While researching the twelfth century . . .

My latest romantic suspense release BETRAYAL is set in 1122, England. I did extensive research into that time period so that my people would be true to the customs, everyday concerns, and political climate of the day.

One of the aspects of that time that I found fascinating was the influence of the church. The rules set out by the church were not to be broken, and for those suspected of an infraction, the church's punishment was swift and severe. Suspected heretics, for example, were subjected to impossible tests - called trials, at that time - to prove their innocence. One method used was to tie an accused hand and foot, place him or her in a sack weighted down with rocks then throw that sack into a lake. If the accused floated to the top, alive, then he was judged not guilty of a crime against God. If he did not surface, then it was decided that God's justice had been served.

In BETRAYAL one of the characters who antagonizes heroine Katherine is a bishop. Once she is introduced to him, she soon comes to realize that this particular bishop has an agenda of his own which he furthers by using his power as a member of the church. After reading of some of the methods used to prove heresy, I couldn't resist including a scene in which Katherine's faith is called into question. The scene turned out to be quite powerful.

I won't spoil it by revealing anymore, in case you haven't read BETRAYAL.

Research, I find, triggers thoughts and ideas to deepen characters and further the plot. It also makes for fascinating reading : - )

Regards,
Karen

Wednesdays with Joanne - "You're never too old for Harvard!"

Hi all,

Yep, you can congratulate me. I've been accepted at Harvard College, ie, my novel, Matchmaker, Matchmaker, is listed as part of the Harvard College Library. Okay, admittedly it doesn't take much to get me excited (the beauty of being over 50 is that no one cares what we say or do anymore) but having my debut novel purchased by Harvard College, well ... I'm still trying to settle back down to earth! Sure I'm not the only Five Star author who's in the Harvard Library, I'm still dancing in the clouds on this one. I got into nursing school years ago on my good looks (yeah, right) but I got into Harvard on "my good book!" I know, I'm having fun with this one but why not, right.

If any more of my books are accepted at Harvard College, I'll eat my covers!!! Ummm ... deelish!!!

Thanks for letting me have my Academic Moment in the Sun,

Jo(anne)

Next from Five Star:
THE PARLOR HOUSE DAUGHTER 12/08
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter

Whoops, I forgot!

I forgot to include on my "Wednesday Post" to you (I know it's leaving you all breathless), that I, like Jon B., would love you to visit my webpage on squidoo at www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter , in hopes you might put in a "good vote" for me. I don't think I'll ever hit #30 on the charts in A&E, but I'm oh-so-happy Mr. Baxley has!

Thanks guys,

Jo(anne)
www.joannesundell.com
author@joannesundell.com

Wednesdays with Joanne - "The HOOK in us all"

Hi guys,

Bet you thought I meant to say the BOOK in us all, but oh contrar`...

What I love about what we do, writing, is that we're all unique; all coming up with our own unique HOOK for our BOOK(s). Not so easily done, as we all know, but do it we must (if we want to sell a book or two along the way.) Every time I meet a new author, I'm struck by the fact that this writer has actually written a book, then gotten it published of all things! It still is amazing to me that any of us get published but that's for another day. Right now I want to celebrate the HOOK in us all.

We are all unique, with our own perceptions, our own way of doing ... well ... just about everything. Geez, does that ever come in handy in attempting a novel. What are we without our uniqueness? Not a whole lot, I'm thinking. That is in fact what we bring to the writing table. We're ever in a daily struggle to combat cliche` and convenient storylines. "When I have fears that I may cease to" write, I do my utmost to remember that there is a HOOK, all our own, just around the corner. I just have to find it. Like Harry Potter, but not like Harry Potter. Don't we all love the wizardry he cooks up! Finding a HOOK is a bit like finding a "portkey" in Rowling's amazing stories. Once we do, we close our eyes, endure a bit of turbulance, then we're there!

Oversimplification? Perhaps. At the end of the day, we get ourselves to the end of our book(s), hoping indeed our hook(s) can withstand reviewers and skeptical readers, appealing to many a librarian and bookstore owner. Whew! The ride can be a turbulant one, but I think we can all agree it's definitely worth it!

Relax, it's just writing!

Hah! Want to know where that came from? I read off a gift bag from the Hustler, their motto: Relax, it's just sex! (For all of you chick-lit writers ... good title for you.) Anyway, my point here is that when we're looking for our next Big Bad HOOK: RELAX, IT'S JUST WRITING!

Until next time ...

Jo(anne)

www.joannesundell.com
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter

The Remainder Table...AndShameless Self-Promotion

A sad fact of publishing is that books go out of print. These days that happens rather quickly unless you’re She-Who-Is-Named-All-Too-Often or Stephen King or—well, you know. And when books go out of print, publishers first try to sell the inventory they have on hand at cut-rate prices. Copies they can’t sell, of course, are stripped and sent to the recycle bin.

I hate spam and junk mail, too, but please hear me out. My publisher is sending all remaining inventory of Death Is No Bargain to the remainder table. I couldn’t stand to see that happen, so I bought out most of their stock. This is your last chance to get a brand new, autographed copy! This book is officially out of print, so once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Death may not be a bargain, but my latest Emerson Ward mystery is! Get an autographed hardcover copy of Death Is No Bargain at a blow-out price! Hurry! Offer good only until August 31, 2008!

It’s a great book, but don’t take my word for it. Here’s what people said about Death Is No Bargain:

"Think Travis McGee in Chicago, with an Alfa Romeo coupe instead of a moored houseboat, and you have a terrific series." —Jeremiah Healy, author of Spiral and The Only Good Lawyer

"Michael Sherer gets better with each book. I hope he continues the trend for as long as I keep reading. Top drawer." —John Lutz, author of The Night Spider

“Get ready to turn some pages, fast.” —Sam Reaves, author of Dooley’s Back

“… quite amazing storytelling that kept me turning the pages.” —Mystery News

“… never slows down as the sleuth follows a meandering trail that climaxes with a fabulous final spin. Fans will appreciate this solid murder mystery.” —Harriet Klausner

“Sherer is a great storyteller.” —Cynthia Lea Clark, Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine

“The fifth Emerson Ward caper is an unusual mix of straight-ahead and thoughtful discourse on hot-button social issues. The characters are as complex as the issues with which they wrestle, and the mystery is cleverly presented and resolved.” —Wes Lukowsky, Booklist

“I like the Ward novels. I like Emerson himself. You will, too.” —David Pitt, I Love A Mystery

“Sherer is able to combine nearly breathless action with deep insight into the human psyche so well that it is often hard to tell where the action ends and the inner struggles of his well-crafted characters begin.” —Emily Burson, BookPleasures.com

Get your copy of Death Is No Bargain for only $11.99, including shipping! Heck, at that price, get a copy for everyone on your holiday gift list and finish your shopping early! Still not convinced? Check out a sample chapter at www.emersonwardmysteries.com.

Ready to get a copy? Send an e-mail to msherer@emersonwardmysteries.com with your name, address and return e-mail address. Tell me if you want your copy personally inscribed. I’ll e-mail you a PayPal invoice with instructions on how to submit payment through PayPal. Your autographed copy of Death Is No Bargain will be sent via Priority Mail. Free shipping to the first 10 orders.

Thanks,

Mike

Marketer's Dilemma

The hardest part of our job as writers is to become known, to connect with our readers or potential readers. No matter how big or small your publisher, your marketing budget has finite limits. With small publishers, though, it’s particularly difficult—not only doesn’t the publisher pay for much in the way of publicity or promotion, but advances are so small that it’s difficult to decide where to spend that hard-earned money.

The man who first piqued my interest in writing fiction was John Nichols, author of The Sterile Cuckoo. Back in my college years, before he published The Milagro Beanfield War, I took a creative writing course from John. He told the class about how he’d become a novelist. It all sounded so easy and romantic—write a book, sell it to a publisher and watch it become an instant best-seller, reap the financial rewards of a movie deal and move to Taos and contemplate your next novel. John’s experience, of course, was as harsh as it was romantic.

While trying to find a publisher for my first novel, I used to joke with people about living a scenario similar to the one outlined above. What fascinated me was that when my first novel finally was published, people naturally assumed that my advance would allow me to purchase a villa in Provence and live the high life. Most of us know how far from the truth that is.

So, how to budget for marketing? For my next book, I put on my PR agency account executive hat and developed a plan, including pre-publication activities like sending out ARCs to mystery magazines, major metro daily newspapers and online reviewers the publisher doesn’t cover, developing press kit and book club materials to send out, and writing articles for pubs like Mystery Scene; publicity activities like a publication announcement press release, a book release notice to online sites, social networks and interested pubs like alumni magazines; the usual promotional stuff like sending post cards to bookstores and libraries; and post-pub activities like setting up bookstore signings and attending conferences.

Most of these tactics are relatively inexpensive, but add them up and they start to run into real money. I asked someone who specializes in promoting authors what I was missing, how I could create more “buzz.” She responded:

“…it would be good for you to be more visible. Print coverage is harder to get than ever these days and not being with a major publisher will affect that, as I'm sure you know. The best compensation for getting attention these days is to be pro-active. Get visible within the mystery community and the industry at large.”

Sound advice. When my series was first published, I joined MWA, became an officer of the Midwest chapter, attended national board meetings, went to the Edgars, participated on panels at conferences like Bouchercon and Dark & Stormy, and toured bookstores and libraries throughout the Midwest with several other mystery authors as often as I could. (Travel was relatively cheap as I was married to a flight attendant at the time.)

Did that raise my visibility in the mystery community? Absolutely. Did I sell more books as a result? Nope.

Now I don’t have the luxury of airline passes. And it’s been well more than a decade since I served as an officer of MWA. So, I wrestle with decisions like whether or not it’s worth registering for LCC 2008 in Denver in hopes that I’ll get on a panel, when I know the cost of attending that conference alone will eat up my entire advance.

I often wonder how many authors afford to fly around the country attending conferences and doing tours that their publishers aren’t paying for. I suppose like me, many of them haven’t quit their day jobs.

Wednesdays with Joanne - "The Write Trip"

Hi all,

Summer is trekking along, so get those vacation hours in quick! A special shout-out to CC Harrison ... congrats on your next book with Five Star!!! And yes, the Iron Horse Resort is still The Place in Winter Park (although the developers ARE HERE)!

I just returned from The Write Trip: Author Day at Five Star-Thomson Gale, Thorndike Press, in Waterville, Maine. What an honor to have our publisher create a day just for us! Too much fun. Not only did we have an opportunity to meet our fellow authors with Five Star, but the staff of Thomson Gale and Thorndike Press as well. We were wined (H2O and soda) and dined (lobster and chicken) on delicious fare as well as conversation. My feet are back on terra firma (barely) but I have wonderful writing memories to keep me warm on cold Colorado nights to come.

New England is rich in history, and I'm talking Writing history! For me, a romance lover from Virginia who now resides in Colorado, driving along on my Write Trip, passing signs that read Walden Pond ... well, you can imagine. A literary moment, certainly. Another one came when I stopped in Camden, Maine. For those of you who enjoy my love for The Hallmark Channel, as in Sarah, Plain, and Tall (the series runs often) ... roaming around Camden, where Sarah wrote her advertisement "to make a difference," made my heart skip, yet again.

On my way to the airport in Hartford, my Writing Trip took me through John and Abigail Adams country, where they (thank goodness) wrote so many letters to one another, David McCullough could put them together for his wonderful biography. John Adams is one of THE best books I've ever read! (I'm still reading Harry Potter - Deathly Hallows ... so I'll let you know.)

Hmmm...I'm of the thought that one could step out their door in this great country, go in any direction, via any means of transportation, and suddenly discover they are on their own Write Trip! It IS, America the beautiful!

Until next time...

Jo(anne)

Matchmaker, Matchmaker
A...My Name's Amelia
The Parlor House Daughter (12/08)
www.squidoo.com/historicalromancewriter

RUNNING FROM STRANGERS

I’m very happy to announce that my romantic suspense novel RUNNING FROM STRANGERS will be released by Five Star in September 2008. Pleased, too, that I’ll again be working with Tiffany Schofield and the wonderful Five Star editors and support staff. Really, they treat their authors like rock stars, and diva that I am, I love it!

RUNNING FROM STRANGERS is the story of child advocate Allie Hudson who is forced to go on the run with a child in her care. In her youth, she’d frequently chosen to ignore the consequences of her free-spirited behavior leaving childhood sweetheart Beck Williams to take the blame. Because he loved her, it was an arrangement that suited them both. Until someone died and Allie disappeared. Now, Allie, a devoted child advocate, disgraced family court lawyer, and widow of a murdered cop, seeks refuge at Beck’s secluded Southwest Colorado ranch.

The events in this book were inspired by my work as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) in the child welfare system, and highlight some of the problems inherent in child protection services throughout the country. Whether due to lack of funding, lack of qualified child welfare administrators, or lack of proper care facilities, these kids don’t have it easy. In the book, Allie becomes emotionally attached to the children she advocates for, going far out of her way to see that they are well fed, clothed and cared for. There’s a lot of action and suspense in this book, and a surprise twist at the end. I hope you enjoy it.

New to my music collection - Beautiful Door by Bill Bob Thornton
(Yes, that Billy Bob Thornton. How many of you knew Billy Bob sang in a rock band? I didn't.)

Monument Valley Revisited

I went back to the Navajo Reservation to do some research for a follow up book to THE CHARMSTONE. I’m pleased to say that book has generated a lot of interest, and quite a few readers have asked me if there will be a sequel.

So I went to Monument Valley to get back into The Rez mode, to see if anything has changed, and to meet up with my old friend, Don Mose. It was Don’s cultural preservation efforts at Monument Valley High School that inspired the work of Durango Yazzie in the book.

Only a few things have changed in Monument Valley. The tiny grocery store down the road from Goulding’s has tripled (at least!) in size and is now a modern supermarket with fully stocked shelves. What we called The Mall, a row of makeshift plywood sheds featuring splendid Navajo jewelry, pots, rugs, and baskets, has moved from the road leading to the Tribal Park to the side of Highway 163. It’s now called The Indian Market, but it will always be The Mall to me. Of course, I had to add a couple of pieces to my Southwest jewelry collection.

Had a nice chat with Don Mose. We talked a little about my new book idea. It won’t be a sequel exactly, though I will try to bring in a character or two from THE CHARMSTONE. The new story was not fully formed in my mind, but I knew I wanted to include certain plot elements and Don was able to expand on those for me. For the historical plot elements – the old Indian Boarding Schools – he referred me to Robert Johnson at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock. (Robert, I’ll be calling you soon.)

Don and I sat in the shade at the Tribal Park during their fabulous Drums of Summer celebration. There were Native American exhibits, songs and dances from various tribes, recognition of Elders, Veterans and local officials, and music. A lot of music. Two of Don’s sons, Travis and young Don, are in rock bands now. I hadn’t met them before, so I stayed to hear them play.

Imagine my surprise when I saw they looked exactly like the young Navajo rock musicians in THE CHARMSTONE! It was as if Larry and Albert Rainwater had walked right out of the pages of my book! I mentioned it to Don, and he just smiled and said sagely, “Yes, you really had a vision there, didn’t you?” I guess I did, Don. I think learned it from you.

And one more thing. Cell phone service on the Rez is close to nonexistent, at least it was for my AllTel phone, especially in the remote vicinity of the Park. But as I was walking through the lobby of the Park Tourist Center, my cell phone rang. It was my agent calling to tell me Five Star had made an offer on a second book!

I’ll blog more about that later.