Walking Through Your Characters' Next Scene

The Sacandaga River, near Hope, New York

view from Tall Pines cabin

Over an extended Veteran's Day weekend, my wife Dale and I were lucky enough to be able to return to the Tall Pines rustic cabin we discovered in 2009 when I was laid off from Kodak. This place has become my writing nirvana. It's quiet. Isolated. No Internet. No cell service. And a great value.

Last week was our sixth visit, and because the owners are such big-hearted people, it didn't cost us a cent.

I love it so much, I just had to start a new paranormal mystery series based there, called Tall Pines Mysteries. The first book was just released (FOR THE BIRDS, see sidebar on left) and the second book, ESSENTIALLY YOURS, is in the publishing queue for March 2012 release. 

My characters usually transition in the beginning of the story from Honeoye Lake, southeast of Rochester, NY, where they own a lakeside cottage and run an antique shop, to Tall Pines, about four hours away in the southeast corner of the Adirondack Park. 

I'm about halfway through SANCTUARY, book 3, and was looking forward to getting out of the "muddled middle" by placing myself smack dab in the locations of future scenes to get inspired. I craved the woods, the murmuring river, the cool fresh air, the balsam-scented trails.

I needed a mountain for a scene - somewhere folks could ride horses and camp overnight, somewhere with fantastic views of the six million acre park. And, most importantly, I wanted to walk the trail myself. So I started in advance asking about trails from my good friend and "Adirondack advisor," Jonathan Lane, manager of Charlie Johns Country Store in Speculator, NY.  (there is no apostrophe in Johns, that's how they spell it - took me a while to get it right!) Jon has read both FOR THE BIRDS and ESSENTIALLY YOURS, and has advised me on street names and such. I've really enjoyed getting to know him.

Jon also offered to let me do a book signing this past weekend in his incredible store. It went fantastic, and I met so many super people from the area who also had tons of ideas for me. They drew me maps, told me about the mysterious history of the area, and directed me to books on ghost stories of the Adirondacks, which will likely prime my head full of new ideas.

So, off I went, armed with maps and ideas, ready to search for the "secret" cave at the bottom of Auger Falls, and ready to hike the River Walk in Speculator. I quickly realized that the mountain I dreamed of horses riding up all day long would be too far for me to walk. So, in the end, I made up Whistling Winds Mountain and plunked it in the Silver Lake Sanctuary region. But there were some lovely caves and waterfalls on the Auger Trails hike that are going to be perfect for future scenes in SANCTUARY's final pages.

There is something so alluring about these woodland mountain trails. I think - in all honesty - that I must've been a pioneer in the good old frontier days in one of my former lives. The pull to find out "what's around the bend" is so strong that I have to really police myself. I'd go all day if I could, but I can't do that in good conscience since my wife stays back at the cabin. It wouldn't be fair to her, since her MS makes her legs weak and she can't join me, and there is no cell service on most of these trails, so if something happens to me I'd be alone and stuck out there for who knows how long? Yeah. And it was the middle of November.

Of course, I always bring the camera. Here are some photos from my walks. 

                     Lake Pleasant, Speculator, NY

The Tall Pines Cabin

Algonquin Lake in Wells, NY

Can you see why I'm in love with this place?

While I walked the trails and climbed some hills, I constantly pictured my characters in these scenes, and imagined the action and wild rush of the chase as I clomped along. I fought the urge to follow all the side trails, or drive down a dirt road with no sign... I was always fighting the itch to investigate every inch of this beautiful land.

I wondered how many years it would take me to explore the area so that I've hiked most of the local trails and mountains. A lifetime? Maybe if I lived there, I could do it. 

Setting is one of the most important elements in my novels. Naturally, I need a good plot with lots of twists and turns and surprises. Of course, my characters have to breathe and hurt and love like real people and make my readers care about them. But I need a really good setting to get my juices flowing. I suppose that's because I use so much of nature in my books - I think nature almost is a character in her own right.

How do you imagine your next scene? Do you like to "walk" the scene before you write it? Is it possible for you do that? Or are your settings so far away that you need to use exotic brochures or colorful websites to get your characters where they're going? Or, do you imagine worlds that don't exist in real life, but are very real in your head? 

Let us know about your processes in the comments, below. Please share your thoughts with us. We love comments, and as you probably know, this writing life can be somewhat lonely, so it's a great way to connect with each other.

Meanwhile, life goes on back here in the Genesee Valley, and I have books to finish and dinners to make for the family. Thanksgiving is just four days away, and I have lots to do to prepare.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Warmest wishes,

Aaron Paul Lazar

www.legardemysteries.com

Meet Ruby, of Tall Pines

Good morning, writers and readers!

Once in a while we writers allow ourselves to crow a little, maybe to flap our feathers with a bit of self promotion.

Tell the truth, I was so busy worried about putting up all our Murderby4.blogspot.com guest posts this month, I almost overlooked the fact that my debut book in the new Tall Pines Mysteries is scheduled to be released November 15th. Sigh. Sometimes I'm quite the idiot.

FOR THE BIRDS is my 14th novel and the first in TALL PINES MYSTERIES, a series of three books with plenty more to come. It's based in the Finger Lakes and Adirondacks regions of New York - and has been touted as a "fresh new mystery" and " an intriguing mix of compelling characters and unexpected and unconventional twists and turns."

Actually, my publisher just alerted me that it's now available a bit early in all eBook formats and trade paperback on Amazon and Barnes&Noble, and can most likely be purchased everywhere. I've got dozens of review copies out, but I haven't told the world about Ruby yet.

Am I slipping? LOL. Maybe. But this is my fourteenth book in a long line of works (some published, some not yet), and I have been working all year on edits for seven books slated to be released in the next six months. It's been a tad crazy around here!

And I know, I should've taken more time to get published than just writing my heart out! Such is life and it is what it is.

Here's a synopsis to get you up to speed with the new characters and animals. And--by the way--this is my first series where I write from a woman's POV, a challenge I gave myself after seeing so many of my writer friends hop into the heads of the opposite sex with ease. Having lived with three daughters, my wife, and mother-in-law for the past few decades, I had some great examples. And all those Lifetime movies my wife watches didn't hurt, either. LOL.

 

FOR THE BIRDS, SYNOPSIS

 

No one could accuse Marcella Hollister's family of being normal. Her gorgeous Native American husband, Quinn, has a compulsive cleaning problem – which works for her, since she gets a pass on housework. Her mother, who insists on being called Thelma, loves picking on Quinn. And then there's Ruby. Sometimes Marcella isn't sure who Quinn loves more, his wife or his prized parakeet. Fortunately she loves the bird as much as her dust-busting husband.

While mourning the death of her stepfather, Raoul, Marcella and family head for the prestigious Adirondack National Bird Show for a much-needed vacation and with hopes that Ruby will win the coveted “best new color” class.

But when Thelma trips and falls into a hotel pool with Ruby, dragging a line of twinkling lights with her, plans change. Electricity zaps through the water. Thelma and Ruby barely survive the ordeal, and a bizarre psychic link forms between them.

Eccentric bird psychic, Earl Tiramisu, starts to pester Marcella, and things get weird when he asks too many questions about her stepfather and his past. 

When Thelma is kidnapped from her hospital bed, the FBI shows up faster than expected, asking questions about Thelma’s recent inheritance from Raoul, implying that it may be linked to the Green Valley Bank heist – the largest unsolved robbery in U.S. history. 

Through mountains, rivers, and across the rugged Adirondack park landscape, a brutal scenario evolves, where the good guys aren’t what they seem, and only Ruby’s newly acquired “Thelma-vision” provides hope for survival.

Book 2, ESSENTIALLY YOURS is slated for March 2012 release, and promised to bring as much or more fresh, contemporary adventure as Book 1. And I'm (trying to) working on SANCTUARY, Book 3, as this all happens around me. Phew.


So, here are a few shortcuts for you. You can read the first chapters in both FOR THE BIRDS and ESSENTIALLY YOURS by clicking the titles in this sentence.

And by the way, I am looking for EARLY reviewers for ESSENTIALLY YOURS, which is available right now only in .mobi and .epub eBook formats. So let me know if you want to participate in the great early review!


Now, if you're confused about all my mystery series, what's out and what's coming, don't worry. It's been a razzle dazzle time around here, so I've put together this summary to help you know what's what. And you can find links and buy info for all available books on my website, which is still named after the first series: www.legardemsyteries.com  I've got a new site going, called lazarbooks.com, but haven't had time to work on it yet. Some day!




Thanks for stopping by, and remember, if you love to write, write like the wind!

Aaron Paul Lazar

Twilight Times Books by Kindle bestselling author, Aaron Lazar:

LEGARDE MYSTERIES

DOUBLE FORTÉ (coming, FEB 2012, author’s preferred edition, 2012, eBook and print)  

UPSTAGED (coming, JUNE, 2012 author’s preferred edition, 2012, eBook and print)  

TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON (released, 2007)

MAZURKA (released, 2009)

FIRESONG (released, JULY 2011)

DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (coming, APRIL 2012)

MOORE MYSTERIES

HEALEY'S CAVE (released, 2010)

TERROR COMES KNOCKING (coming, FEB 2012)

FOR KEEPS (coming, MAY 2012)

TALL PINES MYSTERIES

FOR THE BIRDS (released, NOV 2011)

ESSENTIALLY YOURS (coming, MARCH 2012)

Awards:

WINNER 2011 Eric Hoffer BEST Book, COMMERCIAL FICTION * FINALIST EPIC Awards 2011* GRAND PRIZE FINALIST Eric Hoffer Book Award 2011 * 2X FINALIST Global eBook Awards 2011 * Preditors & Editors Readers Choice Award – 2^nd place 2011* Winner of Carolyn Howard Johnsons’ 9^th Annual Noble (Not Nobel!) Prize for Literature 2011 * Finalist Allbooks Editors Choice Awards 2011 * Preditors&Editors Top 10 Finalist  * Yolanda Renee's Top Ten Books 2008  * MYSHELF Top Ten Reads 2008  * Writers' Digest Top 101 Website Award 2009-2011

www.legardemysteries.com

www.mooremysteries.com

www.murderby4.blogspot.com

www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com

www.aplazar.gather.com

http://aaronlazar.younglivingworld.com

www.pureoils.blogspot.com

A HUGE eBook sale!

Hi, folks!

This is a really big deal.

My publisher is putting ALL of Twilight Times eBooks on sale. A select few are also only 99 cents, which is a great bargain. Did you ever think you could get so many good books for so little? Ha. My wife and I are gobbling these up.

Please spread the word if you can - I want everyone to benefit from this sale, it goes through mid January.


HERE'S THE OFFICIAL BLURB:

"We appreciate our readers. 100 critically acclaimed ebooks are on sale from Twilight Times Books.

Prices discounted 50% ($1.99 to $3.50) now via the Twilight Times Books web site and also via our ebook distributors later this month: B & N Nook, eReader, Fictionwise, Kindle, Kobo, OmniLit, Sony, etc. until Jan 15th.

Historical, literary, mystery, SF, YA and more."

http://twilighttimesbooks.com/

The books in BLUE below are all on sale here if you are interested. Just scroll down the page a little and you'll see all the covers. Titles are listed alphabetically.

Twilight Times Books by Kindle bestselling author, Aaron Lazar:

LEGARDE MYSTERIES

DOUBLE FORTÉ (coming, FEB 2012, author’s preferred edition, 2012, eBook and print)  

UPSTAGED (coming, JUNE, 2012 author’s preferred edition, 2012, eBook and print)  

TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON (released, 2007)

MAZURKA (released, 2009)

FIRESONG (released, JULY 2011)

DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (coming, APRIL 2012)

MOORE MYSTERIES

HEALEY'S CAVE (released, 2010)

TERROR COMES KNOCKING (coming, FEB 2012)

FOR KEEPS (coming, MAY 2012)

TALL PINES MYSTERIES

FOR THE BIRDS (released, NOV 2011)

ESSENTIALLY YOURS (coming, MARCH 2012)

Thanks and have a great Sunday!

Aaron Paul Lazar

www.legardemysteries.com 

Review for THE ABDUCTION OF MARY ROSE by Joan Hall Hovey, review by Aaron Lazar

Title:  THE ABDUCTION OF MARY ROSE

Author:  Joan Hall Hovey

Publisher: BWLPP

Genre: Suspense, 240 pages

ISBN-10: 1466337338

ISBN-13: 978-1466337336

Price: Kindle eBook: $2.99 Print Book: $11.99

Publisher website address: http://bwlpp.com/mysteries.php

Author’s personal website: http://www.joanhallhovey.com

I have been a fan of Joan Hall Hovey since I read CHILL WATERS last year. After that, I reached for each and every release with the same excitement I do for new books by bestselling authors like Dean Koontz. And with THE ABDUCTION OF MARY ROSE, Ms. Hovey follows in the same tradition of grabbing her readers by the throat and never letting go until the final pages bring the story to its ultimate resolution.

It’s not so much the de facto smooth writing skills, or the vivid scene-setting that makes you feel as if you are right there with the protagonist, or the wonderful, natural-sounding dialog, or the edge-of-your-seat suspense, or the wild chase scenes that keep you up into the wee hours of morning with your heart pounding...No, I expect all of these elements in this author’s books. What shines so brightly above and beyond these great traits, however, is Ms. Hovey’s characters. Rich with back-story, as real as the person sitting next to you on the couch or in your office, these people leap off the page and invade your mind, lingering for weeks or months afterwards.

In THE ABDUCTION OF MARY ROSE, you’ll immediately begin to root for Naomi Waters, a twenty-eight year old woman who records audio books for a living. Bright, loving, and a dedicated daughter, her story starts at her dying mother’s bedside.

Now, imagine losing your only parent to a devastating disease. On the day of the funeral, now imagine discovering that she wasn’t your mother, that you were adopted. With that comes the knowledge that the photo on your dresser of your long dead military hero father was fake, too. Add to that the sudden unveiling of all this through your mother’s obituary, written by the nasty sister of the only mother you ever knew, and you have the springboard from which this riveting story moves forward.

When Naomi starts to dig into her birthmother’s history, she’s horrified to discover that poor Mary Rose was only sixteen when she was abducted, brutally raped and left for dead. The Micmac native girl lived long enough in a coma to give birth to Naomi, then died shortly thereafter. The case was never solved, and for nearly thirty years the rapist and his cohort have lived free among the local townspeople. One elderly witness saw two men take her back then, but couldn’t react fast enough to save the poor girl when the abduction happened.

Ms. Hovey’s scene of the abduction broke my heart. I’m still upset about it, and still feel ragged hatred toward the men who took her, used her, and threw her away. I am filled with sorrow for Mary Rose’s dear, sweet grandfather, who lost his only family member to violence of the worst sort. I’m not sure I would have survived such a loss, to tell the truth.

Yet through all of this tension and horrible upheaval, Naomi vows to dig into the past, catch her mother’s killer or killers, and bring them to justice. With skills that rival some of the best detectives, born of a passion to avenge her mother and a close spiritual connection with Mary Rose, she steadfastly makes progress in spite of the local police’s lack of interest.

In Joan Hall Hovey’s inimitable style, she ratchets up the suspense and fear as the story unfolds. Naomi goes public, gains the interest of the locals, and in particular one very brutal and nasty man, her mother’s rapist and her biological father.

The problem is, this man has no conscience, and only wants to destroy the DNA evidence of his misdeed that lies within Naomi’s cells. The final scenes will have you rooting for Naomi and clinging to the edge of your seat. They are brilliantly rendered.

When you buy this book–and I highly recommend you do–you need to set aside time to read. Start it on a Friday night or Saturday morning, or you’ll be calling your boss to take a vacation day. Yes, it’s that good.

Who's That Knocking?

copyright, 2008, Aaron Paul Lazar

Good morning, friends!

How was your week? Were you able to get much reading or writing done? I am relieved because I finally got through the lengthy pdf ARC edits for two of my upcoming books, and also completed the dreaded synopses for both in 250, 150, and 50 word versions! Phew. Now THAT'S scary! I think writing the 50 word synopsis is harder than writing the books!

Glad that's over, now I can get back to writing Sanctuary, my third Tall Pines mystery.


With Halloween just around the corner (tomorrow, actually!), I thought I'd dig into the bowels of my articles to find something suitably spooktacular. ;o) (Can you say "reprint?" LOL.)

I thought I'd dust this piece off and share it with you today. Let me know if it gives you a chuckle or a thrill.

***

Who's That Knocking?

Living in an antique home has its problems, especially when you're not a handyman. My father taught me all sorts of wonderful things when he was alive, including an unbridled passion for the arts, gardening, nature, gourmet cooking, and the love of a good mystery. He didn't know much about mechanics, plumbing, electric, or woodworking. Though I've tried to learn over the years with self-help books and advice from friends, I remain singularly unhandy, perpetually bowing with an unholy need to the whims of the local plumber and electrician.

Take, for example, the twenty-six windows that are crumbling as we speak. The six-by-nine inch panes are coming loose from their wooden mullions with alarming frequency. Or the floorboards in the bedroom, a lovely old yellow pine, that poke up like teepees when it's hot and muggy. Yeah, they need to be treated with some kind of poly something-or-other, but for now, the moisture makes them swell. Consider the two wells that sometimes work in concert - except for the hundred times a year I have to run down to the cobwebbed cellar and reset the breakers or tap on the pump to make it work. The disadvantages are many.

But there are also great benefits, such as the three working fireplaces. Or the soil that surrounds the property, rich and black, untouched by bulldozers. It's not like the hard packed fill they put in the new housing tracts. I don't need to "amend" this soil. I just need to keep up with the produce and flowers.

Most intriguing of all, however, is the rich history.

Our house was built in 1811 by Dr. David Hunt. We just celebrated our 200th anniversary!

Okay, so compared to the homes in Europe, it's just an infant. But in terms of our country and its young age, it's amazing. Think about it. This house was built and lived in more than fifty years before the civil war!

Imagine the births, deaths, dramas, romances, and heartaches that occurred within these rooms. Did the inhabitants suffer from small pox? Starvation? Were they affluent? How many horses or cows did they own? And... how many ghosts linger in these plaster and lathe walls?

Let's examine the past 100 years. According to an elderly neighbor, over seven people have died on Hunts Corners. Traffic accidents. Maybe even horse and buggy accidents. Auto drivers not stopping for the all-way stop signs, or sliding on ice, or drunk drivers plowing right into the telephone pole. Sad to think about. Makes you wonder about their spirits. Did they ascend to Heaven? Or do a few guilty souls remain in the area, confused and wandering, seeking the path to redemption?

Recently, I began to ponder another death disclosed to me by a young neighbor friend. We began to correspond after he read a few of my books. He's a bright and entertaining young fellow who happens to be a voracious reader. We clicked. And we chat back and forth about books and life and sometimes... about the history of our area.

It seems Hunts Corners has a mystery all its own, stemming from the early 1900s. As the story goes, my young neighbor's great grandmother noticed something odd one day. While going about her daily duties, Mabel realized she hadn't seen the young girl who lived next door in a long time. Anna no longer attended school, and very rarely made an appearance outside the home. When she did, Mabel noticed a thickening in her middle, well-wrapped by heavy garments. She suspected the girl was with child. In that era, a pregnancy out of wedlock was unthinkable. Shameful. A sin. The family would endure public humiliation if news got out. So Anna was sequestered for nine long months as Mabel watched the child grow in her belly.

When the time came for the baby to be born, there was no activity in the house. No child was seen. No doctor arrived. All was quiet.

Speculation grew. Was the child stillborn? Or worse, was she murdered by a family cloaked in shame? Rumors were that the little baby was buried behind Anna's house.

Since then, there have been reports of children pointing behind the house, exclaiming about the "little girl in the weeds." The adults couldn't see her.

But I think I might have, last winter.

I rose early to photograph our Christmas lights. They were unusually festive last year, better than all past years. We'd added a few lighted deer for fun, and I was bound and determined to capture the beauty in the blackest of night. It was a clear, chill morning. Five A.M. Not a breeze stirred. Most households were fast asleep. Few cars passed by.

I brought my trusty Canon Powershot outdoors and took dozens of photos. Later, when I viewed them on my PC, I saw the ghost. There she was - looking straight at me with wide open eyes. Filmy, transparent, but with a clear face and body. Only two shots revealed her, although I took dozens that morning.

The photos are untouched, straight from the camera card. And yes, I know there's probably a scientific explanation. Maybe the light from the flash illuminated ice crystals in the air, causing a momentary illusion. But I'd like to ignore that for now and just consider it a visit from my friendly little ghost.

Last night I woke to a tapping sound. Usually it's Max, on his chair, scratching an itch and thumping up against the armrest. I rose to check, but he lay still, mouth open, breathing evenly.
Could it be my grandson knocking on the door? I looked. No one was there. All was quiet, no little boys or cats were hoping to gain entrance.

I went back to bed. The tapping resumed. Looking out the window, I noticed headlights flashing by, briefly illuminating the darkness. Was that a flash of white? A face? Or simply the reflection on wet streets?

The tapping resumed. Outside my window. On the second floor.

Could it be?

I buried my head beneath the covers and said my prayers.

Well, that's it for now, dear friends. I won't be around next weekend, so let's get together in two weeks, and until then, remember to take pleasure in the little things, and if you love to write, write like the wind!

Book Review by Aaron Lazar

Title: DAMAGE CONTROL

Author: Denise Hamilton

Publisher: Scribner

ISBN-10: 0743296745

ISBN-13: 978-0743296748

Price: $17.82 hardcover; $12.99 Kindle 
Author’s website: http://www.denisehamilton.com

DAMAGE CONTROL is a complex psychological thriller set in current day Los Angeles, peopled with vibrant characters battling fears of survival and loss, tautly stretched loyalties, and well-camouflaged villains.

The story begins when Maggie Silver—a young PR rep who’s struggling to support her cancer-stricken mother and keep a house with an upside-down mortgage—is assigned to insulate Senator Henry Paxton and his family from the press by spinning the sordid facts of his aide’s murder and protecting the family’s reputation. After all, the Senator has been tapped for a much higher office, and chances are he’ll move upward quickly.

The problem is Maggie knew the Senator’s family when she was a teenager and was the poor church mouse best friend of rich kid Anabelle Paxton. Years have passed, and in the time since they grew apart, neither has acknowledged or faced the memories of the one horrible night they shared on the beach.

Hamilton weaves some interesting themes throughout this complicated novel, including subtly erotic romance, power struggles and cover-ups, and dangerous flirtations with potential killers.

The author’s style is breezy and smooth, and occasionally she sneaks in some lovely poetic passages, well worth savoring.

“At the cemetery, Anabelle threw the first spade of earth on the coffin. The wind shifted and ash fell softly and silently over us all, blanketing the dark soil and clinging greasily to our clothes, reminding us of where we’d come from and where we would all return.”

(Note: the “ash” here refers to cinders from the wildfires burning nearby)

Here’s another simultaneously lovely and unsettling segment:

“A voice whispered at the edge of my consciousness as the jets screeched and the tide sucked the pebbles. If only I could make out the words. But it was just out of reach, echoing with faint, faraway laughter, taunting me with secret knowledge.

Anabelle?

What if she’d crossed the highway to the ocean, swimming out until she drowned? I pictured her body carried on the swell of the waves, arms spread like wings, orange crabs crawling in and out of empty eye sockets, long blond ropes of hair floating like seaweed, a million microscopic sea animals clinging to her curves, illuminating her in a phosphorescent shroud.”

Most intriguing was the author’s inclusion of scents into the story. Hamilton’s descriptions of the perfumes Maggie loved and remembered was evocative and poetic, and her use of fragrance as a vital clue was brilliant. Her passages reminded me of my own passion for essential oils and their subtle, complex aromas capable of transporting one to places quite foreign and delicious. I discovered after reading the book that Denise Hamilton spends time with fragrance in a professional capacity (she blogs about perfume, for one thing) and this explained the interesting additions. See this passage:

“The previous Christmas, we’d stood at her mother’s vanity table, dabbing Caron’s Nuit de Noel behind our ears from the ravishing black Deco crystal flask. It was Christmas in a bottle, rich and exotic, all mulled wine and candied chestnuts, green pine with sandalwood and roses and a holiday goose roasting on the horizon. Anointed for midnight mass, we’d floated down the stairs in a cloud of scent and black velvet.”

Although this reviewer is hardly a perfume aficionado, the descriptions of this fragrance brought to mind the Young Living essential oil blend “Christmas Spirit,” a delightful amalgam of orange peel, cinnamon bark, and spruce leaf oil.

In DAMAGE CONTROL, surprises are deliciously revealed and sufficiently shocking. Denise Hamilton is a proficient writer who maintains perfect tension and keeps her readers turning the pages.

I recommend this tightly woven tale of deception and love.

 ***

Aaron Paul Lazar

www.legardemysteries.com

 

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. The author of LeGarde Mysteries, Moore Mysteries, and Tall Pines Mysteries enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at www.legardemysteries.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times Books releases, FOR THE BIRDS(2011), ESSENTIALLY YOURS (2012), TERROR COMES KNOCKING (2011), FOR KEEPS (2012), DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (2012), and the author’s preferred editions of DOUBLE FORTÉ and UPSTAGED (2012).

 

Review by Aaron Paul Lazar

Title: Stealing Faces

Author: Michael Prescott

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Ulverscroft

Genre: Thriller

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook

ISBN-10: 0708943500

ISBN-13: 978-0708943502

ASIN: B00547KH66

Price: Kindle, $ 0.99; Large Print, $29.91

Author’s website: http://www.michaelprescott.net/

I’ve been reading and reviewing a fair amount of books this year, all of them quite good, and most of them on Kindle. Of course, I vet them before I accept a review request by reading the first few pages and the synopsis. There’s nothing worse than reviewing a book that bores you to tears or that just isn’t your cup of tea. So I almost always love the titles I accept.

In the midst of all these excellent books, however, came STEALING FACES. This high suspense thriller literally knocked my socks off.

Mr. Prescott’s writing style is what hooked me from the beginning. Smooth, tight, and fast flowing, the prose held me as spellbound as the suspense. Frankly, STEALING FACES is one of the best-written novels I’ve come across in a very long time, and I can’t believe I haven’t discovered Mr. Prescott’s work to date.

Cray has been stalking and killing women for over a decade. Well-respected by day, savage hunter by night, the man’s character is impeccably drawn using inner thoughts and dialog. The contrast between his day job (revealed partway through the book) and his secret, sick obsession, accentuates his evil.

Now, meet protagonist Elizabeth Palmer. Desperate, broke, resourceful, and lovely, this woman has fixated on finding and bringing Cray to justice since she escaped his clutches twelve years earlier.

From the first primal scream of Cray’s victim to the kaleidoscope of terror-filled memories experienced by Elizabeth, Prescott doesn’t let his readers relax, or even take a breath. Both characters, juxtaposed brilliantly against each other, drive the story forward to its very satisfying conclusion.

The plot is well recounted in many of the 100 plus reviews on Amazon, so let it suffice for me to say that many plot threads and themes are tightly woven into this book, with shock after shock and absolutely no letting down of the tension. I would actually recommend STEALING FACES as a primer for those interested in pursuing a career in writing thrillers.

Thank you, Mr. Prescott, for showing us all how it should be done, and for several nights of delicious, exhilarating thrills.

Highly recommended by Aaron Paul Lazar, www.legardemysteries.com

Chasing the Writing High

It's October. The Finger Lakes region has been beautiful lately, really gorgeous with its purple asters and bright yellow golden rod, deep blue skies and hints of red and orange colors streaking the hillsides.

I've been waiting for this moment forever. All year, really. I dubbed the year of 2011 "the year of endless edits," because that's all I've been doing since January.

It's not a bad thing, it's really part of a great trend with my publisher. She's decided she wants to release more of my backlogged books, rather than release just one or two a year. We have the first two Tall Pines Mysteries, books 2 and 3 in Moore Mysteries, a new LeGarde Mystery, and two "author's preferred edition" rewrites from the early LeGarde series, all of which are scheduled for release in the next six months, and all which required focused edits.

Compared to last year, 2011 really stunk. I mean, in 2010 I wrote three new books. I was on a constant writing high. Some prerequisite editing came in between (for FireSong, just released in July), but all in all, it was a very satisfying year for filling my aching need to create.

Last week I sent in the final edited manuscript for Upstaged. Done! Fertig! Fini! I was excited to start book three in my new Tall Pines series. Frankly, I was crazy with enthusiasm. After all, nothing gives me a thrill like writing fresh stuff. New stories. New twists. New characters. It's pure. It's fun. And I love it so much it can be scary.

I normally don't research very much.

There. I said it. As terrible as that is, it's true. I write from my experiences and also make up a lot of stuff. I know, I'll look bad by admitting this. But I can't pretend to be who I'm not.

This time, however, my new featured character comes from a Seneca reservation, where she's fleeing a monster who wants her dead. I don't know much about the reservation, except that my daughter and her husband used to go there for cigarettes when they used to smoke. To help with the background, I ordered four books from Amazon to teach me about the Senecas. Then I started to plan the book.

Big mistake! I never have more than a few loose ideas or themes ready to go when I start. The real planning, the real thinking, comes when I'm writing each chapter.

I started to panic. I couldn't make up my mind on characters, ages, plot elements. I drove myself crazy, woke up in the middle of the night worrying about it.

This is my sixteenth book. What was wrong with me? I started to wonder - what if I'm done? What if I never come up with another good idea again? Why can't I just plunge into this like I always do?

I've been doing this torturous "planning" all week, changing my mind a hundred times, talking to my writing pals about it, and going... nowhere.

This morning, I decided enough was enough! I've been craving writing for so long, wanting it so bad, that I was starting to get depressed. It was time to just start.

So I did. I let the first chapter out through my fingers onto the keyboard, and thus Catori was born, with all her problems throbbing in the foreground and with a nice clear picture appearing in my head. I don't really know where this story is going, except that I've got to help this poor girl escape her tormentor, bring her to the Adirondacks (Tall Pines cabin) to be safe, and figure out how to bring down the bad guys.

Hey, someone's gotta do it.

I've gotta remember to write like the wind, and stop this over-thinking stuff. Right?

Think I'll go write chapter two.

***

Aaron Paul Lazar

Please visit my website or my page here on MB4!

	Double Forte': A Gus LeGarde Mystery	First Book in LeGarde Mysteries
	Upstaged: A Gus LeGarde Mystery	Book 2 in LeGarde Mysteries
	Tremolo: cry of the loon Publisher: Twilight Times Books	Book 3 in LeGarde Mysteries
	Mazurka (A Gus LeGarde Mystery)	Book 4 in LeGarde Mysteries
	FireSong	Book 5 in LeGarde Mysteries
	Healey's Cave	First Book in Moore Mysteries (Green Marble Mysteries)

 

Interview by Dorothy James (she's in my head again!)

Aaron Paul Lazar is the author of  three series of mysteries, the LeGarde Mysteries, Moore Mysteries, and Tall Pines Mysteries.  He lives in the Genesee Valley in upstate New York, and enjoys the countryside where, in his own words, his characters “embrace life, play with their grandkids and dogs, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys.”  He “writes to soothe his soul.”

You can follow up his work and publications at his website  www.legardemysteries.com  He has won various awards, listed below along with publishing details of his books.  I met Aaron on Twitter, and recently reviewed five of his LeGarde mysteries  in this blog.  I am glad that he has agreed to be interviewed here and also sent me some of his pictures of the Genesee Valley.


DJ. As you know, Aaron, I am exploring in this blog the phenomenon of the mystery novel. I’m reading various kinds of mysteries, detective novels, thrillers etc., and considering what their appeal to their readers is. I decided to write about your mysteries because, as far as I am concerned, they are something of a genre unto themselves. You have suggested that they might be called, “country mysteries,” and I picked this up in my recent review. Do you think this describes them adequately?

APL: Dorothy, I’ve been trying to figure this out since I started writing these books! I always just called them mysteries, because they felt like elements of the mysteries I’d read my whole life – not exactly like them, but closer than any other genre. Some folks suggested “adventure,” but I didn’t think that really fit, since they aren’t a gun-slinging or sea-diving type of book. One publisher told me they reminded her of the good old-fashioned mysteries of her youth, and I took that to be a compliment! Now, people often die or have died in the past (ala Elsbeth in Double Forté ) in my books, but there isn’t always a murder, so to speak. So they aren’t classic “murder mysteries,” and they certainly aren’t “detective mysteries.” Of course they aren’t crime novels, either, because there is no detective or PI present (except for the cops who are Gus’s friends), and so much more happens in these stories than would be acceptable in a by-the-book crime novel.

Some people have called them “literary mysteries,” and on occasion, “cozies,” but they don’t really seem to fit in those categories either. So I dubbed them “country mysteries,” because they all take place in the country, the book settings explore and showcase nature, my characters are soothed by the country (as opposed to the city or suburbs), and they are always out in their gardens, or cooking stuff from the gardens, or walking in the woods, or sledding, or riding horses… it just seemed to fit. ;o)

DJ: What do you think about the genre name “cozy mystery?”  I balk at using the term for your novels, though they do fit the bill in not being excessively bloodthirsty and in depicting sex in a distinctly romantic way –and in moderation!  When someone says of my one murder mystery, “It’s not a cozy,” I tend to regard this as a compliment. Do you feel the same way? Or do you think the term could be profitably applied to your novels?  Are they “cozies” to you?

APL:  Yes, I feel the same way about not being categorized as a cozy writer. I don’t really think they are cozies. There’s much more pathos and deep-seated emotion and pure evil that invades these books (like it does your novel!), and it’s not shown in a cozy fashion as Agatha Christie would have done. Granted, I try to keep the gratuitous violence and sex down to a bare minimum (the operative word here being gratuitious), but it’s impossible to avoid violence when you’re talking about villains like neo-Nazis or sociopaths. For example, I don’t think in a cozy one would describe the way the eyes of a dead man gelled and turned gray, as I did at the end of Double Forté with Baxter’s death. And perhaps one wouldn’t expect so many fistfights, chases, or scenes where someone has a knife or gun pushed into their ribs in a cozy. I believe that brings my books beyond the definition of cozy. That said, there are elements of these books that are comforting, and “cozy” in that manner, if you know what I mean. When I have Gus LeGarde sitting on his porch steps with his dog, patting him, with the sun beating down and flowers bending and swaying around them…it’s comforting for both Gus and the readers. It may not be critical to the plot, but it’s critical to the job of getting the readers to know and care about Gus, in my humble opinion.

DJ: You have written that you turned to writing novels after losing a number of members of your family. You were seeking solace.  Why, at such a time, would you choose to write mysteries?  In fact your novels are family stories, and the drama within the LeGarde family is by no means all dependent on the mystery plot, though the plot is often moved forward by family dynamics.  Could you have just written family novels?

APL: I've always read mysteries, Dorothy. Never much else. They call to me, so it was never even a question what genre I'd write. The scenes with family were comforting, because they reminded me of my loves ones that I'd lost, but the mystery parts of the stories were great escapes for me, too. I never really considered writing “just” about family. I’ve always been excited by the idea of secrets being overturned or mysteries being solved. Maybe I’ll have to consider this some day. ;o)

DJ: I have called your novels “romantic.” You have, it seems to me, a romantic view of love, of family relationships, of the relationship between human-beings and nature. How do you square this with the need in a mystery to introduce all sorts of quite un-romantic things, such as murder, beating and brutal men? You picked up on some comments of mine in my recent review and talked about the “operatic separation of heroes and villains.” Would you like to expand a little on that here?

APL:  I’ll never forget the summer when I took off on my horse by myself for hours. I’d find a great spot in a pasture, let the horse eat grass, and I’d read a book either turned around with my elbows on his soft hindquarters, or on the ground beside him under a tree. My father said, “He’s going through a Romantic stage now.” Heh. I guess I never outgrew it.

I think part of my difficulty accepting things not beautiful (un-romantic) has to do with the fact that I was raised in a very sheltered and almost utopian environment. No, we didn’t have much money. But we had all the basics and plenty of love. We had one very old car, one tiny B&W TV, a very cold house in the winter, etc. But we lived in the country (much like I do now) and grew big gardens, had family feasts, took in all the stray animals, and of course, found a way to keep my horse. He wasn’t anything special, but I adored him. We got him for a few hundred bucks from a local woman, but the life I had every day on his back, playing with my pals who also had horses, was so incredible, it just set my expectations for how life is supposed to be. It didn’t cost so much back then to keep a horse. Now you have to be rich, or at least prioritize your life in a different way.

I also flat-out loved opera in my teens and twenties, and went to as many performances as I could. My favorites at the time were Tosca, Carmen, Aida, Rigoletto… talk about romantic! I guess I never progressed beyond the point of showing villains for who they really were. I didn’t worry too much about humanizing them so that the reader felt sympathy. After all, they were the “bad guys.” I know many of today’s writers are quite concerned about character arcs (having their character grow and change) and also that it’s popular to have a seriously flawed hero. I remember my wife originally asked me “why don’t you make Gus an alcoholic, or something interesting like that?” I couldn’t do it! Why? Because I wouldn’t be able to use him then as the example of a good dad, good grandfather, good husband.

I never meant to use my characters as teaching models – not in my conscious brain, anyway. But it seems they have ended up doing just that with many of my readers. One reader actually told me that Gus taught him how to be a better father! Imagine that? I still treasure that comment.

DJ: In all five of the novels that I reviewed, the plot is set in the framework of developing family relationships, and in three of them there are also major subplots that only connect tangentially with the the main mystery plot (the mysterious visitor in Tremolo, the connection to the nineteenth century composer in Mazurka, and the hidden room and Underground Railroad in FireSong).  Traditionally, murder mysteries are tightly plotted, more in the style of your Upstaged, and the reader’s attention is firmly directed throughout at the detection of the culprit.  Are you deliberately subverting the genre in your subplots, or do these simply pop into your head and you cannot resist them?

APL: Dorothy, I love your questions. They are so deep and so far beyond what I’m normally asked! Okay, let’s talk about the subplots you mentioned first. In Tremolo, I thought it would be lovely to entwine the feelings and emotions of 1964 in the book in some tangible ways. You know I used Beatles songs, movies of the time (“To Kill A Mockingbird”), radio programs that hinted at the fears of the day, like bomb scares and such. But I wanted to bring closer one of the most powerful events that happened in that decade, and that was the assassination of the President. By having a mysterious visitor come to camp, as yes, a definite sub plot, I felt I could integrate the event more closely to my characters and their lives.

In Mazurka, the only way I could get Siegfried to accompany Gus and Camille on their vacation (because I could not imagine leaving him out of this story!) was to concoct a very good reason for him to have to go with them. By having this deep dark secret about Chopin that his great aunt needed to pass on to him, I created the mechanics of him coming along. But remember, there are also many strains throughout the books about Chopin. Elsbeth always adored this composer. Gus is writing a book about him. Gus’s grandson dances around the great room to the strains of Chopin mazurka’s, etc. There were already the elements planted in the series that reached way back in time to this event, making it fit.

In FireSong, there are a lot of plot lines. Maybe too many. But I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to link the criminal activities beneath the church and town to something historic, to Gus and Camille. By finding the secret room in their house with Underground Railroad relics in it, I firmly linked Gus and Camille, and the original owner of their house, Mary Hill, to the current day happenings in the town. Remember that Mary was found in a very unexpected place – and it all linked back to those criminal activities that were ongoing. How else would we have found her if there hadn’t been the original cave in at the mines? Or the forest fire? I think it all linked together in important ways, but maybe I had too much going on in this one.

DJ:  A related question: You have a leisurely approach to narration—in my review I used the word “contemplative”—and some whole sections contribute nothing to the actual plot—e.g., Gus playing with his grandson, Gus and his friends and family cooking, the minister preaching.  Do you deliberately slow down the pace of the plot in this way in order then to take your readers by surprise when you throw them into fast-paced chase scene where the narration is highly concentrated and very precise. How much planning do you do of pacing?  Or do you, as it were, follow your nose and let the characters and the story lead you?

APL: I do the latter, Dorothy. My characters lead me where they will.
But I also believe that I have always intentionally employed the device of “tension and release, tension and release.” Like a sine wave, actually, I position scenes or vignettes of Gus’s family life in between the action scenes. It’s very purposeful. I think the reason I do it is to make my readers love and care for my characters, to expose their personalities, their weaknesses, their fears. I do it to let the reader relax a little between the tense scenes, and also to make the story seem more real. If all my characters did was run around from or after villains the whole time, that would make my books probably into suspense or terror. But they aren’t, they definitely aren’t. It’s almost become second nature, but this interchanging of relaxed versus tense scenes has always been my intent. I do very little planning, except to collect a few vague ideas about subjects I’ll cover or problems my characters will develop, or new characters I’ll feature. And I don’t outline.

DJ: You are a prolific writer. You did not begin writing novels until about 2004 (if I am right) and since then you have written fifteen, with six on the market now and the rest in the publishing queue scheduled for near term release. I am in awe of this ability since it takes me several years to write one.  How do you do it? Particularly when you also hold down a full-time job as an applications engineer—and then there is your family, to say nothing of your garden, your dogs and cats . . .

APL:  It isn’t easy, Dorothy. But I budget my time very carefully. I rarely watch television, so that helps a lot. I work hard and fast on the household and garden chores, and I am forever behind. The house is never perfectly clean; the weeds are never fully pulled. There are always fifty jobs waiting for me when I come home. But I figure if we are living in a relatively clean environment, eating fresh produce and healthy meals, etc. then I can take a few hours a night (or early morning) to devote to my books. When I’m writing a book, I do about a chapter a day. Normally it takes about three months to get a draft done when I’m on a roll. After that, it may be years before the book comes out, and it goes through many editing phases. So it’s just a matter of priorities. My wife and family come first, then my writing. All the other stuff can be done whenever I can squeeze it in.

DJ: Your novels show more than a passing involvement with European culture—music, language, some European cities. Mazurka plays almost entirely in Europe, in Paris, in Vienna. And several of your characters have European roots, not only the twins, Elsbeth and Siegfried. Siegfried’s German is even scattered through the texts.  Your own life seems to be very well rooted in upstate New York. Where does your interest in Europe come in?

APL: When I worked for Kodak, one of my jobs was liaison with our German counterparts in Muelhausen, in our German factory. I loved this job, and frequently visited for a week or two at a time. In 1986 my whole family was invited to live in Germany while I worked with my counterparts there. We lived in Denkendorf, a lovely little village outside of Stuttgart. You’ll see an appearance of Denkendorf in Mazurka, as well as many of the shops and restaurants we frequented. While we lived there, my wife and I were able to take long weekend trips to various locales – Paris, Wien, Austria, the Black Forest, etc. etc. (my in-laws came along with us to Germany to help care for our three little girls, and we took turns every other weekend traveling when we could!) Most of these locales are featured in Mazurka. Now, years later, I work for a Germany company with headquarters here in Rochester, NY. I’ve been overseas twice now in the past year and am delighted to reconnect with the German people and culture.

DJ:  And now a nuts-and-bolts question:
Many people these days are trying their hand at self-publishing.  You have yourself published with small publishing companies and you have had success with e-books. Do you have any advice, based in your own experience:
a) for writers who are interested in self-publishing?
b) for writers who are interested in getting into the e-book market?
Can you make any comments on the current trend towards publishing oneself on e.g. Kindle, doing all the formatting oneself, setting the price, and simply selling.

APL: Dorothy, all I can say is the world is rapidly changing in this arena. People are completely bypassing publishers these days and becoming enormously successful. Or failing miserably. Folks are still snagging good agents and being well represented by big publishers; and others in the same boat get little in the way of promotion or sales. The market is so changeable, the opportunities so open and amazing… and there is no zero sum game here, especially with eBooks.

My eBooks have sold far more than my print books, and I’m delighted with this. My publisher does all the work on formatting, etc. I wouldn’t know where to begin! She is a master at this.
My wife and I are buying probably ten times more books in general now that she has her Kindle and I use my little iPhone to read. A year ago, I would have laughed at the idea, but it has really taken hold and grown. We are constantly downloading books for free or 99 cents that are wonderful reads. Of course, once we hit on an author we like, we gladly go back to research what they’ve written and frequently buy at full price without questioning the cost. So there’s a lesson to be learned here re. promotion.

I wish I had the magic bullet answer – but I think it’s still and always will be the same. Write the best book you can. Put it in the very best polished format. Find a way to get it to your readers, and keep on writing so they will come back for more!

DJ:  What are you writing now and where are you going?

APL: I’ve just finished polishing and rewriting my old books – the first two books I wrote, Double Forté and Upstaged. My current publisher (Twilight Times Books) has picked them up and they will come out as “author’s preferred editions” next year. So I’m free to start a new book, and I’m very excited to be in the thinking stages about a third book in my Tall Pines series. I have ten books in LeGarde, three in Moore Mysteries, and two in Tall Pines, so it makes sense to add one to the new Tall Pines series before I go on.  I intend to keep writing these three series indefinitely, God willing.

Next I’ll likely add a book to the Moore series, and then will probably either go back to spruce up one of the four remaining LeGarde books that is waiting in the wings, or I’ll write another “young Gus” book. I have two now in that sub-category of LeGarde Mysteries, and would like to continue that series within a series. ;o)

11. What kind of audience do you hope to reach?

APL: I must say that originally I never wrote for anyone but me. It was my world, my pleasure, and under my control. LOL. But now, I’ve seen that I can reach and connect with readers of all ages. I have ten year olds who have read and enjoyed Double Forté and 99 year olds who read all the books. It seems my stories span the ages. The Tall Pines series, however, is aimed a little more at women (although I think most men will like it, too). But we shall see how they are received when they come out!

DJ:  Anything you would like add?

APL: First of all, thank you so much for these brilliant questions and wish you the very best with your own book, which I loved. Secondly, I’d like to say that connecting with my readers, learning what they liked and didn’t like, seeing how the books impacted them – it’s all my favorite part of being an author. Folks can connect with me on facebook, twitter, or my many blogs. My main website is www.legardemysteries.com. You can also email me at aaron dot lazar at yahoo dot com to sign up for my quarterly newsletter.
Thank you, Dorothy, and don’t forget to write like the wind.


AWARDS:
WINNER 2011 Eric Hoffer BEST Book, COMMERCIAL FICTION * GRAND PRIZE FINALIST Eric Hoffer Book Award 2011 * 2X FINALIST Global eBook Awards 2011 * Preditors & Editors Readers Choice Award – 2^nd place 2011* Winner of Carolyn Howard Johnsons’ 9^th Annual Noble (Not Nobel!) Prize for Literature 2011 *  Finalist Allbooks Editors Choice Awards 2011 * Preditors&Editors Top 10 Finalist  *   Yolanda Renee’s Top Ten Books 2008   *  MYSHELF Top Ten Reads 2008  * Writers’ Digest Top 101 Website Award 2009 & 2010
See also: www.legardemysteries.com / www.mooremysteries.com /  www.murderby4.blogspot.com / www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com /www.aplazar.gather.com