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Category Archives: Fiction Characters

Beyond Blood my mystery novel debuts amid promo frenzy

28 Aug
Cover of Beyond Blood by Sharon A. Crawford, published by Blue Denim Press

Cover of Beyond Blood by Sharon A. Crawford, published by Blue Denim Press

Publishing is a business. Writing may be art, but publishing, when all is said and done, comes down to dollars.

  • Nicholas Sparks

 

 

My first mystery novel Beyond Blood is making its debut in the e-copies on amazon.com and Kobo now – early. I am still frantically doing all the pre-book launch PR and wishing I had a clone or astral body to do some of the work.

Not that I mind – I love doing the PR but my two-week holiday earlier this month probably wasn’t a good idea time-wise. However, I did do some promo during my vacation– lining up possible reading gigs for Beyond Blood in southwestern Ontario and telling my cousins – “you’ll get an invite for the book launch once the details are finalized.”

Well, after all the other promo that comes before is done. And yes, I do have a marketing plan. Finding the time to do all that is on it for pre-book launch is the challenge. Too much else going on but I am trying to prioritize. Whatever can wait goes on hold on the back burner. That includes answering some email and even some client work. For the latter I am focusing on one editing client’s manuscript evaluation because the deadline is the end of next week.

But I am so happy that my fraternal twin characters – Dana Bowman and Bast Overture are back. Some of you may remember them from the four linked stories in Beyond the Tripping Point. Or from the series of Dana interviews on this blog a few months ago. Beyond Blood’s story is actually the prequel to the four linked stories.

Watch for Dana and Bast. They will be returning here in these blog posts soon.

Meantime, check out the book. The book at the top of this blog post links to amazon.com and for those of us with Kobo’s, here is that link for the e-pub version. http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-blood-1 And when I (finally) get my amazon profile and web page updated I’ll give you the links to them.

Print version of Beyond Blood is coming out soon.

Cheers.

 

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on August 28, 2014 in Beyond Blood, Blue Denim Press, Fiction Characters, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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Get your writing critiqued

26 Jun
Cover of Sharon A. Crawford's mystery short story collection

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford’s mystery short story collection

Every time I’d get a critique or some redirection, I’d always just take it very personally. Now I have no problem with it.

-Jessica Alba

Besides proofreading which I talked about in last week’s post, another tool for the writer is to get your writing critiqued by other writers. I have posted about this before but it is important enough to do an updated version.

Let me take you to yesterday evening when my East End Writers’ Group met at S. Walter Stewart Library in Toronto. We are basically a writing critique group and that is what writers come here for. Some new members joined us and we had some interesting writing excerpts from some very talented and intelligent writers.

Some of the issues that other writers picked up on and commented about:

For the beginning of a literary novel. Use more dialogue – the author knew this but needed some guidance on how to go about it.

For a non-fiction self-help book which was written in plain language. Some structural changes were suggested by other writers, such as use sub-headings, use more anecdotes and less instruction.
For a synopsis for an opera – yes we have a music composer who also writes short stories. We were all getting lost in all the characters. Suggestions were to make the synopsis shorter (as it would be going on the program) and list the characters and a bit about each separately.
So you can see how more pairs of eyes and ears can pick up what the writer misses. When we write we do so in solitude (we would hope no outside interruptions). We also have tunnel vision (subjective) with our work and sometimes “can’t see the forest for the trees.” Even when we know something isn’t working, we may try and try again, several times, and run out of options to fix it. Others can see what our mind may miss.

This is where a writing critique group comes in. I urge you to join one – online or in person – whichever you prefer. Just a few caveats. You shouldn’t have to pay for this – it is mutual writers helping writers. Maybe everybody can bring food or beverage for a snack. With East End Writers’ Group I ask everyone to bring a gluten-free snack or juice. I usually bring cheese, rice crackers, fruit and peppermint tea bags. Now if I just could get the kettle working at the library – despite being shown it just doesn’t work for me. It is not the straightforward plug in the electric kettle version.

Kettles no matter – what does matter is you pick a group that suits your needs. Find out if the group is open to all writing genres or just fiction or poetry, etc. Which do you prefer? Do you pre-submit your writing excerpt for critique or just bring it to the gathering? If online, how do you submit it – in a form online or as a Word attachment? What about copyright online? It should remain with you the author. If online, are you expected to critique other writers’ work? How many? Check the timeline for these and see if you can work within the group’s timeline. For groups meeting in person, look at when they meet and how often. Do you want to go every week (some do meet once a week and that can prove hectic and too much), once a month or? And do you prefer weekday daytime, weekday evenings or Saturday mornings or afternoons. Will you fit in with the group, i.e., are they giving constructive criticism? Are they negative? Are they nasty?

Give the group a test drive. Attend for a few sessions or sign up online for a few sessions and if you don’t like, bow out.
Where do you find these groups? For in-person, check your area library branches – their websites should have them all listed. Or check the library branch itself – often they have a flyer posted. Or ask a librarian. A librarian can often tell you what other branches are offering. Universities that offer writing courses often have writing groups as well. Check their bulletin boards. Also some writing organizations also offer writing critique groups, often online – these would be open to members. There is also Meet-up if you have that in your area, which has writing groups.

Or go to Mr. Google and just try “Writing Groups” (that one also gets you some links for info how groups operate and what to look for) or “Writing Groups (your location here)”. When I add “Toronto” to “Writing Groups” my East End Writers’ Group is listed as the top two and three. Guess that is good SEO.

You can read about my characters and their stories in my short story collection Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com.

More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on June 26, 2014 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Dialogue in Fiction, Fiction Characters, Uncategorized, Writing, Writing Critique Groups

 

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Short Story and Novel Writing with Series Characters – Part 4

22 May
Amazon.com link to Sharon A.'s short story collection

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.’s short story collection

It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.

– William Faulkner
When writing series fiction, particularly novels, how do you keep the continuity going with your main characters from novel to novel? As mentioned in last week’s post, you need to put some reference to previous novel(s) plot and characters or the reader is left confused.

For example, in novel No. 1, let’s say your main character, a police officer, is shot during the story’s climax. It is touch and go, but he wakes up in a hospital bed and is able to talk to his partner, his girlfriend, etc. However, he has been shot in the chest and it just missed his heart, but he still has a long recuperation period.

Unless you are skipping a period of time until he is up and around, you need to include this recuperation period in your next novel. Perhaps your detective is put temporarily on a desk job or he is still on sick leave. His (or her) colleagues get a case or two that he wants to be involved in and they need his help. But he is supposed to stay put. You can work around that by having him act as a consultant – his colleagues can drop into the hospital or recuperation facility (if he is not home yet) or his home to talk it over with him. He could be on the phone constantly to his colleagues or at least his partner. They can be doing all this behind the back of their supervisor and you know how that can pan out. You can hype it up with his shooter still out there (that would have to be clear at the end of the previous novel) and trying to get him. He has to get through the recuperation period but you don’t want a novel all about that if you are writing a mystery novel. You need to blend in what is happening with the characters, how they are developing based on what goes on in their lives. An injured detective recuperating and somewhat immobilized would have much to face, especially if he is used to being active.

The late Robert Parker in his Spencer series did this very well. His private detective, Spencer, was shot in the chest in one novel and the next novel incorporated his recuperation with how it affected his relationship with his girlfriend, Susan, a psychologist, plus the novel’s mystery. Parker was good at writing complicated.

Most of the TV series now follow the main characters’ development and well, private life, and incorporate these into the story. The hit series Rookie Blue (now back on for the summer, 22 episodes this year), does that very well, even if you don’t agree with what they do. The five original rookies are still there and each season they add one or more new rookies. One of the original rookies has been promoted to detective. But all have personal lives and with all these characters who work closely together, their personal lives become entwined and changes occur. It is complicated, but well done. I suggest you watch it. The Good Wife is another TV series that has work and personal lives intermingle with a lot of complications. This time the characters are lawyers, instead of police officers. They even killed off one of the series main characters this season. Rookie Blue did that a couple of seasons ago as well. Killing off a main character is not always a good idea, but if you do, you need to incorporate the repercussions from that and how it affects the other characters in future books or TV episodes.

All these things will affect your plot. It’s the chicken and egg situation. Which comes first – the plot or the characters? It is a combination of both – either can lead – but both are connected and drive each other.

Meantime, read any of the mystery series novels by Peter Robinson and see how he handles continuity and consistency in character and plot.
Also, you can read more about the characters and their stories in Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

Sharon A. Crawford’s prequel novel Beyond Blood, featuring the fraternal twins will be published fall 2014 by Blue Denim Press. Stay tuned.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 

 
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Posted by on May 22, 2014 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Credible Fiction Characters, Fiction Characters, Plot and Characters, Series Characters novels and short stories, Writing

 

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Short Story and Novel Writing with Same Characters

01 May
Amazon.com link to Sharon A.'s short story collection

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.’s short story collection

You can’t write a novel all at once, any more than you can swallow a whale in one gulp. You do have to break it up into smaller chunks. But those smaller chunks aren’t good old familiar short stories. Novels aren’t built out of short stories. They are built out of scenes.

—Orson Scott Card, September 1980

Transitioning series characters from short story to novel or vice-versa presents challenges for fiction writers. It requires the combination of imagination and keeping facts straight.

Unless you are time-travelling with your stories or are deliberating putting them at an earlier or later age, time-lines can be tricky. Where in your characters’ story timeline do you want the short stories to appear? Or if the short stories came first, then your novel needs to be kept in the time-line. That can affect your characters development. For example, you don’t want one character to be divorced in the short story and newly married to the same person in a novel obviously set at a later date. You need to be consistent and realistic. If you mess up, your readers will find it.

My story situation has the timeline and consistency problem in spades (and I don’t mean the spade that digs the graves for bodies dead from murder). My short story collection Beyond the Tripping Point was published first. In it are four linked stories featuring fraternal twin PIs Dana Bowman and Bast Overture, Dana’s son David and a few other series’ characters. It is David I have to be concerned with because these four stories happened after the novel Beyond Blood, which I call the pre-quel novel. The four stories occurred in 1999 and the novel in the summer of 1998.

David is psychologically mute in Beyond the Tripping Point. In Beyond Blood, the reader finds out why. So, obviously he is talking at least for the first part of Beyond Blood.

Then there are the other characters, such as the ones I kill off in Beyond Blood. Obviously they didn’t appear in Beyond the Tripping Point.

Characters are supposed to grow and develop, so in a prequel novel, the characters have to be a few steps behind in that area. For example, in Beyond Blood, Dana could not be at the point where she is dealing with a mute David – that comes in BTTP. Things happen to characters and that’s what changes them one way or the other. But the event must happen before the change – something to keep in mind when transitioning from novel to short story or vice-versa.

To make the situation more complicated with me, I had actually written an earlier version of the pre-quel novel before those four linked short stories. So, when writing the stories, I had to keep the novel’s content in mind. When I returned to rewriting the novel for the publisher (after BTTP was published) I then had to make sure I was consistent – even though I was expanding the plot, making it more complicated. One of my base lines was why David became psychologically mute and when he is mute.

There is also the obvious difference in short stories and novels – length. The short story has to be more succinct because you do not have novel-length. You can’t have multiple plots in a short story or multiple points of view. How much about characters do you include?

Next week’s blog post will deal with some of those issues.

Meantime, you can read more about the characters and their stories in Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

Sharon A. Crawford’s prequel novel Beyond Blood, featuring the fraternal twins will be published fall 2014 by Blue Denim Press. Stay tuned.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on May 1, 2014 in Beyond Blood, Beyond the Tripping Point, Credible Fiction Characters, Fiction Characters, Plot and Characters, Writing

 

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Interview with Fiction Character by Fiction Characters – Part 36

20 Feb

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.'s short story collection

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.’s short story collection

A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is – full of surprises.

–          Isaac Bashevis Singer

As Susan Stuart, the abstract painting’s artist is dead (murdered), Detective Sergeant Fielding and Detective Larry Hutchinson have hauled in her brother Robbie Stuart. Dana Bowman, as usual has wangled her way into this interview held in the boardroom of the Thurston Public Library. The three are sitting around the back of the boardroom table right in front of the abstract painting.

All characters  (excluding Mr. Swan) are from the short story collection Beyond The Tripping Point by Sharon A. Crawford (Blue Denim Press, Oct. 2012)

Stuart (looking down at the trio): What’s this? I thought I was coming to see Detective Hutchinson about some wrap-up stuff to my sister’s death.

Hutchinson (pointing to each): Come this way and sit down Mr. Stuart. This is Dana Bowman, one of the PIs who runs The Attic Investigative Agency. And this is Detective Sergeant Donald Fielding who is in charge of the kidnapping of Sebastian Overture, who is Dana’s business partner and also her fraternal twin.

Stuart: So what’s it to do with me?

Hutchinson: First, sit down here.

Stuart shrugs his shoulders, walks to the other end of the room and sits down.

Fielding: Well, first off, this painting behind me was done by your sister Susan…

Stuart: I know that. She did it a couple of years before her death.

Fielding: …and there is this photo. (He shows the photo of Susan, Bast, and Robbie).

Stuart: Yeah, that reporter. He interviewed Susan and I just before she had her art exhibit here. What of it? Oh, I get it. You think I have something to do with his kidnapping.

Fielding: Right now we just want to find out the circumstances surrounding this photo. What exactly did Mr. Overture interview you about?

Stuart: I told you – my sister’s upcoming art show and her artistic talents.

Dana: Oh come on, Mr. Stuart, my brother used to write crime stories, not art stories. So what was he there for?

Stuart: You’re not police. I don’t have to talk to you.

Fielding: Answer the question, Stuart.

Stuart: He asked me about my father.

Dana: You mean Roger Stuart who also disappeared …

Fielding: Dana. I’ll ask the questions.

Dana: Well, ask the right ones. It’s my brother who’s missing. Surely Mr. Stuart can relate to that with his father’s disappearance.

Stuart: Yeah right. My father disappeared many years ago when I was a teenager. He ran off with his secretary and left my mom, sister and myself. It eventually killed my mom.

Hutchinson: Your mother died of cancer.

Stuart (standing): Damn right. And she wouldn’t have gotten it if Dad had stayed with her. And Suzie would still be alive.

Hutchinson: All right. We’ve already covered all this when your sister was murdered. Just answer Detective Fielding’s questions…and Dana Bowman’s too. We just need to know what happened in that interview you and your sister had with Bast Overture.

Stuart: He just asked about Dad disappearing and how it affected us, particularly if that had anything to do with what Suzie drew?

Fielding: And did it?

Stuart: Well, yeah. She painted abstracts because she said she found life, her life, anything but concrete in what happened, so she chose abstracts to show her feelings.

Dana (pointing to the abstract behind her): So, what feelings did Susan show in this painting?

Stuart: I dunno.

Fielding: Come on, come on, you were there when Mr. Overture interviewed your sister. What did he ask you?

Stuart: Just to tell him about Dad’s disappearance.

Fielding: I see. And what did you say about that?

Stuart shrugs his shoulders.

Dana: What can you tell us about the photographer who took this picture?

Stuart: I dunno. He was a photographer – from the newspaper, I guess. He came in midway and took various photos.

Fielding: Anything unusual about him?

Stuart (shrugging his shoulder): I dunno. He’s a photographer. Oh wait a minute. He seemed very interested in Suzie’s painting – that one now up on the wall.

Fielding: In what way?

Stuart: Just what it meant to her – why she painted it?

Fielding: Okay, can you tell us that now?

Stuart: She said it represented a maze – something she felt she lived in because of Dad’s disappearance. Life to her was a maze where people always had to be on high alert for someone coming in and snatching their lives, destroying their lives. If you could figure how to get out of the maze you were home free.

Fielding: And did she say if she knew how to get home free.

Stuart: She said she was working on it.

Fielding: And was that photographer Cory Swan.

Stuart: Yes, that’s him.

Fielding: Was Mr. Swan present when your sister talked about that abstract and mazes.

Stuart: Yes, he was and he seemed very interested. He even stopped shooting photos to listen.

Dana: And yet the photo here doesn’t even show that abstract painting – doesn’t even show any of your sister’s paintings. And why would he take a photo with my brother, who was doing the story interview. Reporters don’t usually put themselves into the story.

Stuart: I don’t know. I’ve never seen that photo before. All I know is the photographer stopped taking photos when Suzie spoke and…wait a minute, he aimed his camera at us, and I guess that’s when he did take that shot.

Dana: Do you know if that photo was the one included in the newspaper story?

Stuart: I don’t think so. The photo was one of Suzie holding up one of her paintings. I still have a copy of the story.

Fielding: Where was it published?

Stuart: The Toronto Herald.

Fielding: Back to the photo. Do you remember which photo your sister was holding up?

Stuart: No, some abstract obviously?

Dana (pointing): Was it this abstract.

Stuart shrugs his shoulders.

The abstract painting starts to vibrate and a loud wailing is heard. It seems to be coming from the abstract painting.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

You can read more about the characters and their stories in from Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book  go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.

Sharon A. is teaching Getting Your Memoir off the Ground Workshop, Saturday, February 22, 2014 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Details at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/SpeakersBureau.html

Also see more of See Sharon A.’s Upcoming Gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

 
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Posted by on February 20, 2014 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Credible Fiction Characters, Fiction Characters, Interviewing fictional characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Short Story Collection, Writing

 

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Interview of Fiction Character by Fiction Character – Part 18

10 Oct

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford's mystery short story collection

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford’s mystery short story collection

If you will practice being fictional for a while, you will understand that fictional characters are sometimes more real than people with bodies and heartbeats.

–          Richard Bach

Today Bast Overture interviews the main character, Chrissie, in “Missing in Action” from Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012) by Sharon A. Crawford. Alert: another dysfunctional family but of the disappearing kind.

The door opens and Chrissie enters. He notices she seems pre-occupied with the far corner of the room.

Bast: Welcome, Chrissie. (He shakes her hand.) Please have a seat.

Chrissie: Oh hi. (She sits down to the right of Bast.)

Bast: Your family seems to be a little scattered…

Chrissie: What do you mean?

Bast: Let me finish. I’m referring to your Uncle Roger and Cousin Robbie – your uncle who ran off with another woman when you and Robbie were in your teens and Robbie who seems to stay out of sight until some important family function like a funeral comes up..

Chrissie: Well, what would you expect from Robbie? His dad deserted him.

Bast: However, his sister Susie stayed put.

Chrissie: True. But Susie was close to her mother, my Aunt Sheila, and Robbie was close to his father.

Bast: And which cousin are you close to?

Chrissie, looking over at a spot on the far wall.

Bast waving his arm in front of Chrissie: Earth to Chrissie. Which cousin are you close to?

Chrissie continues staring at the wall.

Bast: Whatever are you looking at?

Chrissie: Don’t you see her? Over there? (She points to the far wall.)

Bast: Who do you see?

Chrissie: You mean you can’t see anyone?

Bast: No. Only you and I are in this room.

Chrissie: No. No. If you can’t see her then we can’t communicate.

Bast: Fine. Then tell me who you see so I can at least look harder.

Chrissie (shrugging her shoulders): Never mind. You can’t see her, then you can’t see her. What was the question again?

Bast: Which cousin are you closer to – Susie or Robbie?

Chrissie: Both, but I guess Robbie until Uncle Roger ran away with his secretary; then Susie. I can’t do this. (She again focuses on the far wall).

Bast, following Chrissie’s eyes. He shrugs: You get a cryptic email in the beginning of the story which seems to affect you. Can you tell us how?

Chrissie: Huh? Oh, the email. I didn’t know if it was from Robbie or not. I mean he didn’t usually communicate by email. Just showed up at funerals and the like.

Bast: Like your Aunt Sheila’s funeral?

Chrissie: I don’t want to talk about that.

Bast: She died of cancer, right?

Chrissie: I said I don’t want to talk about this.

Bast: Why?

Chrissie: Because it’s all his fault?

Bast: Whose? Robbie’s?

Chrissie: No, Uncle Roger’s, for deserting his wife for his secretary. Did you know she wasn’t young and beautiful? She was old and ugly. How could he leave a beautiful loving caring wife for that piece of crap? Although the chemo and cancer took away all Aunt Sheila’s beauty. I hope Uncle Roger rots in hell. I hope… oh my God. She’s coming closer. What is it? No, I know he’s your dad but he did you wrong, too. He… Stop!

Chrissie pushes back her chair and rushes out of the room. Bast stares ahead but sees only the walls and the room’s furniture. He shrugs.

Bast: The whole situation must have affected Chrissie’s mind.

 Next week Bast interviews Todd, who may or may not be more than just Chrissie’s co-worker.

You can read more about the characters and the strange situation in “Missing in Action” from Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to my profile – including book reviews – at www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book  go to http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/search/?keywords=Beyond%20the%20Tripping%20Point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy.

Sharon A. Crawford continues to take Beyond the Tripping Point to several readings this month. Next week Sharon A. has three readings: October 15 for the monthly Crime Writers of Canada Murder and Mayhem at the Annette St. Branch of the Toronto Public Library, October 17 at the Brentwood Branch and October 19 where she hosts and reads at the monthly Saturday afternoon Murder and Mayhem at Du Café. For more info on October’s events go to http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on October 10, 2013 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Blue Denim Press, Fiction Characters, Interviewing fictional characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Short Story Collection

 

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Interview of Fiction Characters by Fiction Character – Part 16

26 Sep

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford's mystery short story collection

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford’s mystery short story collection

Writing is a dog’s life, but the only life worth living.

–          Gustave Flaubert

Bast Overture takes on the hoity-toity Madame Honor Rita Lanscombe, her widowed sister-in-law Amelia and “their” dog, Brutus. II. These characters are some of the questionable clients of private investigator C.U. Fly in “The Couch,” one of 13 short stories in Sharon A. Crawford’s collection Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, October 2012). Bast gets more than his share of the unexpected when these three come through the doorway.

The door opens suddenly and a huge husky dog charges in, looks a Bast and begins growling.

Honor Rita: Down Brutus. (She grabs the dog’s collar). Sit. (Brutus sits but keeps a wary eye on Bast). Sorry, about that. He’s a bit rambunctious.

Amelia: So that’s what you call it when you claim he is your dog.

Honor Rita: Well, he is.

Amelia: No Brutus is mine and Karl’s.

Honor Rita (turning up her nose): Karl is dead so I don’t think he has a say in the matter.

Amelia: How dare you? I’ve just lost my husband and you dishonour him.

Honor Rita: Well, he did lose…

Bast (raising his hands): Ladies, please. Let’s keep this civil.

Brutus, baring his teeth: Woof. Woof. Growl. Growl.

Bast: You, too, Brutus. Pipe down.

Honor Rita: Where’s C.U.? I thought this was a session with our Private Investigator.

Bast: C.U. will be here next week…alone. I told you over the phone that I’m another PI and…

Amelia: We don’t want to change PIs.

Bast: I realize that. I just want to try to understand some of your shenanigans in “The Couch.”

At the word “couch” Brutus gets up and starts prowling around the room as if looking for a long-lost friend.

Honor Rita: Now you’ve done it. He’ll keep circling around looking for that damn couch. It’s his favourite you know.

Bast: Why? So he can chew on it. I understand he wore out a patch on one of the arms of the couch.

Amelia: So what? That’s what dogs do? Where is the couch anyway?

Bast: You’ll have to ask C.U. or Annie Everglades. As you can see it’s not here. Now ladies…and er, doggie, I have a question about your association with C.U. Fly.

Honor Rita: That’s client confidentiality. You as a private eye should know that.

Bast: True, but that’s not what I meant. I’m just wondering how you came to hire C.U. in the first place.

Honor Rita: C.U. Fly was recommended by one of my friends. She hired C.U. for something shall we say discreet and it was kept discreet. We don’t even know what it was.

Amelia: Oh for goodness sake sister-in-law. Her husband was cheating on her and she wanted to catch him and the other woman in the act.

Bast: Ladies. Okay, okay. I know that wasn’t your business with C.U. But without going into details about what, I understand the two of you ended hiring C.U. on a long-term basis.

Brutus: Woof. Woof.

Bast: And you, too Brutus, for dog-sitting I believe

Amelia: Hey, client confidentiality.

Honor Rita: She’s right. I think we better leave.

The ladies get up. Brutus gives a final growl at Bast and follows the ladies out the door. Bast scratches his head.

Bast: What was that all about?

You can read more about Honor Rita, Amelia, Brutus II and other clients of C.U. Fly in Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to my profile – including book reviews – at www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book  go to http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/search/?keywords=Beyond%20the%20Tripping%20Point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy.

Sharon A. Crawford continues to take Beyond the Tripping Point to several readings and even using it in a workshop she will be teaching with Brian Henry this Saturday, Sept. 28. For more information on this event go to http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html October events will be up there shortly. But meantime go to the Crime Writers Association of Canada website http://crimewriterscanada.com/eventsnews/authorevents/month.calendar/2013/10/26/-and check their calendar of events for October. Some are posted there

Next week Bast interviews C.U. Fly.

Cheers.

Sharon A.Crawford

 
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Posted by on September 26, 2013 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Blue Denim Press, Fiction Characters, Interviewing fictional characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Short Story Collection, Writing

 

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Interview of Fictional Character by Fictional Character: Part 10

15 Aug

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford's mystery short story collection

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford’s mystery short story collection

What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?

— Henry James

For this interview, Bast tackles Clara’s father William Everett Clarke in “For the Love of Wills.” “For the Love of Wills” is one of 13 stories in my mystery collection Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012).Clara’s father has dumped her mother for a much younger secretary nicknamed behind his back as “The Bimbo.” Hopefully his wife, Heidi Anastasia Clarke will stay out of the picture today,  but she is a loose cannon so you never know.

Bast (seated at a table): Please sit down Mr. Clarke. I don’t bite.

Clarke: You are a reporter.

Bast: Not any more, I’m now a private investigator and with my sister, Dana, I run the Attic Investigative Agency. But right now I’m more concerned with you and your situation.

Clarke (looking around the room): What do you mean my “situation?” Hey, you don’t have any hidden cameras or bugs anywhere here.

Bast: Nope, just my trusty digital recorder.

Clarke (jumping back): Shut that thing off.

Bast: Why, you got something to hide?  Okay, sorry. I just use the recorder for accuracy. Now, let’s get down to some basics. And please sit down. Now, Mr. Clarke, you were married for how many years?

Clarke (now seated across the table from Bast): Forty.

Bast: Tell me something about your wife, Heidi.

Clarke: What do you mean?

Bast: Where did you meet? Your children, that sort of thing.

Clarke (sighing audibly): Heidi was a secretary where I worked as a clerk. We went out on a few dates and seemed to hit it off. We were married a year and a half later. William Jr. came along four years later and then Clara was born a few years after that. William is a lawyer and Clara, well she is Clara. She likes climbing up walls, did you know that?

Bast: Yes, and it seems that she got your wife involved in that in the beginning of “For the Love of Wills.”

Clarke: More likely the other way round. (Clarke chuckles).

Bast: In what way?

Clarke: Heidi is well, what they call her own person with a mind of her own. She’s spontaneous and doesn’t take any nonsense from anyone.

Bast: Is that why she and Clara snuck into the matrimonial home via the walls because you threw her out for your secretary? Do I see a pattern here with secretaries?

Clarke (jumping up and leaning over the table). Now see here young man. I still love Heidi but well, when you’ve been married as long as Heidi and I, you get too familiar with each other and you want something different.

Bast: I can see that, but you did more than have an affair. You moved your secretary in with you and Heidi had to leave.

Clarke: Yes, I suppose so, but I was having second thoughts when the m…”

Bast: Sh. We don’t want to give anything away to the readers.

Clarke (now sitting down): Right.

Bast: Did you trust your wife?

Heidi storming into the room: What kind of question is that? Of course he trusted me. My poor William.

Bast: Heidi, you had your turn last week. And William did throw you out of your home?

Clarke: Now wait a minute…

Heidi: But it was only temporary. I was…

Bast: Stop. Heidi, you have to leave. My interview is with your husband.

Heidi: But…

Clarke: No, this interview is over. Come Heidi, we have things to talk about.

The two leave the room. Bast stares after them and then at his tape recorder, muttering, “I’ll get at the truth next week when I talk to William Jr.”

You can read more about the Clarke family in my mystery short story collection Beyond the Tripping Point, (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to my profile – including book reviews – at www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book  go to http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/search/?keywords=Beyond%20the%20Tripping%20Point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on August 15, 2013 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Credible Fiction Characters, Fiction Characters, Interviewing fictional characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Writing

 

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Interview of Fictional Character by Fictional Character – Part 9

08 Aug

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford's mystery short story collection

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford’s mystery short story collection

Be obscure clearly.

–          E.B. White

Anastasia Heidi Clarke (mother) in “For the Love of Wills” is calmed down somewhat from her tirade last week with her daughter Clara. Today, Bast Overture, crime reporter turned PI interviews this eccentric family member. “For the Love of Wills” is one of 13 stories in my mystery collection Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012).

Bast: Anastasia Heidi – those are interesting names. How did you come by them?

AH (Mother): Well, young man, my parents named me. My father read Russian novels and my mother read Heidi that Swiss Alps novel. So I’m doubly famous. (She smirks).

Bast: Okay. In “For the Love of Wills” you seem determined to see your ex-husband’s will…

AH: He is NOT my ex-husband. We are still married. He just didn’t want me to live with him anymore. And there was no way I was giving him a divorce and get half the house with that Bimbo living there. So they could live in sin. What was the question?.

Bast: Why did you want to see your husband’s will?

AH: To make sure I was still in it and he wasn’t leaving everything to that Bimbo, of course.

Bast: But as things turned out that didn’t matter.

AH: Sh. Sh. Do you want to spoil it for the readers? I don’t think Sharon A. would be too pleased if you gave it all away.

Bast: Point taken. Then, without giving the plot away, and because we did mention this last week, why did you and Clara do a climbing act to get into the house?

AH: I wanted to sneak in without William seeing or hearing us.

Bast: But it didn’t work out quite that way, did it?

AH: What did I say about not giving away the plot?

Bast (making hand-pushing motions). Very well. Let’s go to the police when they arrived. You seemed concerned about what they were up to. Why is that?

AH: Well I had to make sure they didn’t arrest the wrong person and they seemed too controlling. It was my house they were invading.

Bast: But that’s their job – when there has been a crime, the police investigate to find out persons of interest and suspects so they have to ask questions.

AH: But they herded us into separate rooms. I couldn’t make sure that my family was okay if I couldn’t get at them.

Bast: I see. Was there anybody in particular in your family you were concerned with? Clara?

AH: Clara can take care of herself.

Bast: Your son, William Jr.

AH: He’s a lawyer. ‘Nuff said.

There is some noise outside the door and it opens. William Clarke Sr. walks in.

William: She means me…

AH: Whatever gave you that idea, William? After leaving me for that twenty-something secretary.

William: Yes, but you did say “my poor Will” to one of the cops and I don’t think you meant our son.

AH: So what?

William: Well…

Bast (trying to get control of the interview): Okay, folks. William, your turn will be next week. Now Anastasia, I have one more question…

Anastasia: And I’m done. Good day.

Anastasia Heidi Clark leaves the room, followed by her husband. Bast shrugs his shoulders and mutters “Talk to you next week.”

You can read more about the Clarke family in my mystery short story collection Beyond the Tripping Point, (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to my profile – including book reviews – at www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book  go to http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/search/?keywords=Beyond%20the%20Tripping%20Point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on August 8, 2013 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Fiction Characters, Interviewing fictional characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Short Story Collection

 

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Interview of Fictional Character by Fictional Character – Part 6

18 Jul

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford's mystery short story collection

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford’s mystery short story collection

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.

–          Oprah Winfrey

In this week’s interview, Bast Overture, crime reporter turned PI, interviews Millie Browne, the driver of a car in peril in the short story “No Breaks,” from Beyond the Tripping Point. This requires Bast to time travel from 1999 to present time.

Bast: Millie, I understand you have a problem with your car.

Millie: You could say that. The brakes don’t work.

Bast: Not a good thing for travelling up Highway 11 into cottage country. Did this brake failure happen suddenly or were they acting up before you left?

Millie: Suddenly when Jessica and I were driving up the highway. You don’t think I’m stupid enough to head on a road trip with faulty brakes. Hey, I even got my mechanic, Eddie, to check out the car yesterday and he found everything working fine.

Bast: You sure of that. In light of what happens…

Millie: What are you saying? My mechanic missed something. Hey do you know something I don’t know?

A snort comes from the front passenger seat. Millie, glaring at Jessica: Hold on, your turn will come soon.

Bast (from the car’s back seat): It just seems a little strange that the brakes would suddenly start to fail. Did you have to brake anywhere before you noticed them not working?

Millie: Well, no.

Bast: So, what are you going to do about it? You obviously are continuing to drive to your destination.

Millie: We have to get to Jessica’s grandmother’s cottage.

Bast: Important business up there?

Millie (scowling, face turning red): None of your business.

Bast: Very well. I’ll repeat my question: What are you going to do about the brake situation?

Millie: I’m looking for a garage with a bay to fix the brakes.

Throat clearing from the passenger seat.

Millie: Okay, okay. We are looking for a garage with a bay. And I’m using the parking brake if I have to brake. Can we stop talking about the damn brakes?

Bast: Very well. Now in “No Breaks” you mention something about a deep dark secret. What…

Millie: Not mine.

Screeching from the passenger seat. The car swerves throwing Bast’s head forward against the back of the driver’s seat. The screaming from the front reaches a high pitch level as Millie pulls the parking brake.

You can read more about Millie, Jessica, and Eddie in my mystery short story collection Beyond the Tripping Point, (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to my profile – including book reviews – at www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book  go to http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/search/?keywords=Beyond%20the%20Tripping%20Point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy.

The video link to my thatchannel.com interview and reading from Beyond the Tripping Point on You Tube can now be accessed via the new page “Video” at the top of this blog.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on July 18, 2013 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Blue Denim Press, Credible Fiction Characters, Fiction Characters, Interviewing fictional characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Short Story Collection

 

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