The Lull Before the Final Draft

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

Years of editing others’ work taught me that even good writers can’t see their own mistakes, particularly the big ones. Years of editing my own work proved I’m as fallible as other writers. I also learned to guard against one particular problem in my own writing: failing to go far enough in fixing a problem. If I write a scene wrong the first time around, for example, my first or second revision may not get it right. So after I’ve completed a draft with advice from my chapter-by-chapter critiquers and revised accordingly, I ask two to four people to read … Continue reading →

Draft 1 Done; Now for Draft 2

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

Today I finished the first draft of the fifth book in my Show Me series. It runs 89,003 words. My two invaluable critique partners have been commenting on each chapter as I wrote draft 1. They notice every questionable word and comma, illogical behavior or plot twist, information dump or lack of clarity. I’ll probably cut about 2,000 words from draft 1 by weeding out paragraphs with unnecessary information, interactions with little point, jokes that don’t work, descriptions readers don’t need, and other distractions. A big concern on draft 2 is checking for consistency, particularly in descriptions of setting and … Continue reading →

Show Me the Murder in Paperback

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

Harlequin Worldwide Mysteries has released the paperback edition of Show Me the Murder. This June, it’s featured on the Harlequin website: http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=59157. You won’t find the paperback edition on Amazon or in your brick-and-mortar bookstore. Harlequin sells this mystery line only on its website. Most of the buyers are subscribers. I’ll have copies to sell when I do talks. Published in hardback and e-book editions by Five Star/Gale, Cengage Learning in 2013, Murder is the first in my series featuring Phoenix Smith, a wounded ex-spy who returns to her rural hometown to relax and instead adapts her tradecraft to solving … Continue reading →

Another Five-Book Day

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

The most common questions readers (and many writers) ask me are: When and where do you write? How many words do you write a day? How long does it take you to finish a book? Those simple questions have complicated answers, and today is a good example of why. As usual, my writing day began in early morning. I’m finishing the first draft of Show Me the Door, and I wake up thinking about what’s going to happen. My priority for the day, however, was writing a disguised bibliography for Thunder Beneath My Feet. I need to deliver it, a … Continue reading →

11th Book Contract Marks 50 Years of Writing

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

Fifty years ago this week I began my writing career as an editorial assistant for the NEA Journal, then one of the country’s best education magazines. I just signed a contract for my eleventh book, Thunder Beneath My Feet, a middle grade/young adult novel set during the powerful New Madrid earthquakes in late 1811 and early 1812. Those eleven books represent a relatively small part of my output. For twenty years I worked mostly on magazines, including as the editor of Industrial Research & Development News. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Vienna, Austria, published this international technical quarterly. … Continue reading →

My Personal Research Library

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

Most writers build up a personal library for their major projects. Three other mystery writers—Laura Bradford/Elizabeth Lynn Casey, Laura Lebow, and Sujata Massey—and I will share what we keep at hand during a panel on research at Malice Domestic, a national annual conference for mystery readers and writers. Here are some titles on my shelves. Crime and Investigation Two books I’ve used for years are Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing, and Downright Odd Questions From Crime Writers and Murder and Mayhem by D. P. Lyle, M.D. The cardiologist and author answers mystery writers’ medical and post-death questions, providing essential details … Continue reading →

Show Me the Gold Wins Award

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

The Missouri Writers’ Guild gave Show Me the Gold the “Show Me” Best Book Award April 11 during the Guild’s leadership conference in Columbia. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry collections, and scripts were eligible for the award. Published in December 2014, Gold is the third book in my mystery series, and my third book to receive the Guild’s recognition. Last year Show Me the Murder won the Walter Williams Major Work Award. The conference marked the hundredth anniversary of the Guild’s founding during Journalism Week at the University of Missouri.  An internationally known journalist and educator, Williams founded the world’s first school … Continue reading →

International Women’s Day Quiz

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

I came back to my desk on March 8, 1969, and found a chocolate and a postcard wishing me a Happy International Women’s Day. A Russian colleague had left those for me and every other woman in my section of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Even though the first National Women’s Day originated in the United States in 1909, I’d never heard of International Women’s Day. It has received better publicity in the United States since the United Nations began celebrating it in 1975. In honor of the day, I offer a short quiz, part of one written originally … Continue reading →

Book Launch for Show Me the Gold

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

Readers, writers, and others with nothing better to do are invited to come celebrate the publication of Show Me the Gold at 2 p.m., Saturday, January 24, Columbia Books, 1907 Gordon Street, Columbia, Missouri. We’ll have conversation and refreshments before and after a short presentation. I’ll talk for a few minutes about how the series has developed and why mystery writers and readers like series. I may even look ahead to book four (now beginning the production process) and book five, now in the early chapters of the first draft. And, of course, guests can ask questions about the books … Continue reading →

Different Readers, Different Reviews

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

More reviews of Show Me the Gold went online this week, and the difference in comments from those who had read the first two books and who had read only the third one struck me. In a brief review on the January 7, 2015, Bibliophilic Books Blog, Star noted that Gold has good characters and an interesting mystery and reads very well as a standalone. She added, “I could have gained more insight into the characters from reading the other books in this series.” To read the full review, go to http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/2015/01/book-review-show-me-gold-by-carolyn.html. I hope her readers follow her advice and … Continue reading →

Guest Blog About Phoenix Plus Giveaway

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

To introduce Show Me the Gold to potential readers and give a bonus to the regular ones, I wrote “A Day in the Life of Phoenix Smith” for Dru’s Book Musings (http://drusbookmusing.com). If you leave a comment on my blog by January 11, 2015, you may win a free copy of the book. Here’s how the story of a typical day for Phoenix begins.   Achilles licked my hand to remind me to get up and take him on our morning run. I sat up before my hyperactive Belgian Malinois could lick my face.  “Sorry I overslept, boy. My souvenir … Continue reading →

Reviewers Value Books’ Characters

Carolyn Mulford Posted on by

Yesterday two reviewers gave me an early Christmas gift, appreciation of the people who inhabit Show Me the Gold, the newly released third volume of my mystery series. In Living on the Page: Personal Journal of Author Sandra Parshall, the Agatha winner wrote, “The plot has enough twists, turns, and blind alleys to keep readers turning pages, but the greatest strength of Carolyn Mulford’s writing is her gift for creating likable characters with the kinds of flaws that make us all human. … Highly recommended for readers who love character-driven stories with realistic small town settings.” If you need a … Continue reading →