it gave me my beautiful son.
Fiona -  
You can stay in touch with Courtney here:
twitter at @courtneyhunt71 
Website

Facebook

Courtney's current new-release is Apple Cider:

The boxed set of the first one is here: Cupid's Coffeeshop boxed set

And here is Courtney's Kindle Scout winner! Lost Art of Second 
Chances

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

The Changing Spy Game with Guest Blogger Eric J. Gates

Eric J. Gates

Historical Deception


There was a time, long, long ago, in a galaxy not too far from where you’re sitting, when spies did more than sit at a desk in some underground bunker and punch a keyboard. There are still a few who do otherwise today, but in the main, they are in the minority. Yes, for younger readers, I am talking about the [hushed voice, looks furtively around] pre-Internet times of global espionage.

If you ask most spy novel reader about ‘classic’ books in their preferred genre they will immediately jump to Le Carré and particularly George Smiley. His adventures in a time when the Cold War was at its chilliest and the Cambridge Five (Philby, MacLean, Blunt, Burgess and Cairncross) were the trending topic of the day. For our American readers, and people born in this century, these were a group of Soviet spies recruited in Cambridge University in the 1930’s, who were active especially during WWII and after, as late as the 1960s, while also working for British Intelligence. Le Carré used them as the inspiration for his own novels ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ and ‘A Perfect Spy’, as did playwright and novelist Alan Bennet for three of his works. And I’m sure many recall the 1987 movie ‘The Fourth Protocol’, based on an earlier novel by Frederick Forsyth, which makes use of Philby as the instigator of the plot to smuggle a nuclear bomb into the UK.

Now what you have just seen are three, and by no means the only three, instances of real historic spies being used as inspiration for best-selling novels and plays. Yet there’s more, much more. Have you heard of a guy called Ian Fleming?

The Bond movies are still drawing big crowds at the cinemas and speculation runs rife as to who will become the next incarnation of the mythical super spy. All this sixty-three years AFTER the first appearance of Fleming’s sophisticated secret agent who always presented himself with his surname first. Was Bond, James Bond based upon a real agent, you may ask at this juncture. As far as we know, the answer is no… but… Ian Lancaster Fleming did serve in British Naval Intelligence during WWII although apparently he was considered too valuable as Admiral John Godfrey’s assistant (the supposed inspiration for ‘M’) to be sent in person on dangerous wartime missions.

Today, we are inundated with the techno-spy who is far more at home behind a keyboard while some hapless associate, maybe on the other end of a satellite-linked earwig (that’s what they are called, people), is running the gamut of all the bad stuff the enemy can throw at them (think Chloe O’Brian and Jack Bauer for example).

Yet between these two were the grey areas (dare I say it again?) pre-Internet when the quantity of secret information grew exponentially and the need to analyze this was still centralized (in the case of the British Intelligence services, in London). No, you could not encrypt it into a .zip file and dump it into Dropbox! Someone, a real live human being, had to travel physically to where the information was, collect it safely, then courier it to its destination. And, yes, the traffic was two-way. Imagine a small horde of clandestine custodians running around the world like so many stealthy ants, each the concierge of some covert crumb which must be delivered with haste to their final objective while at the same time dodging ‘the opposition’ (friendly and not-so-friendly intelligence agents). Exciting times, and ripe for a book or two, you might think.

When fellow writer Mark Fine approached me to contribute a short story to a new anthology he was compiling, ‘Crooked Tales’, the premise of an abbreviated tale with a twist aimed at catching the reader out was like music to my ears. I had just finished writing a techno-laden novel where prime numbers were used by hackers to steal government secrets (‘Primed’, the sequel to ‘Outsourced’) and so I decided to seek inspiration in less-computerized times. Thus was born ‘Death of a Sparrowman’ (yes the title does kinda sound familiar, right – the deceit started right there) where I tell the story of one such covert messenger and how he is still rolling with the punches in our times still doing a job which was born many centuries ago. Inspiration can be found for intriguing and original storytelling by turning the pages of history back and examining, in this case, the evolution of the second oldest profession. If you are a writer, whatever genre, you might like to take a look at history as a starting point for your next novel. There’s an old saying about those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it, so why not do so on the pages of an original novel?

A huge thank you to Eric Gates. His story (and one of mine) can be found in  our new anthology.

You can download your copy HERE.
Read it for FREE if you KU!

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.