Kindle Vella - I Have Begun!

 In my previous blog, I introduced Amazon's new baby - Kindle Vella! Today I actually started using it. I added the information on story title, story description, story category, and story tags. I still have to find an image to use and upload it, then I can go "live" with that, and start writing my story.

I have a name for my protagonist - Anne Devereau. She lives in Virginia and is the owner of an antique store (Annie's Antiques). she is also mother to a psychic cat named Midnight. The bare-bones story in my mind is that she has an object that has tremendous value, and she is not even aware that she has this object. Strange things will start happening, including a very unusual customer, and her store and house being broken into.  

Now I get the chance to flesh out my characters and their environment. I ran across a very interesting article earlier today that talks about creative ways to craft amazing characters. You can find the article here. 

Wishing you all happy writing!

(c) May 2021 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author,

My Reference Library

Whatever genre of writing we do, we all need to develop our own reference library. Some of the books in my library are necessities, some are there because they came under my radar. Here are a few of the books that I currently will not part with:

• The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition
• The Elements of Editing - A Modern Guide For Editors & Journalists, by Arthur Plotnik
• Elements of Fiction Writing - Beginnings, Middles, & Ends, by Nancy Kress
• Elements of Fiction Writing - Characters & Viewpoint, by Orson Scott Card
• Elements of Fiction Writing - Plot, by Ansen Dibell
• Elements of Fiction Writing - Scene & Structure, by Jack M. Bickham
• The Frugal Editor, by Carolyn Howard-Johnson
• Guide To Fiction Writing, by Phyllis A. Whitney
• Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage
• Manuscript Makeover, by Elizabeth Lyon
• Merriam Webster's Manual For Writer's & Editors
• On Writing Well, William Zinsser
• Oxford Large Print Dictionary, Thesaurus & Wordpower Guide
• The Plot Clock, by Joyce Sweeney, Jamie Morris, and Tia Levings
• Self Publishing Books 101, by Shelly Hitz
• Write From The Heart, by Hal Zina Bennett
• The Writer's Digest GuideTo Manuscript Formats, by Dian Dincin Buchman & Selo Groves  
• Writing the Cozy Mystery, by Nancy J. Cohen

What does your reference library look like?

(c) June 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written authorization from the author. 

Changing Up ... Who Knew!

Change is not something that I take to readily. Cozy mystery is the genre that I like reading, and that I want to write in. So ... my first mystery is turning out to be quite the "noir" style affair! When I realized that it was going to be a bit much for the cozy mystery crowd, I turned it into a three book series (in my mind). I did not want a stand-alone book, and two books does not a series make, so it will be three books.

Each book will feature the same protagonist, but the focus will be on different supporting characters. Their lives are all intertwined - at least they were for a very long time. So the flow between books should not be that hard. I am going to have to change the locale for this (short) series, though, as I want the local that I started with to be the one for my cozy mystery. 

One of the bonuses to this change is that I can keep all of the action in one city. I don't have to research private planes, or airports that handle private planes. Yes! I can still keep the luxurious mansion that the action takes place in, and I will be talking about a part of the country that I actually know something about!

As writers, we need to be able to accept this type of change and flow with it. Yes, I am going to have to rewrite a few things, but that won't take long. How do you feel about your stories when they take an abrupt left turn like this?  Are you willing to follow your muse and make the change?

Sign-up information for my monthly writer's newsletter can be found here: www.bonniecehovet.com/

(c) April 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Is There A Formula For Writing Cozy Mysteries?

Is there a formula for writing cozy mysteries? Many of you are out there going "Are you joking! We are pantsers!" Okay, calm down. I am a pantser too - meaning that my material writes itself and that the storyline develops as it is written. I have a rough outline, a rough idea of where I want things to go as the author,  but my characters have this weird tendency to want to define their own lives and write their own stories.

So what is this formula stuff? We can define this as a story having a beginning, a middle, and an end. In the end, especially in a cozy mystery, good prevails over evil. As writers, we to tie our stories up nicely, and not leave any loose ends. 

With mysteries, we are also looking at there being a crime, someone who commits the crime, and someone who solves the crime. With cozy mysteries, the crime is solved without blood, gore, and curse words. It often involves friends and/or family, and the setting is often within a community. 

A good cozy mystery has a hook of some kind, something that draws the reader in. It could be a profession, a craft, food (I love mysteries that include recipes, and anything involving chocolate or coffee), or a locale (I stories that take place in both large cities and small towns).

The protagonist needs to be developed in a manner that allows them to have certain skills, or to have access to people that do. (Having said that, I am sick to death of female protagonists who husband/boyfriend/significant other is somehow involved in law enforcement.) 

The murder/crime needs to be both interesting and plausible. And there need to be a few red herrings along the way.

What it comes down to is that the formula for writing a cozy mystery is to write a tight story that is interesting, involves a few brain cells, and leaves its readers with a feeling of time well spent.

(c) February 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.   

  

How Joanne Fluke Influenced My Writing

I have decided to institute a monthly theme to my author's blogs. My theme for the month of March is female writers of (cozy) mysteries that have influenced my own writing in some way. This week I am talking about Joanne Fluke.

Fluke is the author of the "Hannah Swensen" series of cozy mysteries, as well as a young adult horror series under the pseudonym Jo Gibson, and a series of edgier mysteries (as Joanne Fluke) from Kensington Press. (Note: Kensington Press is in the process of reissuing many of these books.)

There are so many elements of Fluke's writing that I am drawn to. In the Hannah Swensen series we see a single woman running her own business (a bakery), and is owned by an adorable cat by the name of Moishe. The series is located in Lake Eden, MN (I am a MN native), and features the culture of that area. There is a food thread that runs through each plot, with recipies at the end of each book. This is old home week for me!

Fluke not only developes her characters well, but has them interacting with each other consistently. We are talking about small town america here, where everyone knows everyone, and anything can happen! The Hanna Swensen series is centered around family and community, and will bring out good memories for anyone that is from this area, or is familiar with it.

My hope is that in my books I can reflect the world that my characters live in accurately, as well as their lives, their hopes, and how their pasts can act as shadows.   

Next week I will be talking about Susan Wittig Albert.

(c) March 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.  

Plots That Will Not Let Go!

Quite interesting when a plot will not let go! The first time that happened to me, the plot was actually far beyond what I could pull off. It was all about rarefied art, viewing said art in a very special room, having said art stolen, and recovering it. That started with a NaNoWriMo effort years ago - and got bogged down fairly early on. I worked with it, but got nowhere. The process, however, was a learning experience.

I am still convinced that cozy mysteries are where I belong, and that my primary character will be a female. Art still plays a part, although this time it is art in the form of a Tarot deck - a deck that may or may not still exist, and that contains an image that could bring some very important people down.

The backdrop has changed - the NaNoWriMo story was based in LA, of which I know nothing! My current effort has somewhere in CA as a backdrop, but the main action takes place in Las Vegas, where I lived for seventeen years. We have a disappearance, a brother who is not a brother, and a Tarot deck that has a very interesting story to tell!

Here's to this plot growing feet!

(c) 2015 Bonnie Cehovet

Rproduction prohibited without the written permission of the author.

Authors and Contests

 I just got done checking out the rules for a writing contest that I am considering entering. It is being sponsored by a high end fashion house, so to win would be a very nice mention in any writer's resume. But do I really want to enter? I thought the submission date was further away - it turns out it has to be in by the middle of June. And the legalese ... you would not believe it! There is quite a nice compensation for the winner(s), but is it worth it? All rights are signed away, they can use the work in any manner they wish to (including promoting their own line of products), and the author may be called upon to help with the promotions (no further compensation). If I do enter, it will be because they have thrown down what looks like a gauntlet to me. Good thing I do not see this as part of my writing career!

So why, as authors, do we enter writing contests? To me, each author has his or her own reason for entering a contest. As long as we are consciously aware of our reasons for entering a contest, we are still maintaining a presence in the land of reality. Here are a few reasons that an author might consider entering a contest:

1. For the money.

2. To get their name known.

3. To get their work seen.

4. To see how their work compares to that of their fellow authors.

5. The possibility of receiving feedback.

6. The possibility of connecting with an agent.

7. The prestige factor (who is sponsoring the contest).

8. Categories that fit the genre that the author generally writes in. (You will not see me entering a contest for romance writing!)

9. How easy it is to enter (are printed copies required, or can the entries be electronically submitted).

10. Is there a fee to enter? I will enter if the fee is small, but not if it seems out of tone with teh compensation to the winner(s). 

11. Contests can be used to help us "one up" our writing skills, as they are by nature competitions.

With the exception of the contest I am currently considering entering, the only venue that I will consider is mystery. Preferably if cozy mystery is one of the acceptable categories. I plan to do one or more a year, more for the fun of it, than to focus on winning.

How do you look at entering writing contests? Where do they fit into your professional agenda? What are you looking to get out of them?

Happy writing!

(c) 2000-2013 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.  

Cozy Mystery Defined

I thought that today I would muse about what a cozy mystery is, since this is the genre that am writing in, and hope to make a living from! The mystery part is a given – mystery stories are made up of puzzles that need to be solved. So … what sets a cozy mystery apart from other mysteries? No blood and guts. No violent scenes. No explicit sexual scenes. No cursing. The character solving the crime is an amateur sleuth, not a professional. They often stumble across the crime, or become involved for personal reasons – to help a friend, family member, or even a mentor.

The main character is almost always a likeable person, someone the reader can identify with in some way. They are often part of a community, with secondary characters coming in as friends or professional acquaintances. It is easy to build tension, or refer to issues or events from a long time ago, because generally the characters have known each other “forever”.

The victim in a cozy mystery can be anybody – from someone who is highly respected to someone that has a list of enemies a yard long. The reason behind the death (or incident, if there is no death) can be quite simple, or quite complicated, and often involves the surrounding community.

The setting can be anywhere – from a small town to the biggest city. Remember – big cities are made up of individual sections that often act like “small towns” on their own. The murder (or incident) can be placed before the story starts, or a couple of chapters into the story. What matters is that the murder (or incident) is meaningful to the characters. If not, then why write the story!

The plot can be anything, but it usually revolves around the human condition – the issues that we face, and the frailties and insecurities we reveal when dealing with them.

My favorite part of a cozy is that in the end, justice is done. Peace is restored, and while not everyone lives happily ever after, there is generally speaking no big cliff hanger, and the community returns to its normal state.

© September 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

Cozy Mysteries Defined

My chosen genre for writing is the cozy mystery. It just feels right to me. So, how do I describe this to other people? What kind of writing am I doing, exactly? I know what kind of story I want to convey - one that is a good mystery, gentle in nature, and with the kind of story-line that keeps my readers coming back. My main character is not a policeman, or a detective, or anything close to that. She is an everyday person who falls into these adventures ... adventures that sometimes boggle the mind, and sometimes tug at the heart strings. They involve the present, the past ... and sometimes the future. They are real adventures, focusing on real people. My characters are not airheads ... quite the opposite. They are intelligent people who know how and where to go to get the help that they need to solve a crime. And they can recognize a crime when they see on, even if no one else does! Pets ... especially cats ... will show up in my stories. So will the Internet. So will political issues, when appropriate. Whatever affects my characters lives is fair game for my stories! What can you expect NOT to see in my writing? Violence, gore, cursing, explicit scenes of any kind. My readers will need to have a fair amount of imagination themselves, and be willing to become part of the game. it is a game, you know. The solving of puzzles, the solving of crimes. Maybe I need to aim to be a present day, female version of Nero Wolf's character Archie Goodwin. That would be fun! Miss Marple is a bit stodgy, even for me. I would like to have a bit of an edge, like the Snoop sisters. Now, they have class! Then there is the sidekick issue. I am thinking more of a group of women ... women that know each other well. One woman will be the main character, the rest will be sidekicks. Each woman will be allowed to let her light shine when needed, and each woman will have her flaws. Think Fern Michaels' "Sisterhood" series here. I am looking forward to digging in and doing some real work to kick-start this series. Wishing each of you much happiness and success with your writing! (c) June 2012 Bonnie Cehovet