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Elizabeth McKenna

~ Author

Elizabeth McKenna

Category Archives: Random Thoughts

A Jumble of Genres for a Gemini

01 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by Elizabeth McKenna - Author in Random Thoughts

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Way back in 2008, I decided to write my first novel. I was working as an editor and technical writer for a software company but yearned to be a famous fiction writer. Two events occurred that pushed me into the publishing world.

The first one was a discussion I had with one of my daughters. I worked from home, so my girls often saw me at my desk typing away. I can’t remember which daughter it was (probably the youngest because she’s still full of questions), but she asked me if I liked my job. I said, “I’m very good at my job, but no, I’d rather be writing novels.” She said, “Why don’t you?” I didn’t bother to explain about paying bills and the need for mommy to have a full-time job. Instead, I thought, maybe I can do it in my spare time? I think it is important to be a role model for your kids, so I wanted to show them that you can pursue your dreams no matter how old you are. Cera's Place - Ebook Small

The second event was a reading I had with a psychic. My husband and I were at his company’s Christmas party, and his boss had hired two psychics as part of the entertainment. I couldn’t hear most of the reading because of the party going on behind me, but toward the end, she gave me the opportunity to ask a question. I said, “Will I ever write a book?” After a moment, she said, “Yes.” I got up to leave, and she grabbed my wrist, leaned in, and said, “You will write a book.” OK, shivers.

Soon after that, I started writing Cera’s Place, a historical romance set in post-Civil War San Francisco. It took several years to complete, and I had no idea what I was doing, as I knew nothing about story structure. But I had a lot of fun writing it, and to this day, Cera and Jake are my favorite characters out of all my books.

Venice-in-the-Moonlight-EbookCOVERThe reviews were mixed, but there were enough positive ones that I went on to write Venice in the Moonlight, which is set in eighteenth-century Italy. This time, I did follow traditional story structure, and I picked Venice as the setting because I had fallen in love with the city during a visit with my husband. I also thought incorporating Casanova as a minor character would be fun. During my research, however, I learned that he wasn’t such a great guy—so the movies got that wrong. He wouldn’t have survived the #MeToo movement.

I decided to try a contemporary romance next. Like most people, my life has had its share of ups and downs. The worst down was the three-year period when my father died, my friend was killed in an accident, I got divorced, and my brother died from AIDS. I had a lot of demons to exorcise, and I chose writing as a way to dispel them. First Crush, Last Love is loosely based on my teens and twenties, though there is plenty of fiction in it.647e1-first-crush-customdesign-jayaheer2017-ebook-complete

After reliving my past through First Crush, Last Love, I was burnt out and pretty sure I wouldn’t write another book. Then one day, I was watching the 2015 version of And Then There Were None. I love mysteries, I love Agatha Christie, and I love Aidan Turner (Poldark) shirtless and in a towel. (If you’ve seen this version, then you understand that last line. If you haven’t seen this version, find it and watch it.) Suddenly, I had the inspiration for my next book. I was going to reimagine And Then There Were None but set the story in a remote lodge in northern Wisconsin on New Year’s Eve.

I started Killer Resolutions that day, and it’s been really fun to write. It’s dark, full of murder, and hopefully will keep readers guessing who the real killer is. I was about three quarters done with a first draft, when in June of 2018, I read that Hallmark Publishing was accepting submissions. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Great-Jewel-Robbery-FRONTCOVERI put aside Killer Resolutions and, following Hallmark Publishing mystery guidelines, I started on The Great Jewel Robbery. It took me less than a year to write it, which is a new record for me, as I am an extremely slow writer. Unfortunately, Hallmark passed on my manuscript, but I don’t mind being an independent author. After all of this time, it would be hard to give up creative control of my books.

I plan on finishing Killer Resolutions in time to ring in 2020, so if you love dark mysteries, keep an eye out for my next release.

As you can see, my writing journey has been all over the place—historical romances, contemporary romances, dark mysteries, cozy mysteries—I blame it on being a Gemini. We’re known for our split personalities!

If you enjoy The Great Jewel Robbery, please take a moment to leave a review on Goodreads or wherever you purchased the book. I love to read feedback from readers.

Take care,

Elizabeth McKenna

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I Write like a Diet Book Author??

24 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by Elizabeth McKenna - Author in Random Thoughts

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Agents, Barnes & Noble, Fiction, Hallmark, Inkubate, Mystery, Reviews, Romance, Voice, WIP

My review of Inkubate, a service that offers writing style reports that compare your writing style to other books in the Inkubate catalog

I recently received an email from Barnes & Noble Press describing a new-to-me feature.

From the email:

B&N Press has partnered with Inkubate, a service that offers writing style reports that compare your writing style to other books in the Inkubate catalog. You can use the Inkubate comparison reports to target readers across different genres, and learn the keywords that readers use to talk about books that share your same writing style. B&N Press authors receive a 30% discount as well as a keyword analysis report.

From Inkubate’s website:

Based on a comparative analysis of the writing styles of published authors within our database, your ScoreIt!™ result presents the three top commercially published titles that most closely align with your manuscript.

For each title presented, ScoreIt!™ defines how closely your manuscript aligns with these titles based upon 4 key features that have been empirically proven to be diagnostic of an author’s writing style.

The 4 key features are based on:

  • Authorial Vocabulary
  • Expressive Complexity
  • Grammar
  • Tonal Quality

This caught my attention because agents often ask, who do you write like? I’ll take a moment to rant about this question. While searching for agents to query, I read their bios to see what genres they represent. If I had a dollar for every time I have read, “Sally’s looking for a fresh voice in the (fill-in-the-blank) genre,” I could give my books away for free. Yet, the last time I met with an agent, “who do you write like?” was the first question I was asked. I get it. Truly, I do. But then you can’t also say you’re looking for the next fresh thing.

Anyway, back to Inkubate. I thought, if this works, then it’ll be worth the money because I don’t know who to compare myself to. I’ve done the research, read samples in my genre, and even asked bloggers who liked my books, but I still don’t have an answer. Being impulsive and curious, I decided to submit my current WIP. I don’t have a good title for it yet, but the working title is: The Butler Didn’t Do It. Terrible, I know. It is a female amateur sleuth mystery with romantic elements following Hallmark Publishing guidelines (nothing heavy, murders aren’t graphically described, no swearing, only kissing, etc.). The description is:

Emma and Grace, best friends since freshmen year of college despite coming from different worlds, work at the Chicago Tribune. When Grace is assigned to cover an annual charity ball and auction being held at a lakeside mansion and her new boyfriend bails on her, she brings Emma as her plus 1. The night is going smoothly until Emma finds the host’s brother unconscious in the study. Figuring he was a bit tipsy and stumbled, it soon becomes clear more is afoot, as the wall safe is empty and a three-million-dollar diamond necklace is missing. With visions of becoming ace reporters, Emma and Grace set out to solve the mystery, much to the chagrin of the handsome, local detective.

With the B&N 30% discount, to submit one manuscript it cost me $69.99. When submitting your manuscript, you indicate whether it is fiction or non-fiction and the genre(s). I chose fiction, mystery, and romance. You also provide the description and an excerpt as well as the full manuscript.

Seconds later, I got my results. And I wasn’t happy.

Result #1: The Fastdiet by Michael Mosley – a NON-fiction book. Exactly how is this going to help me in my marketing efforts? Why would this even be a result when submitting a FICTION manuscript?

Result #2: Festive in Death by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). Now, this I found interesting. When I started reading romance novels some fifteen years ago (before I started writing romance), I devoured everything from Nora Roberts. I vaguely remember reading one of her J.D. Robb’s books but found it rather dark for my tastes. Would comparing myself to J.D. Robb help me? Only if I said, I’m like her except without the swearing, sex, and dark subject matter. Our voices may be similar, but if a reader wants the swearing, sex, and dark subject matter, then they won’t be impressed with my WIP.

Result #3: Miracle At The Higher Grounds by Max Lucado. I was not familiar with this author, so I looked him up on Amazon. From what I can tell, all of his books are in the religion genre. This result was as helpful as result #1’s diet book.

Since I have spent most of my professional career as a technical writer, perhaps I do write like a diet book author. But I hope not. I think the majority of my reviews show that I have successfully transitioned from non-fiction to fiction.

Has anyone else tried this offer? I would be interested in knowing your results and whether you thought it was worth the money. I’m voting no at this point.

UPDATE: Since writing the above post, I complained to Inkubate about my results and was contacted by the President and Chief Technology Strategist of the company. He feels I am misunderstanding the value of my results and offered to talk more with me. I declined, and he refunded my money. If nothing else, their customer service impresses me.

Take care,

Elizabeth

 

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Blessing in Disguise?

16 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by Elizabeth McKenna - Author in Random Thoughts

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Tags

Buffy, Dogs, Editing, Jobs, Joss Whedon, Kenneth Branagh, Movies, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare, Writing

Last night, as my husband and I walked our dog, he said I seemed a lot happier. It’s a pretty big statement about someone who was quickly labeled “moody” as a child and “depressed” as an adult. I had to agree with him.

In early October, I was laid off from a company that I had worked at for 22 years. I’m only 51, so that’s a huge chunk of my life. As I changed my author biography across all my social media sites and book pages, erasing “works as a technical writer for a large software company,” I was bitter – and angry – and sad – and scared. I was one of three writers let go from our team, and the person who made the decision had never talked to me one-on-one and didn’t know my strengths or skills. The decision maker didn’t even consult my immediate supervisor (who would have voted to keep me).

Now that a few weeks have past, I feel that I’ve found some peace. I’ve started writing a new novel, and I’m trying to break into the freelance world. (Hire me! I’m an excellent editor/proofreader.) My days are filled with job searches, writing, and household chores – and a bit of reading and movie watching. So, yes, a layer of stress was removed, and I’m happier. I was a first-rate technical writer, but I didn’t enjoy it like I enjoy writing/editing fiction.

With my extra spare time, I’ve had two run-ins with Shakespeare this week. I read Interred with their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell, and watched the Joss Whedon adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (2012). Carrell’s novel was filled with murder and conspiracy theories wrapped around a lost Shakespeare play. I was lost a few times, but still enjoyed it. I absolutely love anything Whedon touches (I was Buffy one Halloween long ago), and this movie and Kenneth Branagh’s version (1993) are my favorite Shakespearean adaptations of all time.

So, readers, have you ever lost a job? How did you feel? What made you feel better? And what’s your favorite Shakespeare play?

 

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When Luke is arrested for the murder of the head coach of his club softball team, Emma and Grace go up against cutthroat parents willing to kill for a chance to get their daughters onto a premier college sports team.

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