More about Revolution from Chris Helvey

The concept of Revolution came out of some mysterious dark hole in my mind while driving down a stunning, scenic Kentucky highway.

As I worked on Revolution, it became clear in my mind that I wanted/needed to show an honest revolution by the people of a country, a true rising in all its components: honorable efforts, violence, blood, and death, and the sadness and glory that always accompanies such an undertaking.

Using the viewpoints of multiple characters—from the rebellion, the government, and the citizens caught in the vulnerable middle—allowed me to reveal all these elements in what I hope is a believable, compelling way.

More about Sister Circle from Agnes Alexander

I’m a panster.

In case you don’t know or recognize that word, it is a writer who starts a manuscript with a simple idea or character without knowing how the story will develop. He or she just lets the words flow. This is the opposite of a writer who organizes and outlines the details of their manuscript before they write the first word.

As for Sister Circle, it started when I was looking through a box of old pictures. There was one that made me pause. It was of an older lady sitting in a rocking chair outside beside a rock chimney. I turned it over and found her name was Elizabeth Cardwell. She was my great-grandmother, and the picture was taken on her 90th birthday when there was a picnic for her. I kept looking and found a picture of me with her. I was 8 or 9 at the time but I have a vague memory of this. In an old Bible, I found she died before her 91^st birthday. One of her three daughters was my father’s mother.

The name Cardwell kept vibrating in my head and I wanted to use it. I then began to write Melissa’s story. Knowing there wasn’t enough to make this a book, I gave Melissa three sisters. I went back and wrote the beginning section. It was then Sister Circle became a real book.

About Vera Berry Burrows

Vera Berry Burrows is a British-born former teacher of English language and literature and resides in Queensland, Australia, with former journalist husband, Alan. She has a son and two grandsons living in the UK.

She has been writing for several years and has had numerous nonfiction articles published in the UK and Australia. She was educated at Farnworth Grammar School in Lancashire, England, trained as a teacher at St. Katharine’s College in Liverpool, and gained a bachelor's degree from the Open University.

She took early retirement in 1994 after having been in the teaching profession for 31 years, and writing has become her compulsive hobby.

Q & A with Sarah Wisseman

Sarah Wisseman is a retired archaeologist. Her experience working on excavations and in museums inspired two contemporary series, the Lisa Donahue Archaeological Mysteries and the Flora Garibaldi Art History Mysteries.

Her settings are places where she has lived or traveled (Israel, Italy, Egypt, Massachusetts, and Illinois), and her favorite museum used to be housed in a creepy old attic at the University of Illinois.

Visit her at sarahwisseman.com

What inspired you to write? 

My parents had several shelves filled with Golden Age mysteries, and I started reading them as a teenager. Dad read stories like Holmes’ The Hound of the Baskervilles and The 39 Steps while we sat by the fireplace. Then Dad retired from being a lawyer and wrote a legal thriller. He tried valiantly to get it published until he received a letter from a New York publisher saying, "Tom, I am sorry, I can't publish your work. Your prose is as flat as the state of Kansas." After my mother's death and a near-fatal accident in Africa, I decided to write my mysteries, the kind I liked to read.

How did you research the historical or factual aspects of your story?

Research is my favorite part of planning a book. Since some of my mysteries are set in Italy (where I lived for a summer and visited several times). I use maps, phrasebooks, Google Earth (to help me remember street names and layouts and architecture), and extensive notes from my archaeological career and my studies of art smuggling and art forgery. I create a bulletin board of pictures and building layouts to motivate me.

What is one of the challenges you face when writing?

My current novel is stalled because it includes some aspects of cults and extreme religion that a very dear member of my family has embraced. I feel I should incorporate some of my feelings into the writing to deepen my main character, but I have an emotional block…perhaps I need more time.

What are some books or authors that influenced your writing style or genre?

Mary Stewart (romantic suspense with strong and appealing heroines, Dorothy Sayers (especially Gaudy Night, since I’ve spent most of my working life in university settings), Ian Pears and Donna Leon (mysteries set in Italy) Barbara D’Amato (who told me to never dumb down the science and archaeology but find a way to dribble fascinating facts into the conversations between characters and the internal musings of the protagonist. See her marvelous short story, Of Course You Know Chocolate is a Vegetable.

How do you develop your characters and make them realistic and relatable?

I begin with a character sketch and list background, likes and dislikes, hangups, family issues, trigger points, etc. I add and subtract from this file on my computer as my plot develops. I let the character “talk” to me (e.g. “I’m not the murderer, I’d be a better victim”) as I’m writing or walking, and often add a lot of material in the second draft of the novel.

Selling Books in Brisbane

Diane Clarke attended the Brisbane (Australia) Writers Group Convention in October, where local authors had the chance to sell their books. She was there with her top-selling novel, The Photograph.

Paull receives an award for The Mouth Mechanic

Mike Paull's forensic crime novel, The Mouth Mechanic, won two categories of the International Book Awards in October.