Wednesday, April 22, 2015

OH MY GOD!

I just got off the phone with my new friend and marketing-genius-for-hire, Deborah Louise Brown of Peters and Brown Marketing LLC. I've hired her to help me re-brand my online author identity and I've realized we're a match made in heaven!

After our (once again unintended) lengthy conversation, my husband joined me on the back patio, where I had been enjoying the weather as well as my brainstorming conversation with Deborah, and asked "WHO were you talking to? I must have heard you say 'Oh my God!' one hundred times. I don't even know what you're so excited about and I'm ready to scream it myself!"

He wasn't exaggerating. I probably did say that phrase one hundred times!

Deborah and I collaborate so well! Our ideas bounce off each other like  . . . well, I don't want to use a bomb analogy, but it would be a good one. Before I even finish sharing one idea, she's jumping in with another and vice versa!

I'm so motivated by the end of our conversations that I walk in circles for the first several minutes just trying to calm down. I have to force myself to take a deep breath so I can cruise back into the earth's atmosphere.

As a result of working with Deborah for just a few weeks now, I have a L-O-N-G list of super exciting ideas that we intend to implement as part of my MK Sandoval reinvention. Here are just a few things on the list:

I'm going to become a FLASHER!! 
To clarify, I'm going to start writing Flash Fiction stories. What is Flash Fiction you ask? I had to ask too!! 

In a nut shell, flash fiction is a short form of storytelling, but my research shows that defining it by the number of words or sentences or even pages required to tell a story is up to each writer. I read that some purists insist it is a complete story told in less than 75 words; others claim 100 should be the maximum, but that anything under 1,000 words can be considered flash-worthy. And there are even a few who stretch their limits to 1,500 words. Who knows yet where I will end up :)

Niki will speak!
I'm not going to spoil the surprise by telling too much more about this awesome idea now. Suffice to say, you will get to know Niki very well - almost like you were talking with her yourself - hint! hint!

I'm going to be a Teespringer!!
I'm going into the t-shirt design business too! Watch for T-shirt Tuesday as I release a new inspirational thought t-shirt idea every Tuesday on my blog. Some will just be for fun; others will be for sale!

I'm taking my show on the road!
A friend of mine who knows my personal story asked me to share my inspirations with other women by giving a presentation at the monthly luncheon of an awesome organization she has helped launch, http://www.womenbuildingbridges.com. I loved it so much, and received such wonderful feedback, that I'm now going to offer my presentation to other women's groups as my way of giving back to the community. I call it "She believed she could, so she did." That's my attitude and I'm sticking to it!! Watch for more information to follow.

These are just a few of the incredible things I now have on my author to-do list. I'm incredibly excited about where my writing career is taking me and about the personal growth I'm experiencing as a result!


I hope you'll come along for the ride!!










Wednesday, April 1, 2015

As promised, here it is!

Even though it's April Fool's day, I'm not going to trick you. I really am keeping my promise to post the first chapter of my second Niki Brooks mystery, Beach House.

I'm so excited to bring Niki back to life and hope you'll enjoy her latest adventure. This story involves a few of the characters from her first exploit and introduces some fun and exciting NEW characters! But you'll have to read the entire book to meet them.

Let me know how you like this first little look!





Chapter 1

“I’m aiming right between your eyes, asshole!”
Niki cocked the hammer on her .38 Special and took a deep breath as she zeroed in on her target. Once certain her feet were firmly planted and her gun was pointed right where she wanted, she squeezed the trigger releasing the bullet.
“I hope you die you son-of-a-bitch!” she wailed as she pulled the trigger.
“Calm down, sweetie!” Rico said, stepping back to face Niki. “This is only target practice.” He leaned toward his own firing lane and frowned. “I didn’t hit my smiley face once. I told you it would not be good for me to shoot a gun.”
“Rico, it’s been thirty years since you accidentally killed that bird. You should forgive yourself and get over it.”
“That’s the last memory I have of being with my father,” he said. “My mom never let me see him again after that. Sophia said he was a bad influence. She hates guns—and loves birds.”
Niki Brooks and her sidekick, Enrique Rivera Rodriquez Gonzales, aka Rico, had just finished their last shooting lesson included in the “Buy Four Get Four Free” discount program offered at the country’s largest indoor shooting range, Scottsdale Gun Club. 
“It was nice of them to let me take the Ladies of Liberty lessons with you even though I’m not a lady,” Rico said.
“Well, you kinda’ are,” Niki said.
“Still, I think it will be best for me to use brawn and brains, not bullets, in our new PI business.”
Thinking of her own slim five foot, seven inch frame, Niki knew she would have to rely on Rico if an altercation ever did become physical. “I will have to look to you for the brawn, we both have brains and hopefully, neither of us will have to use bullets,” she answered. “Lorna claims Russell doesn’t even know how to shoot a water pistol at the carnival. Let’s hope she’s right.”
Niki’s good friend and former call girl employee, Lorna Simms, was missing and Niki was certain Lorna’s ex-husband, Russell, had taken her. Niki and her right-hand gay man, Rico, were planning to find her.
For a Latin, Rico was a brawny man: six feet, two inches tall and fifty inches in girth. His chiseled muscle weighed in at roughly two hundred pounds. You wouldn’t know he was gay by looking at him, but the minute he opened his mouth to speak, all bets were off.
Niki turned back to her target and released three more bullets—boom! boom! boom!—before removing her ear covers and laying her gun down on the counter. She pushed her cinnamon curls off her forehead and removed her clear plastic eye protectors.
As she pressed the button to retrieve her target sheet, the Range Master, who looked like he had just walked off the set of Sons of Anarchy, walked by. “I’m not sure we’ve ever had someone so enthusiastic about shooting practice before. I could hear you over the gunfire.”
“I need to find the loser who has kidnapped my friend,” Niki said. “And when I do, I need to be prepared.”
“But if you kill him, will you find your friend?” he asked.
Niki took the target sheet from its hanger and nodded her head in pleasure. “Not too bad, huh?” She was not expecting a response from anyone; she was simply admiring her own work. Then she addressed the manager’s comments. “No,” she answered. “I guess killing Russell first would reduce my chances of finding Lorna since he’s the only lead we have.”
The manager smiled. “Let me know if you need any more ammo.”
Niki motioned for Rico to join her outside the range. He removed his protective gear and followed behind her.
“I feel like I’ve had enough self-defense training,” she said as they entered into the main room of the gun club.
“For the day?” Rico asked.
“No, forever. And for today. I couldn’t handle being next to that cannon the guy in the wheelchair was shooting. I jumped three feet every time that thing went off.”
“I know,” Rico agreed. “When would a gun like that ever be necessary? The barrel on that thing was a foot long. And his hygiene. Did you see the hair growing down the back of his neck?”
“Eeewww,” Niki sighed. “No, and I’m glad you didn’t point that out earlier.”
She turned to see the man in the wheelchair coming out of the gun range just as Rico turned his back toward him. “U-S-G-A,” Rico muttered.
“What?” Niki was confused. She turned to Rico and repeated her question. “What did you say?”
“I was speaking to him,” Rico whispered, nodding toward the man. “Well, not to him directly.”
Niki waited until she was certain the man with the cannon was out of earshot. “And what is U-S-G-A? Is that text abbreviations again? You know I don’t speak text.”
“Come on honey, everyone speaks text. Get with the current century. U-S-G-A.”
“Under-Siege-Get-Away?”
“No! No! You-Stink-Go-Away!” Rico slapped Niki on the shoulder. “I couldn’t smell him in there with all the gun smoke his cannon was leaving behind but out here, it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t bathe very often.”
Completely ignoring Rico’s comments about the man’s lack of hygiene, Niki went back to the text abbreviation. “How did you expect me—or anyone—to know what that stood for? I don’t think that’s one people use very often, at least not adult people.” Niki grabbed Rico’s elbow, pulling him toward the gun display area. “No more text speak. I have to choose what firearm I want in case of a potential altercation with Russell. David suggested I look at a semi-automatic and promised he’ll clean it for me. He was a sharp shooter in the Army, you know.”
Niki had been married to David Brooks for over twenty-five years . They had met at a gas station on her lunch break and said “I Do” just six months later. Her friends and family had told her she was nuts but she knew he was The One. And she had been right. David had been a wonderfully supportive husband, probably more supportive than she deserved. They shared two beautiful daughters, Grace and Lilly, and one large dog, a one-hundred-pound Labradoodle named Hudson. Although David was leery of Niki’s plans to play PI with Rico to try to find their friend Lorna, he had agreed not to stop her. This latest planned adventure was tame compared to what David had put up with in the past.
Niki saw the man in the wheelchair heading back their way and nodded to Rico, who took a deep breath and held it while the man rolled by. “I do know that,” Rico said as he expelled his breath after the man had passed. “Why isn’t he here? I thought he was going to check out the guns with you.”
“He’s in Tucson opening his new mortgage office so this is a perfect time for you and me to go look for Russell and Lorna. He’s going to be gone at least a couple weeks and of course, the girls have their own lives now so they won’t miss me.”
As young adults, Grace and Lilly were old enough to fend for themselves. Niki knew she and David had given them the proper foundation to make good decisions on their own. Each lived in their own condo in Tempe while attending college but Lilly had agreed to stay at Niki’s to take care of Hudson while both Niki and David were gone.
“How exciting for David,” Rico acknowledged, “but let’s get back to you. You do realize that as a convicted felon you can’t buy a gun, right?”
I don’t plan to buy it.”
“That means I’m buying it, doesn’t it?”
“I thought that was a given,” Niki said. “Let’s pick out something now so we can start our search as soon as possible. We need to get this show on the road.” They stopped at the front desk to turn in their rentals. Niki pulled Rico through the lobby which led to the retail gun shop in an adjoining building. There were rows and rows of slanted plastic shelving affixed to the back wall. Each shelf held eight to ten guns. Niki had no idea where to start.
A hairy young man, maybe in his mid-thirties, followed them into the room. “Can I help you choose a gun?” he asked. His head sported a mop of dark curls and his chin and cheeks were covered to match. He was dressed head-to-toe in mismatched camo.
Apparently resigned to the fact that he would purchase a gun in his name for Niki’s use, Rico immediately spotted something he liked. “Honey,” he said, “look at this darling pink thing!” Rico was waving a neon pink revolver in Niki’s face. “You could add bling down the handle. Wouldn’t that be fantastic?” He was showcasing the gun like Vanna White showcases letters.
Niki noticed the gun shop employee rolling his eyes.
“No,” Niki shook her head. “I’m not a girlie girl, Rico. You know that.”
“What are you looking for?” the employee asked.
“I’m not sure,” Niki said. “My friend here is the one looking.” She pulled Rico to her side, forcing him to put down the pink gun.
Rico looked the employee up and down. “Are you one of those survival guys?” he asked.
The man seemed perplexed.
“You know, one of those guys you see on reality TV who goes out into the woods with a jackknife and some rope and builds a shopping mall?”
“Dude.” The man’s voice was stern. “Are you here to buy a gun or just to piss me off?”
Niki immediately jumped in. “That Smith & Wesson looks good.” She pointed to a .45 Smith & Wesson, noticing on the label that it was a semi-automatic model. David had said semi-automatics were slimmer, lighter and easier to conceal. They also held more rounds of ammunition. He said if she were ever to find herself in a compromising position, she would not want to depend on only one shot to stop her assailant, advising one should always fire at least three rounds, just to be sure.
“What was that all about?” Niki asked as they made their way to her car. “You could have gotten us killed!”
“I think you’re exaggerating,” he said. “Besides, I meant it as a compliment. He reminded me of Grizzly Adams and I found him oddly attractive.”
“If that’s your idea of flirting, you need to go back to junior high.”
They got settled into Niki’s Escalade for the ten-minute drive to Rico’s bungalow.
            Niki lowered the thermostat on the driver’s side to seventy-two. The air in August in Phoenix felt like car exhaust.  
            “What about the police looking for Russell after his hit-and-run?” she asked, enjoying the cool air directly on her face. “Have you gotten an update on that?”
            “Last I heard they had zero leads on where Russell may have gone and no one on the victim’s side is raising a stink so the cops don’t seem to be motivated.”
            “You know he was either going to or coming from Lorna’s apartment the night he hit that poor man and since no one has heard from Lorna since that night—”
            “That’s not exactly true,” Rico said, interrupting Niki.
            “Wait. What do you mean? Has Lorna contacted someone?” Niki had been ‘away’ at the Phoenix Women’s Correctional Facility for the previous ninety days doing time for a slight misunderstanding with the authorities—something about a money laundering felony connected to her call girl business—so she wasn’t yet fully up-to-date on the situation involving Lorna’s disappearance.
            “They’ve dropped her missing person’s case, Nik.”
            “WHAT?” Niki was stunned. She pulled the Escalade over to the side of the road and stopped so she could fully focus on the conversation. “They have to know that Russell took her. It’s been three months and no one has heard from her.”
            “They don’t consider Lorna ‘missing’.”
            “When did they decide that? That day we met them at her apartment they encouraged us to file a missing person’s report because they said it appeared there may have been foul play.”
“A few weeks after you went . . . away . . . they called me to say they were dropping the case. They had not been able to find any other information to lead them to believe she was taken against her will. I heard then that even her parents don’t believe she’s been kidnapped.”
“Unbelievable.” Niki pushed her curls off her face. She was beginning to sweat, even with the air conditioning on.
            “Detective Rosco called me yesterday. Apparently her parents produced a letter from her saying she left with Russell on her own. I didn’t want to tell you before your gun lessons were over as I knew you would take off without being properly trained.”
            “Rico, you know that can’t be true! Russell forced her to send that letter! She would have never gotten back with him, especially knowing that he’s wanted in Phoenix for a hit-and-run. Now more than ever I know he’s behind this. We have to find her on our own then.” Niki turned the thermostat even lower due to her body temperature rising even higher. “Now I’m trained and tomorrow I will be armed . . . and dangerous. He’s going to be sorry he messed with one of my girls.” She checked over her left shoulder to make sure she could safely pull back into the traffic and put the Escalade in ‘drive’.
            “Niki, sweetie,” Rico said sternly, leaning toward her to pat her knee. “I understand your momma bear instincts when it comes to Lorna, but you’re not her madam anymore and going after her crazy ex-husband half-cocked—pun intended—is not smart. We need help to handle this. But we have to be careful. We don’t have our PI license yet so if we get into trouble, we’re in B-I-G trouble.” Rico curled his lip. “I was spelling. That wasn’t a text acronym.”
            “In the past few years I’ve transitioned from a real estate broker to a call girl madam and now it’s time for me to begin again . . . again,” Niki said. “We all knew the madam thing was not a long-term plan. Maybe our thrift store shopping skills will make us great at hunting for missing people too.”
            “One can only hope,” Rico sighed.
            “As our new employer, we’ve promised VeVe we will find her best friend. And Lorna means so much more to all of us now. I realize they aren’t ‘my girls’ anymore but all the girls who worked for me have become my friends. VeVe is willing to pay us and since the cops aren’t doing anything, we are Lorna’s only hope.”
            “Yes, I agree. But can I say one more thing?”
            “If I said no, would that stop you?”
            Rico sighed. “I don’t think it’s wise to take a gun along.”
            “I’m not planning to use it but I am going to carry a weapon for protection. We have no idea of what—or who—we may run into.”
            “Yes, I understand you have the right to bear arms, but because you’re a convicted felon, for you that means wearing a sleeveless top. Get it? B-a-r-e arms?”
            “Yeah. I get it.” Niki did not find Rico’s humor amusing. “Then let’s hope if we get into an altercation with Russell, you’ll be able to use your brawn to take him down and it won’t be necessary for me to draw my weapon.”
            “I don’t like that idea either,” Rico said.
            “I didn’t think you would.”
            Despite turning down the temperature, Niki continued to sweat and grabbed a Starbucks napkin from the driver’s door pocket to swipe across her forehead. Reality had set in. “Holy crap, Rico. I thought we would be able to work with the police to find Lorna but now we’re going to be on our own to get to her back before Russell does something really stupid.”
            “Let’s hope it’s not already too late,” Rico sighed. “And let’s try hard not to do something stupid ourselves.”
            “We have to remain positive,” Niki urged. “I’ve watched CSI—Miami and Las Vegas, Law & Order, and Castle for years. I’m sure I’ve learned something that will come in handy.”


Monday, March 30, 2015

It was the best week of my life!

No, I didn't sail around Greece on a yacht,

I didn't spend it at a fitness camp finally losing that last pesky ten pounds

and I didn't win a lifetime supply of Milk Duds.

I spent an entire seven days in a hotel room
WRITING EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

When I first started writing, my husband got lonely. He was used to spending his evenings with me watching our favorite TV shows - we're major TV addicts! But once I discovered my writing passion, I began locking myself in my office every night after dinner. Sometimes I wouldn't emerge until the sun came up the next morning.

One night he apparently got tired of watching NCIS: Los Angeles by himself and showed up in my office. "How you can stay up here every night all by yourself? Don't you get bored?"
 
"I'm not alone," I responded. "I'm with all my friends!"

And that's exactly how I felt for seven days while holed up in a hotel room finishing my second Niki Brooks mystery, Beach House. I played with Niki and Rico every day and I created new friends who will be introduced in Beach House.

I accompanied my daughter to LA while she attended a week-long prep class for attending law school, planning to use the time she spent in class all day, as uninterrupted writing time. Our daily routine was about as perfect as I could imagine: we got up at seven, had breakfast, walked to my daughter's classroom on the gorgeous USC campus, I would then clock 6,000-7,000 more steps walking campus for another hour, before returning to the room to write, write and write some more!
 
I'm sure the maid thought I was nuts as she cleaned around me every morning, listening to me laugh and giggle while I frantically pounded on my computer keyboard, knowing there was no one else in the room. She never did ask me what I was doing every day and I never offered. I did, however, leave her an autographed copy of my first book the morning I checked out - along with a cash tip.

I averaged about 7,500 words a day which I had never done before - simply because I had never had that kind of time available before! The ideas flowed freely and constantly. The advantage of being able to shut out real life for seven days made all the difference.

While that is not possible very often, I will now make every effort to spend a week-long writing retreat by myself at least once a year! Well, I won't ever be all by myself. I can take my friends along with me whenever and wherever I go!!

Stay tuned for the unveiling of the first chapter of Beach House!







Thursday, April 24, 2014

So You Want to Write a Book??!!

Have you thought about writing a book?? This Saturday I'll be speaking at a FREE writers workshop in Scottsdale! Come out and join the fun and learn how you can write a book too!

The Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter is sponsoring the 4th Annual Mystery Writer’s Workshop: “So You Want to Write Crime Fiction.” This event will be held April 26th, 10 am-5 pm, at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library, located at 3839 N. Drinkwater Boulevard, Scottsdale, Arizona.
 
When I decided to challenge myself to write a novel, who knew that just four years later I would be announcing myself as a speaker at a Writer's Conference!!
 
What a difference a decision makes :)
 
I'm thrilled that I pushed myself through the learning process (which is still ongoing and will continue forever) of how to write a book (my first book, Cat House: Adventures of a Real Estate Madam came out in July, 2013). I read 100 books on how to write a book and I joined various writing groups in order to interact with other would-be and published authors. I forced myself to write late at night and early in the morning, when I would have loved to stay in bed. For me, writing is like exercising. The thought of doing it can be exhausting, but once I begin, it's exhilarating!!
 
I encourage everyone I meet who says "I've always wanted to write a book," or "I'm writing a book," or "I have a great idea for a book," or "I should write a book," . . . TO JUST DO IT!!
 
With the help of various on-line publication programs, one no longer has to spend years trying to get a publisher to take notice and agree to publish their story. YOU CAN DO IT ALL YOURSELF!!
 
You can write, edit, format, publish and sell your books yourself. Times have changed. Self-published authors (or "indie" authors) are not only making money immediately with the sale of their books, they are becoming more accepted by not only the readers, but by other traditionally published authors.

Check out author Hugh Howey, known for his popular series Wool, which he independently published through Amazon.com's Kindle Direct Publishing! His novel, Omnibus ,has been a #1 Bestseller in Science Fiction on Amazon, and was optioned by Ridley Scott and Steve Zaillian for a potential feature film!
 
You may not end up a top selling author. Truth is, most authors never make enough to give up their day jobs, but you can say you are a published author! I considered my book project a success the first time someone I didn't personally know read it and enjoyed it! That's why I'm doing this. I have fun writing stories, and I now know others enjoy reading my stories!
 
I'm now working on Book #2, Beach House: Continuing Adventures of a Real Estate Madam. I intend to write several more in the Niki Brooks series. I also intend to continue reading books on how to write books and I will remain involved in my writing groups to continue learning from other authors. I also intend to continue encouraging others to write their stories!

Whatever your motivation and whatever your measure of success might be, I encourage you to just do it!!




Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Are You a Crooked Tree?

 
One of my favorite ways to balance the demands and stress of life is to go for a brisk walk every day. I find that the quiet time alone with my thoughts, or listening to my playlist, gives me an opportunity to think, rejuvenate, or cry . . . depending on what is happening in my life at that particular time.

Every day on that walk, I pass this crooked tree. I walked by it for months, always noticing its unique formation, before it really hit me about how life is similar to this less-than-perfect tree. Although the tree is crooked, it is still very healthy and it still reaches for the sky.

I certainly feel that way about my life.

Many of you know a bit about the medical situation we are dealing with regarding our oldest daughter. After 22 years of leading a very normal, healthy and active life, she was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and has now had two emergency open heart surgeries within the past year. Her plans to leave for law school were put on hold as a result. The challenges we have faced as a family have put us on a crooked path for sure.

My daughter and this tree are now my inspiration to always be a fighter
and to always reach for the sky!
 
We may still lean a little and because of that some problems may feel heavier than usual, but we must always stay strong.
Just like this tree.

My daughter is now eight weeks post op her second surgery and receiving admission offers from top law schools all over the country! Instead of wallowing about her heart disease, which will now affect her every day of her life, she chose to embrace it and to focus on it as the topic of her application package personal statement. She wrote about how the challenge helped her to discover that she is much stronger than she ever knew before. She is just like the crooked tree, still reaching for the sky.
 
As a result of her medical challenges, I too had to put my life on hold and have therefore not been very active lately in my new writing career. But just like my daughter, and my crooked tree, I choose not to let things weigh me down. I am anxious to get back into the world of Niki Brooks and continue writing her latest adventure!
 
Whenever life throws me future challenges - and it will - I will forever think about my crooked tree, and my daughter,
and will continue to always reach for the sky!

Monday, March 10, 2014


I LOVE HARRY STYLES!!
 
Oh wait . . . that's Kristen Wiig . . . and I love her even more!

I've been a Lucille Ball fan since I can remember anything in my life. I watched her I Love Lucy show as a little girl with my mom and dad, as a teenager with my friends and now I watch it on DVD with my daughter! I'm sure I've watched every episode at least ten times! Lucy was by far the most talented comedic actress of her time - if not of all time. Perhaps until now . . .

Without sounding too creepy, I cannot get enough of Kristen Wiig! She is our modern day Lucy. 

What other 40-year old actress could pull off - with such ease and charm - impersonating a 20-something British boy band wonder??

I'm not even sure if Kristen's ignorance about Harry is sincere or planned! That's how good she is. Either way, the skit with Jimmy is hilarious and once again, showcases her comedy genius!

Like Lucy, Kristen has starred in both television and big screen productions. Like Lucy, she has a natural talent for clowning and physical comedy. Like Lucy, she will probably one day run her own major television or film studio!

BUT . . . Kristen is Kristen.

She has introduced us to her own unique characters who make us laugh - actually who make us pee our pants - have you seen her SNL skit playing Denise Von Trapp from the Sound of Music?! - and yet she brings warmth and sincerity to some of her more serious roles.

Kristen is just Kristen.
 
AND KRISTEN IS HILARIOUS!!

Who doesn't love to laugh? Laughter is the best medicine, right? That's why I wrote my book, "Cat House: Adventures of a Real Estate Madam." I want people to have something to laugh about at the end of stressful day. It's not a literary work of art. It's a story that will make you giggle. Hopefully, a lot.

So now I'm trying to introduce my book to Kristen. It's a perfect match.

If you haven't yet viewed my videos on You Tube "Six Degrees of Separation to Kristen Wiig," (or you can watch them right from this blog on my "Kristen Wiig" page) please do so and then tell everyone you know to watch them! I need her to read my book, write the screen play, and star as Niki!!

Not even because I want to make money, although that would be nice, I just want to see what she would do with it. Of course I think the story is already funny because I wrote it, but I'm sure Kristen would turn it into something uproarious! Ever watched Bridesmaids??

In fact, I think I'm going to go watch Bridesmaids right now. I've not kept track, but I think I've watched it (just in the past few years since it was released) as many times as I've watched the entire I Love Lucy show - during my lifetime!








Sunday, December 1, 2013

My first bookclub interview!

Just minutes before I arrived to meet with the ladies of the P.E.O, Chapter CP, book club, I still hadn't made up my mind on how much I would honestly reveal about where I got the ideas within my book!!
You know what they say - authors write what they know!
 
All I knew was the agony we sometimes go through as
real estate agents.
Everything else . . . I made up!!

I didn't know anything about running a clandestine call girl business! Or about what to do if you found a naked dead body handcuffed to a bed in a sleazy hotel room. I certainly had never shopped in a sex store for "business supplies" for a dominatrix! I had never played spy to know how to follow someone, only to watch her sneak into the front seat of Lexus in a dark, abandoned retail shopping center parking lot to join a man that wasn't her husband!! I'd never been arrested either and had no idea what personal belongings one could bring with them when reporting to the slammer!
 
When I started writing this story, I knew nothing about any of those things!!
 
I learned it all on
But the sweet ladies of the P.E.O., Chapter CP, book club were polite enough not to ask me if I had really ever done any of those things. They didn't ask if I had met my husband at the gas station, if I had ever had a real Crazy Kim neighbor, or an obnoxious ex-friend who made everything a competition. They didn't want to know if my real best friend is a gay, but macho-looking, Puerto Rican or if my husband is really as laid back as David. They didn't seem to care that maybe me, or someone I know, had a breast implant drain, or if I lie to my husband as easily as Niki lies to hers.
 
What they DID WANT TO KNOW was who each other's favorite - or least favorite - characters were, and why. They were curious to know how each might react in a similar "desperate people do desperate things" situation. They discussed at great length which of Niki's escapades was their favorite. I was intrigued, and sometimes, surprised to hear their various answers.
 
I enjoyed hearing their feedback, and answering their questions. But at one point I noticed one participant with a look of shock on her face only to find out that I might be causing a stir in Paradise Bakery (the location of the meeting), by nonchalantly talking about naked dead bodies, blow jobs, prostitution, and various characters named Pussy, Tall, Dark and Has Some, and Scrumptious! Oops! My story and characters are so real to me that I guess I now talk about it like its mainstream!
 
 
I am so grateful to the ladies of the P.E.O., Chapter CP, book club for reading my book, Cat House, Adventures of a Real Estate Madam! I sincerely appreciate your support and promise that if any of  you want to know anything else about my story ideas . . . just ask :)
 
 
But I still might not decide to be totally honest!!