Thursday, October 22, 2020

Lucy is Editing A SCONE OF CONTENTION #Writing

 LUCY BURDETTE: Not every stage of writing is as much fun as every other--not by a long shot. And the stages don't feel the same for every author. For me, the first draft is a monster. There's simply nothing to be done but slog forward with the word count, get feedback from trusted friends, and hope it all comes together in some magical way


And then comes the editorial letter and comments--that's where I am this week with A SCONE OF CONTENTION, the 11th Key West mystery, coming to a bookstore near you next summer. (This week, I learned that that the Crooked Lane team chose that for the new title--I love it! Another title had been selected first, but after mulling it over, I decided it was (a) too silly and (b) unrelated to the content of the book. So I begged for a change and my people agreed. Phew!) I will not bore you with the horrible details, but my computer failed last Thursday. I've only yesterday gotten it back so I can get to work. What did I do in the meanwhile? Bake cinnamon scones, which are featured in the book. (Recipe will come later...)

Anyway, back to edits. I feel very, very lucky to have scored Sandy Harding as my outside editor--she bought the series for NAL back in 2010. She understands the series, the characters, and the whole point of mysteries, cozier mysteries in particular. Here's a little example of a comment early in the manuscript next to the section where I described Hayley's new home--you'll see what I mean, she actually believes in the characters as I do. (If you can't read it, she said "This has been such a lovely description. I'm so glad she gets to live here!")



It's been such a horrible year between the pandemic and politics. So I adored writing this book, reliving some of my favorite places from our trip to Scotland last year and taking Hayley and her gang to visit. I have lots of work to do--mostly beefing up the murderer's motives so you believe that he or she is capable of the deadly deeds. But the comments all ring true so I know it will be stronger once I think and tweak. I will share the description that Sandy was referring to, so you can pretend you live on Hayley and Nathan's houseboat too...

I got up from my lounge chair on the teak deck and walked into our new houseboat, our home. Nathan and I had been living here two weeks and I still had to pinch myself to believe it was real. Though we’d spent months pouring over plans and many more months waiting for workers and materials to show up, the outcome was, in a word, stunning—without a whiff of flashy.

Our builder, Chris, had managed to secure Dade county pine lumber from a demolition project that now found a new life as my kitchen counters and drawers. He’d also managed to find Dave Combs, an amazing contractor and woodworker who helped to execute our dream to polished reality. At the deep end of the counter, he had built shelves where I lined up my pottery containers of baking supplies, and above that, vertical slats for my prettiest plates and, a little higher, a glass-fronted cabinet for the flowered blue china mugs and teapot that had been handed down from my grandmother’s kitchen. There was a separate shelf for my cookbooks and a gas stove on which every burner worked without coaxing or danger of explosion, and even a special cabinet that exactly fit the mammoth food processor that my mother-in-law had given us as a wedding present. From a wrought iron rack on the wall and ceiling over the stove hung an assortment of pots and pans, whisks, cheese grater boxes, and the other tools of my trade. 

Though I wrote food criticism for a living, I lived for feeding my family and friends. The new kitchen made that activity almost purely pleasurable. There were of course trade-offs that came automatically with living on a houseboat— neighbors were close by and the water all around us amplified every sound. That meant we shared our neighbors’ music, no matter the genre. And we heard every woof and meow from every furry resident. And space was at a premium. That meant that our bed, three steps up from the double oven at the end of the kitchen, was built into the wall of the bedroom with reasonable walk-in space only on his side and a smaller mattress than a well-muscled man might prefer. As newlyweds, we did not find this close proximity to be a drawback. And we loved waking up in the morning and looking out on our aqua blue watery world.


How about you Reds? Is there something you've read or written or worked on this year that has taken your mind off the horrors for a little bit of time?


And by the way, if you haven't yet read DEATH ON THE MENU (#8), or have a friend who might enjoy it--the ebook is on sale for $1.99

58 comments:

  1. Okay, I want Hayley’s kitchen . . . .
    [And now I want to read the rest of the story . . . .]

    Fortunately, I’ve had lots to read [thank you, ladies] and that helped a bit. And I’ve been baking . . . .

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  2. Sounds good. Looking forward to next year.

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  3. I’ve visited so many places and different time periods in books and have happily ignored the news while doing so. Now I’m looking forward to a houseboat in Key West. Although that bedroom sounds as cramped as the one in my husband’s camper.

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    1. Oh gosh Pat, I hope they don't get claustrophobic:). The good thing is I've imagined a sliding glass door for them that opens right from the bedroom to the little deck in back, so on nice days they can open things up...

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    2. Lucy, I wondered about the last sentence "... and looking out on our aqua blue watery world. " now, I understand.

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  4. Oh Lucy, I did not want that excerpt to end. I’m so glad Haley and Nathan are finally in their new home. It sounds wonderful. And, of course, I’m wondering how it works out for Miss Gloria living alone now. Does she eat with Haley and Nathan, or with Haley when Nathan working? The most exciting aspect of this new book for me has to be their trip to Scotland. I am so looking forward to that.

    Unfortunately, my reading has been way off this year. Had so much trouble focusing. I don’t want to think about how my reviewing has suffered. But, I am still reading as I can, and I have so many great books in my TBR pile.

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    1. thanks for the kind words Kathy. I'm only in the last month picking up reading a little bit. It's shocking when we're avid readers, isn't it? But all this will pass somehow, so don't worry about the reviewing!

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    2. Ironically, Kathy, reading is the only thing I have been able to do. I have 100 saved tv shows from last season, from my favorite series. I can hardly watch TV. That has been the most startling reaction to the pandemic on my end.

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    3. That’s very interesting! I bet a lot of people are the opposite, can’t read but can watch TV. I know it’s easier for me to watch

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  5. I love this excerpt, as always. One of my protagonists lives in a tiny house, which can't be much different in size than a houseboat, and it's fun thinking about all the clever ways builders have to fit things in.

    My writing has been a respite, too, Lucy. Even the hard parts. That I could escape into creating fictional worlds that will help others escape (next year) is really the only thing that kept me sane and going.

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    1. I know Edith, we have to grasp at straws. Good luck on your thumb!!! Hope you have some good TV shows lined up

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  6. I think that any time I'm engrossed in a book or magazine, a CD or a movie/TV show it takes my mind off anything going on in the real world.

    I think that might be part of why one of the ARCs I was sent recently for potential review turned me off so much. The book's plot was tied to the fixing of an election. It was just something extra that turned me off from the book. It's also why I'm not in favor of setting books in the middle of the pandemic. I deal with that enough in reality, I want my fiction to be the escape from all that.

    As for as writing for an escape, it does help turn off all the noise of what's going on when I have to focus on crafting a review. I might not be creating a fictional world but I still have to make a readable and coherent narrative for whatever it is I'm writing about in an article.

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  7. Anything that helps our focus on something other than the world is good! that's unfortunate timing about the election in the book...and I'm with you, no pandemic stories!

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  8. Your excerpt makes me want Hayley's kitchen and your next book, Lucy! As for my escapes, I continue to watch and rewatch all episodes in all ten seasons of The Great British Bakeoff; and I'm back to rereading my favourite childhood books -- the world was so much safer back then...at least in those favourite stories of mine.

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    1. thanks Amanda! Can you believe I've never watched The Great British Bakeoff? I will do that soon, thanks for reminding me.

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    2. We watch that show over and over too. But right now we are watching QI for an hour during dinner each night, rudely laughing with our mouths full. Pure escapism!

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    3. I've got to catch up on British Bake Off! I've read the new season is better than the last one. Lucy, I can't believe you haven't gotten hooked on that! that will take your mind off the pandemic and politics for an hour or two!

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  9. I am so eager to read your next book! The title is terrific and I love the excerpt. Keep us in the loop as you progress so we can all pre-order.

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  10. While I am behind on my reading goal for the year, reading and writing (first the second in my Homefront series and now the fifth in my Laurel Highlands series) has been a good distraction from reality - both the world outside my house and the stress of getting The Boy off to college and now helping him deal with the transition.

    The other thing we've done a lot of is search for houses, preferably ones that come with a lot of land. We have vague ideas of moving somewhere with mountains and lakes and no neighbors in the not so distant future. We'd just have to reconcile my ideas (a place to get away) with The Hubby's (he would want to sell our current home and make the new one a full-time place).

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    1. That’s plenty to think about Liz! I hope your son is doing OK at college. It’s such a hard time to make that transition

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  11. My reading has been on and off throughout the pandemic. But no matter what I'm reading, the act of reading is an escape for me. And I especially like it when that 'escape' is to a community of pleasurable characters, like Hayley and company. Y'all keep writing and we will all make it through this!

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    1. We will keep writing and depend on your optimism about getting through!

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  12. p.s., forgot to say that I love love love this title--perfect!

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    1. I had so many wonderful suggestions, but this one really works with the story besides being cute LOL

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  13. I wonder, from time to time, what it's like to live on a houseboat, though with two energetic dogs, it would be impossible. Love the kitchen description.

    I'm simultaneously working on two books and revising short stories from my reject pile, which take me to St. Francisville, New Orleans, and Cape Cod, all good escapes.

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    1. You are so smart to take this time to revise short stories. I saw recently that you had one accepted almost immediately, so congratulations on that

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  14. That's lovely, Lucy. I love the title and I'm longing to read A Scone of Contention and snag that recipe!

    I've found solace in cozy reading since the pandemic arrived. Although I break up my reading with darker themes and stories, the cozy always calls me back home. It's like balm for the soul. As a writer I've found my own story taking on a cozy edge that was unexpected and very comforting.

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    1. Fascinating about your story turning cozy without your intending it!

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  15. If it weren't for reading and raising a pandemic puppy, I'd have gone mad by now. I haven't been in a retail establishment in almost eight months now. Those hours each evening when I escape into whatever I'm currently reading are precious. At first I had trouble focusing, but now that part is over, and I just dig in, pulling the figurative covers over my head. Sergeant Pepper has moving into the family bed for the past two nights. He's a cuddle bunny, and Penny Lane is resigned to sharing her space. We'll survive this. Somehow.

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    1. A puppy does help! But after I brag to you yesterday about how well Lottie was sleeping, we had a very restless night last night. She may be worried about the election too

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  16. Love the title! And I've always enjoyed reading about the houseboats--all those clever ways to stow everything appeal to my sensed of order somehow. Looking forward to reading this book, dear Lucy/Roberta.

    My mind has been firmly future-oriented, as I plant another half dozen baby trees and shrubs around the property. It's astonishing what you can accomplish by digging holes and plunking plants into them. We just planted one of the two sour cherry trees I bought at the last week of the garden center for the season. It will give us shade, privacy, and pie/jam cherries. Someday. I'd been wanting a red buckeye tree, which is a native plant but not easy to find. A friend, out of the blue, asked me if I was interested in "some" red buckeye trees! He brought four of them, saplings he'd dug up and nurtured. One pot also includes two native oak trees, which was another nice surprise.

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    1. This is such a great project Karen! Something you can enjoy for years and years to come. Though I doubt you’ll want to look back on this period With fondness LOL

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    2. You know, I think I actually will, since we've accomplished so much this spring and summer. It's been very soothing, to look out at or walk among the newly planted beauty. We both are kind of amazed at how much we've done this year to turn a mudhole into an appealing and varied landscape. It's taken a lot of the sting out of the isolation, for both of us.

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    3. Karen, I love following along on all your projects!

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  17. What a great teaser. I can't wait to read the whole book.

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  18. Lucy, I adore the title! And the excerpt!! So excited that Hayley and Nathan are finally in their new home. I've always been fascinated by small living spaces, house boats, canal boats, tiny houses, tree houses. I loved Gemma's garage apartment in my first few books. It was so neat and cozy.

    I'm having a hard time reading or watching anything very dark these days, so am really looking forward to your book. We binge-watched Emily in Paris the last couple of weekends, so now need to look for something else fun.

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    1. Oh I’m glad you enjoyed Emily in Paris, as it’s on our list. I wondered if it might be too silly.

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  19. Houseboats have always fascinated me. A friend of mine vacations on one every year up at Lake Powell. I love Hayley and Nathan and I think it's such an achievement to get them to Scotland from Key West. Bravo! I can't wait to read The Scone of Contention (fabulous title)!

    I've really struggled to find a distraction this year. Thankfully, a friend recommended Jodi Taylor's The Chronicles of St. Mary's and I am working my way through that series, forcing myself to slow down so I don't run out of books.

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  20. Always such a nice escape to read about Hayley! I love imagining living on a houseboat, too. But I am a little confused - is this the book where they have honeymooned in Scotland? Or have I missed a book? I would hate to have missed one.

    It seems like all I do is read, but that's not a bad thing, is it. Housework is piling up but that doesn't worry me too much - it will still be there tomorrow!

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    1. This is the one where they go to Scotland. But the book starts out in Key West and ends up there too!

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  21. Great title, I want that recipe. Actually I want to try baking anything again. I haven't turned the oven on since the move. And Harley gets her dream kitchen, sigh. I find I'm not crocheting like normal. (Normal? Is that correct? Oh well.) I started a new scarf but haven't touched it in a week. Reading is the definite escape.

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  22. Such a great title! You've done a lovely job imagining a special place for Hayley and Nathan to live.

    I was thinking, just last night, that these days I'm happiest when I'm living in fictional places, either reading or writing about them. Deep Ellum, of course, is a favorite, as is the Hill Country around Austin. Just recently I've been revisiting Rana Station, the space habitat where my sister, Jan S. Gephardt, sets her books.

    And you know what? That dang Deborah Crombie has done it again. After years of gentle nudging she finally talked me into buying a Kindle. "Amazon Prime Day will have some great deals. This is the model I have and I love it." So I bought the Kindle. And then it was "I've discovered this wonderful writer called Jules Wake. You'll love her rom-coms." Now, for more than a week, I've been mainlining rom-coms by Jules Wake and thoroughly enjoying myself. It doesn't hurt that they're set in the theatre world of London, or lovely little villages in the Cotswolds. They're funny and fun, and fast reads, and ever so much more interesting than the year-end report I have to turn in to the City of Dallas about how we had to cancel half our concerts. Thanks, Debs!

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    1. Deb definitely is a good guide for finding new authors. Everyone she has recommended to me had been incredible. The latest, Mark Pryor. OMG. We found his first Hugo Marstan book at our library. Irwin and I read many of the same books. He read it first and said I had to put everything else aside and read that one. Wow. Wonderful.

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    2. Debs has the eye for talent, that's for sure.

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  23. Couldn't agree more about St. Sandy of Harding! As my agent (and a wonderful agent she is!), she also does double duty with her terrific editorial suggestions. Plus, she's super nice.

    To keep myself distracted from EVERYTHING GOING ON OUT THERE, I pretty much never stop reading mysteries, ranging from cozies (heartfelt plug here for your latest, THE KEY LIME CRIME) to Golden Age classics (Lord Peter and Harriet Vane, anyone?)to modern masters like Tana French (OMG, The Searcher). And if you haven't read it, heartily recommend The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman -- absolutely charming.

    I'm also going to get started on Book 3 of the Cape Cod Foodie mysteries, which is set in the summer (yay!). In my head I'll be swimming and sailing and lusting after the local harbormaster and making blueberry buckle. And I guess there will have to be a murder in there somewhere...

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Amy. And for our jungle red family, you’ll be meeting Amy and her debut novel in January!

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  24. Lucy, sorry I'm late to the party again. Love the title Scone of Ccntention. I look forward to meeting Nathan's sister Vera.

    Reading has been my great escape during the pandemic.

    Diana

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  25. Ohhhh, Lucy. You are fabulous. I am so late to this--but I found Elly Griffiths! And Andrew Wilson. Yes, it's all the more reason to keep writing. xx

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