Mystery Mondays: Carol Balawyder on Subplots

Posted on 2016-03-21 by Carol Balawyder

Today I am fortunate to be featured on Kristina Stanley’s blog as part of her Mystery Mondays series. Make sure you check out the other writers who’ve been guest in this series and also to browse through Kristina’s blog where you can pick up some valuable tips from her Write Better Fiction series.
http://kristinastanley.com/?s=write+better+fiction

Creative Story Editors

Welcome once again to Mystery Mondays.

I first connected with Carol Balawyder when she graciously agreed to have me guest blog on her seriesHOW I GOT PUBLISHED. DESCENT had been published less than a month previously, and I was nervous about guest blogging. Carol’s generous nature made it easy for me, and now I feel very lucky to have her guest blogging on my series.

Carol writes the The Getting To Mr. Right series.

Screen Shot 2016-03-20 at 8.14.27 AM THE PURPOSE OF SUBPLOTS by Carol Balawyder

Thank you so much Kristina for inviting me as a guest on your Mystery Monday series. It’s a true honor for me to be in the midst of so many flourishing writers.

In my writing, whether it is women’s contemporary fiction or crime genre they both have in common a subplot which deals with the complexity of domestic relationships – specifically, relationships between an adult and…

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Investigating Agatha Christie

Posted on 2016-03-04 by Carol Balawyder

About a month ago I went to Investigating Agatha Christie – an exhibition on the life and work of one of the greatest 20th-century novelists. If that was not enough to get me to Old Montreal – a charming area of the city with its European flavour – the fact that it was being held at The Montreal Archaeology and History Museum got my curiosity along with my feet walking the cobble stoned street of the Old Port. Here’s what I discovered:

I. With her husband, Max Mallowan, a prominent archaeologist, Christie spent plenty of time travelling with him and his team actively taking part on excavation sites in Syria, Iran and Egypt. Her day job was to photograph and film the artifacts that were being dug up. In the evenings she wrote and drew on her experiences in the Middle East for novels such as Murder in Mesopotamia and They Came to Baghdad.

II. Agatha Christie learned about poisons by being an assistant apothecary. Some 30 of the victims in her books died of poisoning.

“Give me a decent bottle of poison,” she is supposed to have said, “and I’ll construct the perfect crime.”

Click here for more on how Christie’s fictions are profoundly shaped by the poisons that their characters skillfully employ

III. In Death Comes as an End Christie invents the historical whodunit.

IV. As a child Agatha was considered the slow one in the family.

V. 66 detective novels

6 novels

150 short stories

10 plays

and 2 memoirs.

Akhnaton

VI. Ariadne Oliver, the fictional character in several Agatha Christie novels is a mystery novelist and a friend of Hercule Poirot. She was patterned after Christie herself.

“People say things to me — you know — how much they like my books, and how they’ve been longing to meet me — and it all makes me feel hot and bothered and rather silly. But I manage to cope more or less. And they say how much they love my awful detective Sven Hjerson. If they knew how I hated him! But my publisher always says I’m not to say so.”

For more on Ariadne Oliver’s writing advice click here.

VII. Her most famous play The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then.

VIII. A rose is named after her.

Image result for The Agatha Christie rose

IX. She dedicated her novel Dumb Witness to her wire-haired terrier Peter. In the novel, the dog Bob is directly inspired by her own pet.

Agatha Christie pictured in the 1920s

X. Total sales of her books are estimated at 2 billion exceeded only by The Bible.

Do you have a favorite Agatha Christie book?

Marketing: Book Blurbs

Posted on 2016-01-25 by Carol Balawyder

Reading Debby’s post on book blurbing as well as Jack Eason’s post on the same subject I got to thinking about the blurb I’m currently writing for my novella, Not By Design and that got me searching the internet.

Here’s what I found

Finally, consider why your book is different from the others – what is unique about your book and make sure to include it.

(Silverwood. How To Write an Inviting Cover Blurb For Your Book)

When writing a novel, there are few selling tools as important as writing a solidly written blurb. Sure, the cover design creates intrigue, but, if you have caught a potential reader’s attention, the blurb is what will sell your book—and convert readers.

(Milena Canizares: writing-blurbs-for-novels.)

“… when writing a summary, make it snappy. Less is more. Don’t tell them everything, just the dramatic core of the story.

(Beth Bacon: 4 Easy Steps To An Irresistible Book Blurb)

try to encapsulate the tone of your book in your blurb so that a reader can instantly tell what genre your book is.

(Silverwood books: How to write an inviting cover blurb for your book)

Joanna Penn offers a superb video on book blurbs.

Of course, I’m not going to pass up this opportunity for a pre-publishing sales pitch. 🙂

Not By Design: A Feel Good Novella

In a life turned upside down, Felicity finds joy is sometimes just around the corner.

Ever since she first appeared in Getting To Mr. Right, Felicity Starr has been struggling to find her own kind of contentment. Now, at thirty-five and living in Rome, Felicity is about to break into the world of fashion design, and caught in a flurry of plans for her wedding when calamity strikes.

Her father’s sudden death brings into question the whole meaning of success. Then Marco, the man she’s about to marry, leaves her when he learns of her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.

Forced to return to Montreal, Felicity finds her life thrust into unexpected turns. As she confronts the on-going challenges presented by her disease, she gains the strength to let go of old beliefs and face her inner truths.

Love, friendship and rewarding work come in different forms and Felicity finds it all in ways she never imagined – in a life that’s not by design.

Are you in the process of writing a book blurb for your book?

#CHAMPIONSAWARDS

Posted on 2016-01-19 by Carol Balawyder

champions-awards

The “Champions Award’ was awarded to me by Debby at dgkayewriter.com. Although I tend to be award free I simply could not ignore Debby’s request, especially since the Champions Award is a way of saying thank you to those readers and writers who go the extra mile in support of others. Debby has done so much for me and this is my small way of saying THANK YOU. Debby, I am both touched and grateful for your friendship and support.

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Seeking Purpose

Posted on 2016-01-13 by Carol Balawyder

I’m pleased and honored to be featured on Joanne’s blog. A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America, Joanne writes paranormal romance, cozy mysteries, and inspirational literature from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.
If you haven’t yet been on Joanne’s blog I encourage you to browse through it. You’re sure to be inspired.

http://joanneguidoccio.com/

Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Canadian author Carol Balawyder musing about the two acts of her writing journey.

Here’s Carol!

carolbalawyder I am so grateful to be featured among so many (over 90!) wonderful writers in Joanne Guidoccio’s Second Acts series.

In life one has many second acts but the one which I wish to focus on here is my writing journey.

ACT ONE

Five years ago I retired from a successful teaching career with the luck of a pension that allowed me the freedom to write without the financial burden of having a day job. My initial intention was to put my heart and soul into writing crime novels. After all, wasn’t that the purpose for my going back to school to study criminology and later teach Police Tech and Corrections so that I would have credibility as a crime writer?

mourninghasbroken But then people around me…

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Giving Thanks

Posted on 2015-10-11 by Carol Balawyder

Image source

October 12: Canada’s Thanksgiving Day.

For all of you who have followed me and continue to do so; for your awesome posts and wonderful books; for all who have read my books and posted reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and other social media; for those who have featured me on their blogs and websites

I THANK YOU 💖

In appreciation, all my books are on sale this week.

http://www.amazon.com/Carol-Balawyder/e/B00HVETKWM

Reviews are gratefully welcome 🙂

HAVE BAGS WILL TRAVEL

Posted on 2015-10-07 by Carol Balawyder

Get your copy of Have Bags, Will Travel

D.G. Kaye’s recent memoir Have Bags, Will Travel reminded me how much I’d neglected the travel section of my blog.

Be prepared to have your heart chuckling and your lips smiling as you read through D.G. Kaye’s amusing travel adventures. Although the main theme of the book is on her affection for shopping it’s also a memoir like no other as she holds your hand and guides you through her unforgettable trips to Paris, London, Greece, Venezuela and Vegas. You meet her friends who are almost as zany as she is and she ponders on the good old days of travelling and her sadness to see the old charm of her beloved Vegas fade away.

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Two Interviews

Posted on 2015-09-24 by Carol Balawyder

I have been blessed this month to be interviewed twice.

Judy Penz Sheluk’s debut novel, The Hangman’s Noose is an Amateur Sleuth with an Edge mystery. She also runs a series of interviews with authors on her blog. I am so happy to be part of her Interview With Authors Series.

Interview with an Author: Carol Balawyder

My guest today is Carol Balawyder. Carol holds degrees in both criminology and literature. It is this mixture that brings her to want to write crime novels, but it was her divorce that led her to write fiction about being single in mid-life.

Carol’s short stories have appeared in The Anthology of Canadian Authors Association, Room Magazine, Entre Les Lignes, Mindfulness.org and Carte Blanche. She also manages a blog where she posts series on: Female Nobel Prize Laureates, Famous Writers’ Desks, The Femme Fatale, Interviews with crime writers on How They Got Published, Ten Great First Dates and posts on writing.

Judy: Tell us a bit about your latest novel, Cafe Paradise

Carol: The protagonist in Cafe Paradise is Suzy Paradise (who also was one of the four main characters in Getting To Mr. Right). At fifty-two she’s finally fulfilling a long cherished dream of owning her own café when a giant chain opens across the street. As she fights to save her business she learns to re-define the meaning of work, family and romance so she can find her own formula for happiness.

Cafe Paradise takes place in two up-and-coming boroughs in Montreal.

Griffintown or The Grif, was quickly becoming a vibrant neighborhood. As part of a revitalization project, the city was building parks, playgrounds and bicycle paths in the area and attracting artists and hi-tech enterprises. It seemed like the perfect place to open a cafe .

The second setting is in The Plateau, specifically Prince Arthur Street.

The street had been Montreal’s hippie haven and the home of its counterculture movement in the ‘60s. A number of artists and playwrights still lived around the square.

What’s the best writing advice you have ever read continue reading here

The other interview was with Heather Debreceni from The Divorce Summit website.

This was my first experience doing a voice interview and by listening to much more seasoned and very interesting guests that were part of this Dating Edition summit, I discovered how much I love listening to interviews while lying in bed at night! 🙂

In case you didn’t catch it the first time I posted it, here’s my interview again.