Trendspotting

ROBERTA: If anyone is worse than me at spotting trends early--fashion or otherwise--I'd like to know her. Even if I see a fashion trend coming, the wagon will have left the station by the time I considering piling on. Let's take leggings for example; I've waited so long to embrace this trend that I think it may be coming around for the third or fourth time before I ever try a pair on. Facebook? I protested this as a useless time sink for years before I finally signed up--one of the last holdouts I suspect. Trends in publishing? Don't I wish I'd thought of writing about vampires in the early days along with Charlaine Harris. Or at least piled on while the idea was still catching fire. But no, I study my daily Publishers Marketplace emails, in awe of all the high concepts that wouldn't have occurred to me in a million years.

So what's the secret to spotting trends Jungle Red Writers? Are you good at it? Can you give me some tips? If not, tell us a story about what you missed!

HALLIE: Don't ask me! Three years ago I was telling people to forget about writing vampire mysteries. It would be so passe a few years hence. Not.

RHYS: I think some people are born with the trend gene. My daughter was one step ahead of fashion all the way through high school. When I was in London in the swinging sixties (doesn't that date me?) I was right up there with Mary Quant--dress up to my thighs like a British flag and white plastic boots with windows in the side. Since I left the entertainment biz and got married I've never tried to keep up and frankly I don't miss it. I know what suits me and am content. Funnily enough my daughters look at pictures of me and can't believe that I threw away clothes that are now fashionable again!

ROBERTA: OH man, Rhys, wish we could have seen you in the British flag and those boots!

HANK: Pleeeze. In 1980, I got a phone call from a guy who was working on a start up company. At the time,I was the anchor of the weekend news for the NBC affiliate and thought I was hot stuff. This guy showed me the new offices, and told me he wanted me to be the Los Angeles bureau chief of this new news organization they were putting together. But I was truly a trendspotter,so I knew it was doomed to failure.
No thanks,I said. Miss Know It All.
Afterwards I said to a pal--can you imagine? They think they can show news for 24 hours a day? No way. They're nuts.
Yup, CNN.

ROBERTA: Ouch, that one hurts, Hank. But just think, maybe you wouldn't have met Jonathan, nor would you know all of us:).

HANK: Oh, exactly! NO regrets. More hilarious, I had a news director who came into the office in 1975 with a yellow plastic thing. I said--what's that? He said--"It's called a 'videocassette.' They say videotape is going to replace film. But don't worry. It'll never last."

JAN: I actually think I'm a pretty good trend spotter. I picked up that Financial News was going to become big, back in late 1970s. So I jumped in. The bad news was that I got bored and jumped out in 1986 (Okay to have a baby) just when financial news really took off.

I find that a lot. I spot a trend, but too early. And then if you want to jump back in, it's too late.

But I think all of us spot a trend from time to time, just not ALL the TIME, or the EXACT right trend that would profit us best at the moment.

RO: Clueless when it comes to trends, especially clothing. If I'm wearing something that's in fashion it's probably an accident. I realized in the fourth grade that I'd never be fast enough to keep up with them so I took a pass. I see pictures of myself from high school or my twenties and think...I would still wear that - and sometimes do! That doesn't keep me from buying InStyle magazine, my favorite guilty pleasure airport magazine to which I now subscribe. I like knowing what the trends are but rarely want to wear them myself.

My notable non-fashion, clueless moment was when my former boss told me he'd forged a relationship with the WWF, the World Wrestling Federation, to distribute their videos. I thought, jeez, wrestling? That'll last a year and he'll be stuck with videos of Hillbilly Jim and Junkyard Dog. He made a ton of dough, wrestling is still going strong, and Hillbilly Jim was one of the nicest guys I met in the video business. What do I know?

ROBERTA: Okay Jungle Red readers, do you have the trend-spotting gene? And what have you missed?

Don't forget to come back often this week--we'll have three visitors: a comic strip artist/writer, the author of TRUE CONFECTIONS, and advice for empowering creativity. And we'll be talking books, books, books...

Nancy Drew and...?

HALLIE: There it is on the best seller list: "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." It begins: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”

Brilliant blasphemy! If only I'd thought of it. Listening to author Seth Grahame-Smith on the radio, I was not surprised to learn that the book was his editor's brain child– he’d been noodling around with lists of classic book titles and, I assume, creatures, until BINGO: P&P and Zombies.

Trying to recreate his process, here's my list of titles (and some main characters) and creatures, and I started tyring to pair them up and realized this is not as easy as it looks. Nancy Drew and...Oompaloompas? How would you pair these up--or come up with your own title/creature pairing...(look down...can't seem to get rid of this big fat space below here)

TITLES 1984 Cherry Ames David Copperfield Don Quixote Ellery Queen Hercule Poirot Gone with the Wind The Great Gatsby The Hardy Boys Huckleberry Finn Sherlock Holmes Jane Eyre Little Women Nancy Drew Madame Bovary The Maltese Falcon Miss Marple Moby Dick Moll Flanders Nero Wolfe The Odyssey Oliver Twist Rebecca Robinson Crusoe The Scarlet Letter The Three Musketeers To Kill a Mockingbird Wuthering Heights The Valley of the Dolls War and Peace (Your choice)

CREATURES Anacondas Death eaters Demons Devils Dragons Fairies Ghosts The Jabberwock Jugglers Leprechauns Monsters Mutants Mummies Ninjas Oompaloompas Pirates Poltergeists Robots Samurai Sneetches Shape shifters Space aliens Succubi Trolls Tribbles Triffids Vampires Velocaraptors Werewolves Witches (Your choice)

Do you love it? Hate it? What would you pair up? Best pairing wins a prize!

On Charlie's Angels--On Steroids

Rarely does an author make such an impact in such a short span of time."
~Romantic Times Magazine

HANK: Charlie's Angels on steroids.

Can't you instantly picture it? And now you can read all about them in Jordan Dane's brand new book in her brand new SWEET JUSTICE series--EVIL WITHOUT A FACE.

You all know the scoop on Jordan: her three "No One" debut suspense novels came out back to back in 2008. They're suspenseful, gritty, intriguing--and darkly humorous. If you like Allison Brennan, and Carla Neggers, and Lisa Gardner (and who doesn't...?), Dane's books are right up your(dark and dangerous) alley.

But for all of her wild success, Jordan's ascent to bestsellerdom was not quick. Not easy. And she still seems a little--amazed by it all. Which is part of her charm.

She doesn't make a plot outline. She used to work in the oil and gas field. (Ask her what her motto was.) She and I both adore the very generous Sharon Sala. Jordan wrote her first book in--well, you won't believe how long it took her.

***And here are the magic words: Three winners! Jordan has graciously offered to give away three copies of EVIL WITHOUT A FACE to be chosen at random from those who leave a comment! Thanks, Jordan.

HANK: So, Jordan. Can you believe it?

JD: Hell, no. I feel like that kid who crawled under the tent at the circus to get in. Someone is going to find me and kick me out. This whole thing has been surreal like it’s happening to someone else. There were so many roads not taken too. I had turned down the first agent offer because it didn’t “feel” right. And I also turned down the first book offer that would have split up my first debut series. Very strange how things happen. That’s why I feel it’s so important for an author to follow their gut and believe in their voice.

HANK: Your books are so fast-paced, such page-turners, so tension-filled and exciting. I picture you at your desk, typing as fast as humanly possible, the stories and dialogue pouring out. Is that how it happens?

JD: Yes, that’s exactly how it happens. NOT! In reality I’m a nit picky editor of my own work (some might say compulsive) and I painstakingly choose each word as if my life depended on it. And with each new book I learn more about craft and about myself. Some parts of any book seem to flow easily while others are like giving birth to a bowling ball. Ouch! I wrote my debut book – NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM – in six weeks while I was on medical leave after major surgery.

During my medical leave from my work in the energy industry, I was whizzing through three fully edited chapters a week, but I had time to think through the story and knew where I wanted to go, even though there were two complex plots woven into this story. (Since I don’t plot, this was a challenge, but I like challenges. Bring it on, sista!) I now write full time and retired early from my energy job, but the writing process doesn’t get any easier. I find that my mind never shuts off. I’m always working.

HANK: When people say wow, overnight success! Do you howl with laughter? Or just howl?

JD: I’m prone to howling in general, but yes.

The phrase—overnight success—usually induces a chuckle or two. I first got the idea to write a book in 2003 after being an avid reader for years. Writing had been a passion since I was a kid too. And for three and a half years—until I sold in June 2006—I wrote every night for three hours and longer on weekends, doing two jobs at one time. (My debut book was actually only the second suspense book I had written and my fourth manuscript.)

I joined writers’ groups, both online and local. And I attended writers’ conferences, submitted proposals to agents and publishing houses, and I entered national writing contests. I worked my writing like a business, a very serious endeavor.

I had gotten to the point of telling myself that if I never sold, I would still write because I had to. It had become a part of who I was and improved my quality of life so much. I had tapped into a creative side of my life that I had forgotten, but now didn’t want to let go. I wrote because I had to. Thank God Avon made an honest woman out of me.

HANK: So--tell all about the Sweet Justice series!

JD: I abso-friggin-lutely love this new thriller series – Sweet Justice. The initial idea came from my fascination with the way criminals have gotten smarter in how they perpetrate crimes. They’ve taken to online criminal acts and gone more anonymous and thus have become harder to prosecute when their crimes overlap law enforcement jurisdictions. I thought I could empower the reader to wield sweet justice through the lives of the three women in my new thriller series.

And the idea behind these three women came from a conversation I had with my editor who mentioned Charlie’s Angels. I told her I couldn’t see me doing Charlie’s Angels unless I did it my way. Charlie’s Angels on STEROIDS! I also liked the idea of writing a series about three very different women.

Jessie Beckett is my bounty hunter who operates a little outside the law. Her childhood friend and voice of conscience is Sam Cooper who is an ambitious vice cop. And Alexa Marlowe is my international operative with a mysterious past who lives life on the edge. Alexa will eventually tempt Jessie with the idea of wielding justice her own way, by utilizing the vast resources of her employer, the Sentinels. Their covert organization is comprised of wealthy and powerful vigilantes who aren’t restricted by international borders or by the law. Jessie, Sam, and Alexa will give Lady Justice a whole new reason to wear blinders. And their brand of justice will be anything but sweet.

HANK: I can just hear the announcer saying that! Thanks, Jordan.

Now: Jordan takes the Jungle Red Quiz:

Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot?
I’d take Miss Marple for shots of tequila and see if she’d jump on the bar and put the ugly back in Coyote.

Sex or violence?
Always sex. Except for Dirty Harry, who would pick violence?

Pizza or chocolate?
Although these are both food groups for me, I’d have to go with chocolate because you don’t have to wait 30 minutes or less.

Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan?
You’re killing me here. Pierce for his humor and the wicked twinkle in his eye, but Daniel for his speedo.

Facebook or MySpace?
Oh, man. People are going to kill me here. I’d choose Facebook for fun. Myspace has all my crazy fringe dwellers there, but the code is complicated sometimes.

Katharine Hepburn or Audrey Hepburn?
Katharine, definitely.

Your favorite non-mystery book?
Stephen King’s Gunslinger series, his earlier books that he wrote in college.

Favorite book as a kid?
I was thinking about this just the other day. I can’t remember the name but it was a fantasy with a flying horse. I was really into westerns too. Anything with a horse in it.

Making dinner or making reservations?
Reservations, definitely. I would have reservations about cooking. Are you kidding me?

And now, the Jungle Red Big Lie. Tell us four things about you that no one knows. Only three can be true. We'll guess which one is false!

I rode in a school bus onto the frozen Bering Sea, above the Arctic Circle.

I was a volleyball coach for a Junior Olympics team in California during the 80s.

I have a tattoo.

I have the complete video collection for Adrian Paul’s Highlander TV series.

Don't forget to say hello (or guess the quiz Big Lie answer)for **your chance at a free book!

Thanks, Jordan!

(And anyone remember the book wth the flying horse?)

Friday: queries about query letters? Wendy Burt-Thomas explains it all to us. And will answer your questions!