Mulitple Points of View by Jenn McKinlay

First, we have a contest winner! Gail Donovan chose Gillian B as the winner of her book, Sparrow Always. Congrats, Gillian!!! You can contact Julia at juliaspencerfleming at gmail dot com to connect with Gail!!!

JENN McKINLAY: I recently did a summer reading event at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore with the fabulous authors Christina Estes and Allison Brennan. We talked about our upcoming books (naturally) but also what we're reading. You can watch the chat here:

Poisoned Pen Summer Reading Reccomendations

During the Q&A portion following our chat, a male reader asked how we felt about multiple points of view (not one or two but MULTIPLE) in novels. Did we use them? How did we manage it? And while Allison, is currently writing a book with something like nine points of view, I don't think I've ever attempted more than two. But the conversation did get me wondering if I could write more than one or two and how would that look. I have no idea. I'm still wrapping my head around it.

So I turn to you, Reds, to ask what’s the most POVs you’ve ever written? How did you manage it? And do you enjoy multiple POV as a reader?

HALLIE EPHRON: the most I’ve done is 2 viewpoints. And not until I was several books in and felt confident managing one. 

I’m reading a book now with 5 viewpoints and multiple timelines and nearly gave up several times when it felt as if I had to take notes to keep the characters and events straight. Make it hard to follow the narrative and you risk losing readers.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I love love love multiple POVs (when they work) and “when they work” means I have no trouble keeping track of the people or the situation AND that they propel the story forward instead of slowing it down. I love the dramatic irony it provides when the reader knows something the character doesn't.

Two seems logical for me, and many of my books have two. (Not the current one though, or the new one. Or the one after that. Hmmm.)

I think multiple PV in multiple timelines is a juggle only for the most proficient. (The Time Traveler's Daughter, yikes, but SO good!) 

Bottom line, I'm realizing that if the author can pull it off, it can be terrific. Interesting that on TV or in movies, it’s usually no problem. Because we can see the character and the setting, and don't have to imagine it or figure it out. 

I’m starting a book now that has five. We shall see.

RHYS BOWEN: I quite enjoy both reading and writing multiple points of view. In Farleigh Field had 5 I believe. But as Hank says it has to be done well or it’s jarring to be snatched back and forth, or, worse still, not know which time period we are in ( I’ve read a few of those)

LUCY BURDETTE: Most of my books have been in first person with one point of view. My break from that came with the suspense standalone, UNSAFE HAVEN. In that book I used three POV in third person, with occasional short chapters from the bad guy. (My agent hated those chapters so I cut them down!) It’s funny to me that I had to go back and browse through the book to remember what I did. 

I don’t like the whiplash of being jerked around from character to character if the writing isn’t done well, but it can surely be effective. I’m reading HEARTWOOD by Amity Gaige right now–it has several POV written in different ways, plus some press releases and diary entries. It took a few chapters to get into it, and I strongly prefer one of the characters, but it’s quite gripping. Have you all read this one?

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I’ve always used multiple viewpoints, and I’d pull my hair out if I had to look back through in all my books and count them. Suffice to say, I think the book-in-progress has eight so far. Of course, Gemma and Duncan are the main POVs, but I love using multiples to show the readers the things that they can’t see. And to develop the other primary characters, like Kit, Melody, and Doug.

Oops, I just thought of two I left out, so make that ten viewpoints! I hope they won’t be too hard for the reader to follow.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Count me in on the multiple POV side! I only used two for my debut novel - the hero and heroine - but I quickly got hooked on the storytelling delights of switching narrators. Since Debs and I compared ourselves last week when talking about branding, let me continue the comparison. 

We both write about communities with many members the readers have come to know and love, and our mysteries usually involve a relatively wide geographic area, with lots of different sorts of people who have specialized knowledge. In Debs’ case, it might be a pub keeper, in mine a worker at a dairy parlor. This is exactly the sort of fiction that calls for multiple POVs. Which means when you have ten or eight narrating characters, it seems natural, and not a gimmick the author is using to create suspense.

How about you, Readers? Do you enjoy MULTIPLE points of view when you read or not so much?

I'm in a pickle...I hope!

 JENN McKINLAY: Anyone who follows me on the socials knows that this year I decided to lean all the way into gardening trowel first. Usually, I have flower pots and a sunflower patch, containers of tomatoes and peppers, and a seasonal herb garden, but this year, I went a little overboard. We now have two raised beds with sunshades and plans for two more. Mornings are spent in my pajamas, drinking my coffee and talking to my crops. 

It has been a bountiful year for zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and shishito peppers, while the eggplant and pole beans quit on me. Now it seems it's the cucumbers time to shine and I am pretty thrilled as I love me a good pickle. Of course, I've never made pickles before so I'm also a tad nervous. This is where anyone who reads this is successful with pickles give me advice in the comments!

Of course while contemplating my future pickles, I went full librarian and had to do some research on facts about pickles because...the more you know. So, here are some little tidbits that I thought I'd share.

• Pickles have been around since ancient times. Some believe the first pickle was created in Mesopotamia in 2400 B.C.E. Others believe it was as early as 2030 B.C.E.
• Ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra claimed pickles made her beautiful (although, there is some pushback on the accuracy of this tidbit).
• When the Philadelphia Eagles thrashed the Dallas Cowboys in the brutal heat of September 2000, the players attributed their win to one thing: guzzling down immense quantities of ice-cold pickle juice.
• The phrase “in a pickle” was first introduced by Shakespeare in his play, The Tempest. The quotes read, “How cam’st thou in this pickle?” and “I have been in such a pickle.”
• Sweet pickles are made by soaking dill pickles in strong Kool-Aid and are very popular in parts of Mississippi.
• You can hear the crunch of a good pickle at 10 paces.
• In Connecticut in order for a pickle to officially be considered a pickle, it must bounce. (I'm from CT and I did not know this).
• The majority of pickle factories in America ferment their pickles in outdoor vats without lids leaving them subject to insects and bird droppings! But there’s a reason. According to food scientists, the sun’s direct rays prevent yeast and molds from growing in the brine. (I don't think I needed to know this).
• Pickling vegetables not only improves their flavor, it can also make them more nutritious and easier to digest. During fermentation, bacteria produce vitamins as they digest vegetable matter.
• The Department of Agriculture estimates that the average American eats 8.5 lbs of pickles a year. (I fear I might be consuming more than my share--no regrets!).

For more info, check out:

https://www.history.com/articles/pickles-history-timeline

So, Reds and Readers, who are the pickle fans among us? What's your favorite type of pickle?

Research 101: a.k.a. Learning to Kill (on paper!) by Allison Brennan

Jenn McKinlay: Last week I had the very good fortune to sign books at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore with the extremely talented Allison Brennan. Of course, I asked her to visit us and she very graciously agreed. So here she is to talk about the warm and fuzzy topic of writing what we know or rather what we don't know.

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Allison Brennan: Later this year, I’m presenting a workshop titled How Can I Write What I Know When I Haven’t Killed a Man?

It’s a fair question. Especially when writers are constantly told: “Write what you know.”

Well, if I only wrote what I knew? My books would be mind-numbingly dull. I’m a mom. A daughter. A wife. You know—like millions of women. I once worked in the California State Legislature, which sounds more exciting than it was. (Spoiler: it wasn’t.) I went to a college prep high school, dropped out of college after two years, and my first job was at a bookstore, where I had to prove I could alphabetize and make change. I've also been a bartender, admin, hostess, a waitress for roughly two minutes (I was terrible), and spent a summer at Marine World learning how carnival games work—yet still couldn’t win a single one.

 The truth is: if you're writing crime, thrillers, or suspense, you cannot rely on television for research. Just because a fictional FBI agent tracks a suspect cross-country doesn’t mean the real FBI lets agents hopscotch around the country like Jason Bourne on a road trip. (Yes, I made that mistake once.)

 Some authors do write from specialized experience—doctors writing about doctors, veterans writing military thrillers. It adds a layer of authenticity that’s hard to fake. Tess Gerritsen made Maura Isles come alive with her medical background. John Grisham nails courtroom drama. Tom Clancy practically was a submarine. And Jack Carr? Real-deal Navy SEAL turned bestselling author.

 But here’s the thing: Tess had never been a cop, and she still gave us Jane Rizzoli. Lisa Gardner has never been a man, but writes in the male POV quite well. And I’m reasonably certain Gregg Hurwitz has never moonlighted as a government assassin. (But if he has...I take it back. Great job. Very convincing.)

 So no, I’ve never killed a man. But I have a vivid imagination. And if I can picture it? I can write it.

 And I’ve pictured some very fun, er, interesting, um, diabolical … well, let’s just say my husband definitely doesn’t want to get on my bad side,

 Let me introduce you to my best friend: The Book of Poisons. That book has helped me off more characters than I care to count.

 Back when I was writing my second novel—my debut wasn’t even published yet—I needed to figure out how to sabotage a car so it would break down after only a few miles of driving. This was before Google answered all of life’s weirdest questions. So I called mechanics in my town.

 “Hi, I’m Allison Brennan. I’m writing a novel. What could I put in a car’s gas tank to make it stall a few miles down the road?”

 Shockingly, no one answered my question. Instead, they hung up. I suppose I’m lucky they didn’t call the cops.

 Desperate, I brought it up at my niece’s baptism (as one does), and my brother-in-law said, “Hey, my buddy’s a mechanic. Let me grab him.”

 Five minutes later, I’m pitching this mechanic my scene, explaining that sugar doesn’t quite work unless the gas is low. He nods and says, “You want to clog the fuel filter. That’ll do it.”

 We brainstorm. He suggests molasses—heavy, slow, perfect for settling at the bottom of the tank and causing problems right on cue. Boom. Sabotaged car. Kidnapping scene secured.

 Perfect.

 Since then, I’ve:

 * Observed an autopsy.

* Played both hostage and bad guy during FBI SWAT training.

* Toured Quantico.

* Done countless ride-alongs.

* Interviewed experts about everything from blood spatter to bomb tech.

 All to make my stories more authentic—even if I’m still making stuff up for a living.

 My latest book, Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds, is my 49th novel. It’s a little lighter than my usual thrillers (read: fewer corpses, no blood), but the research was still essential—especially since I’d never been to the Caribbean.

 In the first draft, I had my characters taking a hot air balloon ride. Very romantic. Except... there are no hot air balloons on Caribbean islands. At all. I researched how they work, and realized there’s a very good, very scientific reason they’re not floating around out there. I’ve since forgotten what it is—but the balloons had to go.

 Then there’s the fictional island of St. Claire, where my protagonist Mia Crawford is sent on a mandatory vacation. I made a rough map to help with continuity. Then midway through the book, I hit a problem: a scene required Mia to hike from point A to point B, but there was no path. I panicked. My entire mountain-trekking sequence was ruined.

 Until I remembered: St. Claire isn’t real. I made it up. I can put a path anywhere I want.

 Waterfall too far north? Slide it south. Boom. Problem solved. Magic of fiction.

 Now, I have made mistakes. Some on purpose, for the sake of the story. Others? Honest goofs. Like the nurse who emailed me to say she threw my book across the room because I miscalculated a Valium dose by about... 500%. Whoops.

 The thing is, we don’t know what we don’t know. That’s why research matters. But I try not to let my research show. It should be invisible. Seamless. If readers are too busy noticing my fun and clever facts, they’re not fully immersed in my story.

 My rule of thumb? Willing suspension of disbelief.

 If the characters are compelling and the story is gripping, readers will go along for the ride—even if a detail is a little off.

 That said… if I were to plan a murder, I’d want to do it right.

 I mean, I’d want my characters to get away with it. Definitely just my characters. Wink wink. (Ha! Just kidding! In case the NSA or someone is reading this …)

So tell me: Do you appreciate when authors get the research right? And are you willing to overlook a few missteps if the story's too good to put down?

 

Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author best known for her Quinn & Costa FBI thrillers and the Lucy Kincaid series. She lives in Arizona with her family and assorted pets. Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds is her 49th novel.

Stories are the Spice of Life by Leslie Budewitz

 JENN MCKINLAY: One of our favorite writers Leslie Budewitz is with us today and she has a delightful post about the joys of traveling through the written word and how it inspired her latest. LAVENDER LIES BLEEDING.

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LESLIE BUDEWITZ: One of the joys of reading is armchair travel, right? You get to visit a place you’ve never been, or return to a place you’ve loved, with the author. Maine, with Julia. Key West, with Lucy. England – and France, Italy, and even Australia, oh and New York City – with Rhys.

 

With me, it’s Montana, where I was born and raised and still live. And Seattle, where I went to college and lived and worked as a young lawyer. I fell in love with Pike Place Market at eighteen, not long after the voters saved it from “urban removal.” Fun and funky, it was, and thanks to those voters and the historic preservation district they created, it retains its charms.

 

If, like me, you think of cobblestones, flying fish, and tales of the long-dead, top-hatted market master dancing in the upper windows of the Economy Building charming.

 

With the 9^th book, Lavender Lies Bleeding, coming out next week, I’ve been remembering a few of my favorite discoveries about the city, from living there and from researching and writing about the place. (I always say that by research, I mean eat, but as my research assistants, my BFF and Mr. Right, can attest, it also means walking. A LOT.)

 

One of the first things you see when you walk into the Market at First and Pike is Rachel, the four-foot-high bronze pig and Market mascot. She’s a piggy bank, of course, as well as a photo opp, and all the money deposited in her goes to the Market foundation for community services—emergency loans to vendors, the senior center, and more.

 

On one visit, Mr. Right and I were snooping around – with my sketchbook as my excuse, I’ll go down any ramp, hallway, or staircase in the Market. We came around a corner and saw a store room, its door open. And inside?

 

Spare pigs.

 

Big ones and little ones. On all fours like Rachel, or seated. Bronze or silver toned.

 

Turns out the spare pigs are often displayed in the Market itself. But they also travel, to pop-up Farmers’ Markets around downtown and to other regional markets and events.

 

I love public art, and it’s everywhere in the Market. These tile figures outside the restrooms at the foot of the stairs just behind the main entrance evoke the Market’s early years—it was founded in 1907 and is the oldest continuously-operating farmers’ market in the country. So when I needed a spot for a confrontation in Lavender Lies Bleeding, that staircase and these figures popped to mind.

 

Along with the cattle ramp—and Market staff confirmed to me that it was once used to bring cattle and pigs, Rachel’s flesh-and-bacon ancestors, into the Market. I first discovered it while location scouting with my BFF, and finally had a chance to use it in Lavender.

 

In my student days, I loved exploring the city’s neighborhoods. I still do, and try to take Pepper to a different one in each book. She often returns to her childhood home, where her BFF, Kristen, now lives, on Capitol Hill. In The Solace of Bay Leaves, she visits the adjacent neighborhood called Montlake. One rainy summer day, my BFF and her teenage daughter spent an afternoon sipping coffee and wandering Montlake’s streets and parks, looking for exactly the right spot for Pepper’s old frenemy, Maddie, to get into trouble. We found it—and I just managed to avoid backing into a car while taking a picture.

 

The Fremont neighborhood, probably the city’s funkiest, proudly declares itself the Center of the Universe, and since no one can prove otherwise, the King County Council officially agreed. I explored it on the pages of To Err is Cumin—a bakery I remember fondly, an underground vintage mall where Pepper finds clues in old treasures, and the Sunday Market where vendors and growers hawk their wares and bicyclists ride wearing only body paint, helmets, and shoes. Which catches Pepper quite by surprise when she finds herself taking an unexpected swim in the Ship Canal that runs through Fremont and is rescued by a pair of men in green and blue and nothing else.

 

The Market’s Flower Ladies have always made me smile. Mostly Hmong, they grow incredible blooms that always draw attention, even from visitors who can’t take a bouquet home. The action in Lavender Lies Bleeding goes between the Market and Salmon Falls, a farm town outside the city that is home to several Flower Ladies and to Pepper’s vendor pal, Lavender Liz. I got to weave together what I’d seen in the Market over the years with my experience living in a rural community, to create a new place that lives only on the page. We can call it Story Land.

 

After all, as I’ve learned after all these years with Pepper and the Spice Shop crew, stories are the spice of life.

 

Readers, where have you been on the page lately, and what did you discover about the setting that surprised or delighted you? Tell us the book and author, too, if you can, so we can enjoy a little armchair travel with you.

Lavender Lies Bleeding (Seventh St. Books, July 15, in pb, ebook, and audio)

Pepper Reece, owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market, is shocked when vandals destroy the greenhouse at her friend Liz Giacometti’s lavender farm. But then Liz is killed, and Pepper digs in to solve the crimes. As her questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

 

Leslie Budewitz writes the Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers' Village mysteries, set in fictional Jewel Bay, Montana, based on the small town where she lives. As Alicia Beckman, she writes standalone suspense set in Montana and the NW. Her latest books are Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop mystery, and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection. A national best-seller and three-time Agatha Award winner, Leslie believes that stories are the spice of life. 

 

Read excerpts and more, and find buy links, at www.LeslieBudewitz.com

Thrift is a Gift by Jenn McKinlay

 JENN McKINLAY: For those who know one of my pen names -- Josie Belle, author of the Good Buy Girls mysteries -- you are likely aware that I am a thrifter of the first order. I have a really difficult time paying full price for anything because why would I? 

Do I enjoy nice things? Of course. But I refuse to pay for them. My cousin the Cornell/Yale educated economist is delighted when I show him my latest "bougie thrift" find. If you ever see me with a designer anything, rest assured, I found it at an estate sale, a thrift store, or a consignment shop, and I got it for at least 75% off. I like to think it's my way of keeping things out of landfills and giving new life to cherished items. Also, there is simply no greater feeling than to know you scored something in mint condition for a tenth of its original (ridiculous) price. 

How about you, Reds and Readers? Are you thrifty or no? And if you do score something awesome, are you like me and compelled to brag should anyone be foolish enough to show the least bit of interest in said item?

Also, for those of you who are as thrifty as me, I am sharing Barnes & Noble's upcoming 25% off pre-order sale with the Reds' upcoming books (in order of release date) with PRE-ORDER links because THRIFT IS A GIFT! This is a very limited time only sale as it ends on 7/11 but if you're a B&N patron, it's a sweet deal just be sure to use the code: PREORDER25

AUGUST:

PRE-ORDER 

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SEPTEMBER:

PRE-ORDER

OCTOBER:

PRE-ORDER

NOVEMBER:

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Lucy Burdette Muses About a Long Mystery Series

 

LUCY BURDETTE: Today is the day that the paperback copy of A POISONOUS PALATE, Key West mystery #14, hits bookshelves. The ebook is also on sale through July 11. (And of course, THE MANGO MURDERS is coming on August 12.) Who knew the series would go this long? Not me!

To celebrate this milestone, I decided to share some thoughts about a topic I wrestle with every time I begin a new book: How to keep this long series fresh. I know that series readers (including me!) like to read about familiar characters and places. This can be a comfortable place to retreat when the world feels so scary and unpredictable. But I don’t want to be bored and I sure don’t want to bore you. I have some ideas about what keeps me reading--the sleuth's stake in the mystery, the characters growing and changing, interesting layers in a familiar setting. Here are some examples...

When beginning a book, I start by thinking about Hayley’s stake in getting mixed up in murder. Since she’s a food critic, not a cop, she has no legitimate reason for crime solving—being nosy isn’t enough. So how do I make sure readers find her believable? In the first book, AN APPETITE FOR MURDER, Hayley was the suspect in a death involving a poisoned key lime pie. She had to poke around or end up in jail. (Obviously, she can't be a suspect in every installment.) In the second book, DEATH IN FOUR COURSES, Hayley finds the victim at an important foodie reception and a dear friend of hers is implicated in the murder. She’s very motivated to help clear his name. Ditto with book four, MURDER WITH GANACHE. Her parents are visiting the island for the first time, along with her stepbrother, who disappears into the spring break crowd. They can’t leave him in trouble, so the chase is on. Each book tackles her involvement in a different way.

I also like to watch my characters grow and change, and I love introducing new facets of Key West in each book. For example, THE KEY LIME CRIME, #10 in the series, takes place at Christmas, a magical time in Key West. I had the most fun introducing Hayley’s new mother-in-law Helen to Key West and Hayley, and having the two of them find a body hidden in a Santa suit. (This idea came from an actual decoration that we spotted on someone’s porch.) 

I found inspiration for #12, A DISH TO DIE FOR, when I took a tour of the real Key West Woman’s Club. While there, I was gifted a copy of the second edition of their cookbook. Inside that book, I discovered so many nuggets of history that fired up my imagination. But how would I use this? I decided that Hayley’s mother, Janet, would be hired to cater a murder victim’s memorial service reception at the Woman’s Club, using recipes from their vintage Key West cookbook. Hayley and her octogenarian neighbor, Miss Gloria, sign on to work with her, hoping to cook up some clues by observing the mourners. 

With A POISONOUS PALATE, I experimented with several new things—moving the action north on the Keys to Big Pine Key and flashing back to an old murder from the 1970’s that had never been solved. 

By the way, can you guess which book in the series is less popular than others? 

If you picked A SCONE OF CONTENTION, you're right. Seems that readers who love a certain setting object to the characters going somewhere else.

Red Readers: What keeps you reading a long series, and maybe more important, what makes you stop reading? Do you dislike a series book that moves to a new setting? Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for a paperback copy of A POISONOUS PALATE.

How Sentimental Are You?

 JENN McKINLAY: Anyone who has read my input over the past eight and a half years that I’ve been a Red, knows that one of my favorite things in life is to throw things out. Old clothes? Good will. Old art? Same. Old jewelry? Give it away. Anything broken beyond repair (I am a big repurpose and recycle person) goes to the dump. Thanks for your service and Adios!

I just don’t like stuff and I don’t keep things…unless they have sentimental value and then I slam into the brick wall of nostalgia and I just can’t. Photographs of old boyfriends? Still have them (in an album in a closet somewhere but I still have them). A granny square sweater my grandmother made for me in 1972 when I was a wee tot? Yup, I still have it on a shelf in the top of my closet. Why? It doesn’t even fit anymore! Obviously. Why can’t I unravel it and repurpose the yarn? I just can’t.

I thought I was a stoic/sentimental sort. I keep some things but not all. So imagine my surprise when I observed a recent breakup between a Hooligan and his Plus One and he deleted everything that was digital – texts, pictures, videos, and any connections through social media gone. Physical gifts, tchotchkes, cards, and print photos in an album were all tossed in the dumpster. 

He had me stand witness to the purge and I’m not exaggerating when I say I started to sweat and felt a little queasy. I asked “Don’t you want to keep anything to remember the good times?” His answer: “No.” I thought it was because he was a dude so I asked the other Hooligan’s Plus One (who was also an observer of the purge) if she’d tossed everything from former relationships and she said, “Yes, absolutely. That stuff just makes you sad.”

Y’all, I was so surprised I’m still processing. 

So, tell me, do you purge everything from relationships - romantic or otherwise - when they end badly? Or do you hang onto the mug you bought on the road trip, the baseball cap at the ballgame, and such to remember the moment shared with a little nostalgia? Like, seriously, do I really have to throw out the skull earring that belonged to my punk rock boyfriend in 1989? Because, yes, I still have it. 

RHYS BOWEN: My romances were back in the days when we wrote letters to each other so I had kept all the letters my boyfriend had written to me. When I had finally moved on I ceremonially burned them. Now I wished I’d kept them as it wasn’t an acrimonious break up and I would have enjoyed remembering good times together.  I don’t think I’ve kept anything sentimental from any former romances, but remember I moved to Australia and only took the minimum with me!

LUCY BURDETTE: Not so much on the old romances, but I do have boxes of letters I can’t throw out. Lots of them were sent to my grandparents from my dad when he was in the army. I have tons of old photos too that I keep meaning to organize when I have the time. HA! And letters and cards from many people over the years. It’s sad to me that people send greetings and notes by email or text–they’re too easy to lose or delete. What about our future memoirists? Where will they find their material?

HALLIE EPHRON: No old letters from ex-Xes here, either. I have a wonderful book of photographs of me and my high school, sweetheart. He was the nicest guy, a lot older than me, but not “the one.” My high school home life was a disaster and he kept me sane.

The bad exes weren’t writers, and maybe that should’ve been the tip-off that they weren’t for me. Jerry, of course, wooed me with cartoons and I saved all of them.

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  I’ve never been particularly sentimental about saving mementos from relationships, but I’ve never done a slash-and-burn, either. I think, maybe, somewhere, I still have the airmail letters my ex wrote me when he was in Scotland and I was still in Texas. If I ever turn them up, I will definitely save them. (I don’t even want to contemplate the boxes of photos in my office closet…”)

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Such a great question. I have too many mugs and t-shirts, those are the irresistible things for me at conventional and bookstores. (Mugs can be difficult, because they are impossible to pack.) For the past 20 years, I have kept my name badge from every event I’ve attended, and it’s kinda wonderful to see the descriptions under my name go from “debut author” and “first time” to “Keynote speaker” and “Guest of honor.” (The backs of TWO office chairs are filled with them–I cannot even imagine counting them.) And I have a bottle of wine that Sue Grafton gave me. Keeping forever. 

Love letters, no, I have maybe…two. And some various other pivotal paperwork. And photos, sure. But I rarely look at any of it.  And as for digital, my computer is full of stuff I have no idea is there.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: You know, this makes me realize I’m not one to collect or keep mementos in the first place (unlike Ross, who saved every piece of paper from every Bouchercon we ever attended…) I do have love letters, somewhere, from both Ross and prior beaus. I figured I’d add a codicil to my will stating they can be only be read by my grandchildren after they’ve turned twenty-five. They’ll think my flaming youth is interesting and historical, not horrifying.

Otherwise, the only sentimental items I can’t get rid of are some personal things Ross cherished and a few - few! - pieces related to my children. I grew up in the military, and of necessity my mother purged whenever we moved, and I suspect I got her practicality.

How about you, Readers? Are you a sentimental sort or not so much?