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Sara Paretsky Before there was Lisbeth Salander or Stephanie Plum, there was V I Warshawski. Sara Paretsky revolutionized the mystery world in 1982 when she introduced V I in Indemnity Only. By creating a believable investigator with the grit and the smarts to tackle problems on the mean streets, Paretsky challenged a genre in which women typically were either vamps or victims. Hailed by critics and readers, Indemnity Only was followed by fifteen more best-selling Warshawski novels. The New York Times writes that Paretsky “always makes the top of the list when people talk about female operatives,” while Publishers Weekly says, “Among today’s PIs, nobody comes close to Warshawski.”
Picture by Steve Gross
Paretsky first began writing at the age of 4.” my older brother and I would create plays together when we forced our friends to watch.” Her first novel “Indemnity” was published in print in January 1982, after waiting two years for it to be accepted and printed. Her novel was praised as the first novel to feature a strong female detective. “VI stands in a tradition of heroic women in myth and history but these heroic voices are often obliterated. Writers like Lillian O'Donnell had created women detectives but VI was one of the first with a strong feminist slant. Despite many heroic women in the historical narrative, fiction has tended to treat women
either as unreliable, sexualized beings who try to use their bodies to get good boys to do bad things or asexualized creatures who are unable to act without strong male guidance. I wanted a woman who reflected more closely the experience of actual women who have to be problem solvers and who are often quite effective.” All though reviews for her first novel were positive and strong it was not until her 6th novel that she became a bestseller. “ My readership grew slowly, thanks to the active support of independent booksellers. It wasn't until my sixth book, Burn Marks, that I was a national best-seller.”
Since publishing her first novel in 1982, she has since published 17 books in the V.I. Warshawski series. “The hardest challenge has to do with the role that the internet plays with detective work. Much of what VI used to learn on foot through talking to people is now available online. Keeping her active instead of writing books where she is sitting in front of a computer all day and yet keeping the action credible is my biggest challenge.” Paretsky says that she doesn’t struggle to write the series after so many years because. “ VI does most of her work in white collar crime I am blessed with a never ending stream of criminal acts to choose from. Right now I am
trying to decide whether the leaks from offshore bank accounts or the black market in Iraqi artifacts will make a more beguiling story.” Miss Paretsky also has advice for young writers. “Mysteries make up the biggest single section of the fiction market so if someone wants to write in this genre there's always going to be a readership. For someone who needs help, there are a lot of resources, particularly through Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Both offer critique and other services to beginning writers. I urge anyone starting out to join either or both organizations.”
Paretsky has been writing the V.I. Wartski novels since the 1980s, which means that there must be something that makes the characters and the storyline stand out and resonate with readers. Paretsky says the reason it is so relatable is “In my novels, VI's job is to speak. It's true she's active, she fights physically, but her most important job is to speak, to say what people in power don't want to hear, and to force them to listen to her. All crime fiction has an element of fantasy to it -- a woman speaking and being heard is my fantasy. This is what resonates with readers.” When asked if she had a favorite novel she answered. “They all have different strengths and weaknesses, but I
but I particularly like Hardball because it's based on my experiences in the summer of '66 when I first came to Chicago. I also like Critical Mass because it draws on my husband's life in the world of physics” She is currently writing more novels for the series and plans to continue doing so until she has no more stories to tell.
Louise Jensen When I was little I was obsessed by Enid Blyton. Her characters were so real to me they became my friends. I often huddled under my covers, stifling my yawns and straining my eyes, as I read 'just one more page' by torchlight. Mr Townsend, my primary school English teacher always encouraged my love of literature, and it wasn’t long before I’d read everything my school had to offer. The first book I created was six pages long, had stick-man illustrations and was sellotaped together. I was immensely proud of it. Writing was a huge part of my life, until one day it wasn’t.
As a child Louise Jensen was constantly making up stories, but as she grew into an adult her stories were replaced by real life. “I hadn’t a clue how to become an author, and when I asked my career advisor at school she was quite scathing, so I took the offered advice and became a secretary” Years later while in her 30s Jensen went back to writing after an accident left her immobile and in chronic pain. While searching for a hobby that required little movement but distracted her from the pain.” My love for writing soon came flooding back and it
Was as though I had never stopped.” While attending a writers group meeting the idea for her novel “The Sister” came to her through an exercise they were doing. “They gave everybody 3 words and 10 minutes to write something and I Wrote the bare bones of Chapter One.“ After days of thinking about the story she knew she had to write it down, and that she did. It took her 18 months. I was working, and I have a family, so it was hard to carve out the time. Initially I fell into a routine of writing between 7-7.30 every night when my son had independent reading time.?
The product of her hard work is “The Sister” A psychological thriller. “The Sister is the story of Grace, a grieving girl, who thought there was nothing as frightening as being alone…she was wrong. It is a psychological thriller but it is also blended with a really emotional story about Grace, and her childhood best friend Charlie. We learn in Chapter One Charlie has died but we don’t know why. What we do know is that her last words to Grace were‘ I’ve done something terrible, please forgive me.’ Grace has no idea what these words could mean and she sets off to find out, and
we, the readers are with her every step of the way. The book alternates between the past where we get to see the friendship between the girls and the present day. It’s a story of love, loss, guilt and the resilience of the human spirit. It’s dark enough to be unnerving but emotional enough to make you cry too.” The readers have all reacted wonderfully to the novel. With reviews ranging from 4 to 5 stars. Her next novel” The Gift” (Set to be out December 16th) “The perfect daughter? The perfect girlfriend? The perfect murder? When Jenna wakes from surgery she is convinced something inside her
than her new heart that is . . . Jenna starts feeling things she shouldn’t be feeling. Dreaming things she shouldn’t be dreaming. Discovering secrets she shouldn’t be discovering.But why? Callie died in a tragic accident and Jenna was gifted her heart. But who was Callie? And what is she trying to tell Jenna now? As Jenna starts to investigate, she begins to realise all is not as it seems and, although everyone around her thinks her medication is making her paranoid, Jenna knows that Callie didn’t die in an accident. Why won’t anyone believe her? Jenna feels driven to uncover the truth. Even if it costs her everything; her job, her loved ones, her sanity. Even her life . . .
Jensen’s advice for young writers is. “Write regularly. It’s so hard trying to fit in time, particularly if you work and have a family, especially if you feel you’re not getting anywhere. If you can write just 500 words a day you’ll have a first draft in around 5 months.” You can buy Louise Jensen's books on Amazon, waterstone, Barnes and noble, and iBooks. Her books are available in Audio, paperback and Ebook form.
Lindy Spencer Spencer began writing as a teenager, her first published work was a poem. “While I was in high school. Mostly, I wrote for myself back then.” She began to write her first novel “The Boomerang Effect” in 2009 but she felt it was not ready for the world until 2012 when she decided to publish it. The inspiration behind her novel was computer viruses. “I'd been thinking about computer viruses and made the leap to wondering what would happen if a computer virus were to attack your brain. “
Besides writing “The Boomerang Effect” Spencer also wrote “Between the Devil and Darkness” A novel consisting of 10 short stories all written by Lindy Spencer. “They're psychological thrillers, and the level of intensity varies from light to pretty darn dark. One of the stories included.
within was picked up by Rod Serling Books for inclusion in their inaugural anthology. I hold the honor of being one of eleven authors worldwide (yep, that says worldwide!) to have been selected for this volume. In case you're not familiar with the name, Rod Serling was the creative mind behind The Twilight Zone show on television years ago. He had a wonderfully talented way of telling a story.” She says that “Lots of things inspired Between the Devil and the Darkness. I found so many shorter blips for stories careening around inside my skull, all of them wanting out, I decided to put together the anthology and give them their
wish. Let me just say, this was a fun book to write. I do expect I'll be writing another.” Spencer self-published her novels. “When I first decided to publish, I had no idea about all of the pitfalls there were between where I was and a published work. I went in flying by the seat of my pants, hoping not to hit a tree. So many choices are available: find an agent, find a publishing house without an agent, or self-publish. They each had their own set of problems associated with them. When I am not sure what to do, I search for people who have done what I'm
considering and go from there. A friend of mine put me in touch with a friend of hers who had self-published, and from there I found the Kindle board on Amazon. The folks there have so many answers, I spent countless hours reading the questions and answers. Eventually I felt this was the way to go, and Bob's your uncle, here I am. Okay, it wasn't quite "Bob's your uncle" easy, but knowledge helps a lot.” Her advice for young writers is “Don’t give up. If becoming a published author is your dream, do not give up on it. My answer,
self-publishing, may be the way for you or it may not. Do your research, find the answer that works for you. If self-publishing is the way you choose to go, remember that a quality editor is essential and it will be up to you to find and hire one yourself. It's a hard road, be sure. Remember: The world needs more stories, and yours is one of them.
"The Boomerang Effect." It begins with a young girl walking home from an after-school band practice and finding herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. She winds up in a coma. From there, Karma comes to town and pays back the persons who put her in the coma as well as the ones who let them escape justice.
October’s Featured Story
Murder on Halloway Hill By Rex Badger Rain pounded against the weary traveler’s hood as she stepped into the night. Thunder roared overhead and lightning streaked brightly across the black sky. ‘What a bleary night for a meeting.’ She thought as she made her way up the hill to the manor. Holloway Hill was the largest monument in Holloway Junction. At the top, a large rock stood at the top with ancient symbols carved into the stone. Her hood was made of rough wool and was dyed a dark shade of emerald
to match her eyes. One other personwas standing there with their arms folded in front of them with their arms in the sleeves. “Jannette, you’re here.” they said from underneath the stone. She nodded. “Good, they are almost here as well.” The person said. Jannette was the weary traveler. Her dark was limp and clumped in the rain. Her beaked nose dripped rainwater as her bright green eyes reflected the lightning.
She heard squelching footsteps and saw more five figures walking up the hill against the rain and wind. “Welcome.” The voice said. They returned their greetings before turning to Jannette. “Jannette, you have served your purpose.” The voice said. “What do you mean?” she asked, backing up a step. “You have done more than your share of work. The gods are pleased with your work.” The voice continued. “We do not have any more use of you here. But there, with the gods, you shall do much more marvelous things.”
“No, you can’t mean me.” She said, her eyes widening with fear. “Get her!” the voice said and the five figures lurched after her. She tried to run and scream but the figures were on her. Four held her arms and legs abroad. The fifth one held her head still as the voice walked over to her with a knife raised over its head. He said something in an ancient language and plunged the knife into Jannette’s still beating heart. Blood splattered all over the stone, staining her cloak, and splattering the faces of the figures and the voice and light left her eyes.
They laughed and they tossed her body onto the stone. “Let the gods feed!” the voice cried out. Birds screeched and flew down to her body before they began picking at the flesh on her body; ripping it away from the bone. Lightning flashed and thunder roared as the rain pounded the ground making it slick with mud. The figures and the voice walked away from the bloody scene as if nothing happened on Holloway Hill.
Rex Badger is publishing his first novel “Raven Vamp” on Halloween 2016. You can buy it on Amazon.