A mysterious box is delivered....

RO: Last Saturday started like any other. I forced myself to work out and embarked on the endless round of minor chores which alway seem to need doing - dropping off at Goodwill, heading to the hardware store and dry cleaners and then I let myself get happily sidetracked by a tag sale.

When I got home, there was a cardboard box on my doorstep, about three feet by one and a half feet. Scribbled on the box in blue magic marker were the words "these are the plans for your house. I thought you might like them."

I should back up a bit and say that my husband and I never met the woman who sold us our house fifteen years ago. The house wasn't even for sale but my husband fell in love with it one day as he was jogging and dragged me back to see it. I was convinced we'd get arrested for trespassing, but we didn't. Anyway, the owner's brother orchestrated the sale for his sister who by all accounts was a colorful, i.e., eccentric character.

And now we have this box of plans and blueprints dating back to 1948. Some of them are very cool and show the house before its numerous additions. Others show proposed changes in the 80's which never materialized but are amazingly close to things my husband and I are considering doing.

I haven't gone through the whole box yet - there are dozens of plans. What if there is an underground room I don't about? A secret panel in the basement? Something that was razed for unknown reasons... hmmm, so what think? Should I scrap the beginning of the as yet unnamed book four which takes place at a flower show and write this story instead? Where would you take this story?

JAN: I don't know, I'm intrigued by murder at the flower show -- but if I were going to write this one, there would definitely be a secret underground room with both dead bones and a LOT of money in it.

HANK: Misdirection. That's the key. After much searching and speculating, the plans are nothing. But! There's something written on the back of the plans. Or! One of the pages is mistakenly mixed in from somewhere else. And THAT takes her to the real mystery.

RO: Ooohh, you gals sound like mystery writers. I took a writing class with Stuart Kaminsky once and he started us off with a story line and we each had five minutes to sketch out what happened next. So, JR readers..you find a mysterious box of house plans on your doorstep with a cryptic note. What happens next? At the end of the week, I will pick my favorite story line from JR's readers and send the winner a signed copy of The Big Dirt Nap.

Hallopalooza Winners...

canyonson - Royal Flush, Rhys Bowen

DarcyO - Prime Time, Hank Phillippi Ryan

Helen Kiker - A Confidential Source, Jan Brogan

Librarymom - Preaching to the Corpse, Roberta Isleib

Riss - Bibliophile's Devotional, Hallie Ephron

Penny Tuttle - Pushing Up Daisies, Rosemary Harris
Winners should contact the author whose book they've won by ckicking on our pictures above and visiting our website. Congrats and thanks for playing!!

On Critiques

"People ask you for criticism,

.....but they only want praise."

Somerset Maugham

I really don't know what I was thinking. Swept up in the auction atmosphere, some months ago I bid on and won, a thirty page critique by an author I admire, Stuart Kaminsky. One month passed, then two, then I shelved the book I was writing and took my series character on a different adventure closer to home. I had just started that book when I got a friendly reminder from the folks at Sleuthfest about my critique. Now, I don't belong to a writing group, I don't have that one trusted soul who sees my scribblings long before anyone else does (every time I show anything to my husband, he tells me I'm great. Good for the ego, but not especially helpful.) So I'm not used to showing anyone my writing before I'm ready.

Stuart Kaminsky is not my husband, and chances are, he's not going to tell me I'm great. How do you handle criticism in the early stages of a book?

HALLIE: With gratitude and taking copious notes. I think the biggest mistake I've seen authors make is to argue with the poor soul whose only misstep thus far in life has been to offer to critique a manuscript. The author goes into overdrive, explaining WHY it's written the way it is when s/he should shut up, listen, and try to understand why it's not working. Hey, everyone's early draft needs work. And I'm so jealous that Stuart Kaminsky is giving your 30 pages a once-over. Can't wait to read your "after" blog.

JAN: You've got to remember, Stuart Kaminisky wouldn't have volunteered to do this, if he didn't think he could do it with diplomacy. Unless a fellow writer is completely insensitive, he's going to understand that you are at a vulnerable stage. In other words, he's not going to rip you to shreds, he's just going to offer constructive advice, which you must have wanted when you bid on this particular prize. I've gone from worrying what my writers group is going to say -- years ago -- to hoping they can figure out what's wrong with a particular scene or chapter. Critique is a good thing. And if it's off the mark for your particular book, you'll know that too. Have confidence, Ro! This is growth!

HANK: Open mind! Insert good ideas. We're so--okay, I'll say it, I'M so-- competitive. I always want to get the A grade or win or be the best or get the pat on the head. But with a critique, we have to remember that's not the goal. It's not like you're getting a grade. You're getting the use of an expert's experience, ideas, opinion, imagination, secrets. And that someone has offered to help you get to another place. Praise is nice, and any thoughtful critiquer will give it. But the real value is in the fixes. The open doors. The pointing in the right direction so you can be the best you can be.
I've had 18 news directors in my 22 years in Boston TV. Each reads the scripts of my investigative stories before they go on the air. Some news directors are so savvy, I can't wait to see how they'll tweak to make the stories better. A critique from an experienced, careful, clever person? It's incredibly exciting.

Ro: You guys are so supportive! I love it.. I'm ready... Bring him on!