A Really, Really, Really Great Idea

I’m almost finished with the first draft of my WIP (the sequel to KILLER ROUTINE), and I think I’m going to come up a little short. Like about 8000 words short (that’s somewhere around ten percent).

Here are some ideas I had for increasing the word count:

Add an adjective (or better yet, an adverb) to each sentence.

Use a dialog tag for every piece of dialog (you can never have too many “he said, she saids.”)

More backstory! Especially up-front.

Describe the settings really, really well. Also use “really, really” whenever possible.

Put in more characters sighing, nodding, smiling, and shrugging. Ideally, have one of each on every page! (Of course, limiting these to one instance on every page might actually reduce the length of the manuscript.)

More character ruminations. Ruminations are always good!

Use the word “that" more frequently. You can never get enough of that word.

What say you, blog readers? Any suggestions to add?

Another Great One

One book, two covers.

Next month, DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD comes out in Large Print – Hardcover (Thorndike Press), and it has a different cover:

One book, two terrific covers!

You can pre-order the Large Print version online now, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, and other fine booksellers.

It’s the same book, just BIGGER!

Follow the Link

Today, I’m guest blogging at Patricia Stoltey’s fine blog. Visit us there and read about the bumps and detours on my road to publication.

Bad Cop…No Donut

Last night I attended our monthly MWA chapter dinner meeting, where a panel of mystery authors discussed their anthology Bad Cop…No Donut.

It was very entertaining (with a title like that, how could it not be?).

Editor (and contributing author) John French was joined by James Grady, Quintin Peterson, Austin Camacho, and cover designer Ver Curtis (is Ver short for coVER?), as they talked about their stories, their experiences “on the streets,” and their other writing projects.

A good time was had by all. And, as usual, the cake was delicious.

The best thing? Now I’ve got 15 “Tales of Police Behaving Badly” to read. Yay!

Hot Reading

Summer is just about here, and I'm looking forward to some relaxing reading by the pool (since I don't swim, I have even more time to read). My TBR pile is already a mile high, but that's never stopped me from adding to it.

So I pose these questions to you, my wonderful blog readers:

What is in your summer TBR pile?

And what book(s) have you read lately that you would recommend?

Now off to find some sunscreen.

Bestselling Authors of 2040

I've had a launch party and a book signing at Barnes & Noble. I was on a panel at Malice Domestic, and I appeared at the Kensington Book Festival, the Festival of Mystery, and the Gaithersburg Book Festival. I signed books at BEA and spoke at the Library of Congress.

The most nerve-wracking appearance of all? That would be yesterday, when I spoke to two sixth grade classes at my son's school.

I had my PowerPoint presentation ready. I had a few gags prepped and raring to go. I had a stack of bookmarks. Most importantly, I wore my Kevlar vest underneath my shirt.

I was prepared.

The classes were wonderful. The kids were quiet and respectful while I spoke (They even called me "Mr. Orloff."). They listened to my words with interest. And they came up with some of the best questions I've been asked in a long time. ("Is the second book harder to sell than the first?" "What kind of background do you need to become an editor?")

We did a little writing exercise, and these kids demonstrated some serious writing chops. Creative, tight, evocative, funny. I'm tempted to contact a few to become critique partners. (Did I mention these kids were only 12 years old?)

If anyone had any fears about the future generation of readers and writers, I'm here to tell you not to worry. If my experience yesterday was typical, the future of the written word looks bright. Very bright.

All Good Things

Today marks the last stop of the DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD WORLD BLOG TOUR 2010. It’s been a good ride, but it’s time to head home and get unpacked. I’m sure the grass is waist high by now.

Click on over to Stephen Parrish’s blog for my Lessons Learned guest post.

(After Steve’s Blog Tour concludes, he’ll return the favor and guest post here, with his Lessons Learned. I know, fun, right?)

(BTW, I just finished Steve’s book, THE TAVERNIER STONES, and recommend it highly. Talk about a fun read!!!!)