Now that I am part of the Cozy Cat Press family, I thought it would be nice to introduce you to some of the other fabulous felines making their homes there. Today, you get to meet Blanche Manos.
The Outside Lane: Blanche, how did you become a writer?
Blanche Day Manos: I started writing when I was a youngster, inspired by Nancy Drew and by not having any friends nearby to play with. I created my own world with my words. As a child and later as an adult, I started writing poetry for children. I also wrote short articles on the importance of reading to children, books as a good baby shower gift, and my experience as an elementary school teacher.
I wrote fiction for children and was published by several children’s magazines, including Cricket, Humpty Dumpty, Turtle, Guide, The Friend, Wee Wisdom, and others. I’ve also been published by confession magazines and Christian periodicals. I’ve written on assignment for many years for a Christian publication.
TOL: Tell us about THE CEMETERY CLUB.
BDM: Several years ago, a friend introduced me to Barbara Burgess, another northwest Arkansas writer. Since we are both of Cherokee heritage and have heard several legends about northeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas, we thought it might be fun to write a mystery incorporating our ideas and experiences and so, our first book, The Cemetery Club was born.
BDM: And how did you come to Cozy Cat Press?
A: A funny thing…when we finished our second book, Grave Shift, and queried Patricia Rockwell, she was interested in it but thought it might have a little too much violence for a cozy. We re-wrote and she liked it and took it for Cozy Cat Press.
TOL: Tell us about Darcy and Flora, the main characters of your series.
BDM: The main characters in our books are quite a bit like Barbara and me; our likes, our beliefs, and the closeness we shared with our parents. We like Darcy and Flora, our main characters and we like their small and fictional town of Levi, Oklahoma.
TOL: What’s next for your intrepid problem solvers?
BDM: We are finishing our third Darcy/Flora book and I am thinking of maybe branching out on my own with a completely different series and a different protagonist.
The second book in your series, GRAVE SHIFT, is getting rave reviews on Amazon. What is it about?
When Darcy Campbell returned to her home town of Levi, Oklahoma, she longed for peace and healing from the recent loss of her husband. She found much more than she bargained for when two rare Oklahoma earthquakes, a villain with murder in his heart, and a mountain lion threaten her and her mother Flora Tucker. Being an investigative reporter on leave of absence from her Dallas newspaper, Darcy has an active curiosity which leads her into some dangerous places and nearly costs her her life. At last she solves a long-standing mystery in Levi and her grief begins to heal when the sheriff of Ventris County re-kindles an old flame in her heart.
TOL: I can’t wait to read your books! Where else can we find you?
I already know how it ends. Ha! You’re going to love it.
However, as much as I have enjoyed my Advanced Reader Copy of BURIED LEADS, I can’t tell you what happens. I can tell you that LynDee’s series is only getting stronger, and I asked if she would come talk to us about what it’s like the second time around.
Q: So, LynDee, what differs from the release of your first book to your second?
A: Not much, that I can see, except I have readers who know who I am. The first time, I was really nobody from nowhere. I wondered what kind of reception Nichelle would get from readers, but it was all theoretical, because no one had ever heard of either of us.
This time, there are people who read Front Page Fatality and really enjoyed it, and they’re waiting for Buried Leads to launch. It’s a little wild for me to wrap my head around the fact that there’s even one reader who’s not in my immediate circle who is waiting for my book to launch. And it’s really cool.
She looks good with a Sharpie! LynDee signing books for her fans. She might have been new with Front Page Fatality, but now she’s got masses of adoring readers.
Q: What do you know, going into the second release, that you wish you’d known with the first?
A: That an author can only do so much. I’m a control freak, and I planned everything and booked blogs months in advance. And don’t get me wrong, it helps. A lot. And I think as an author you have to put that effort in (and I am doing it for Buried Leads, though I do have a tour organizer and my fantabulous Henery Press marketing folks taking care of a lot of the blog tour stuff this time). But you have to understand that you can write guest blog posts until your fingers fall off and it will not magically make you JK Rowling.
In the end, the very best thing that can happen is that you do the work, and then the retailers decide to help you.
Q: What role does your editor play in getting your book shelf-ready?
A: Oh, I could go on forever about this. But I won’t, because my editor would slap my hand. I am blessed to have an editor who really gets Nichelle and understands what I want my stories to be. That is so, so important in this business.
She is brilliant and very good at her job, and she sees things in the books that don’t come across the way I intended and offers suggestions to make them better. But she listens to me. If I say, “wait, that’s important later,” or “I adore that character, how can I keep him?” she brainstorms with me and we figure it out together. I love the feeling of teamwork, and knowing that she cares about my career.
And all that “tightly written, fast-paced” praise I get? That’d be because my editor is a master of trimming and speeding the story without losing anything. One of the things I love most about working with her is that she’s teaching me to be a better writer.
The most fun of book releases is meeting people, LynDee says.
Q: Now that you are releasing book 2, writing book 3, and are involved in a couple of other Nichelle mini-novels, what advice would you give writers who are looking for the big break?
A: Why, Miss Lane, I think we had this discussion very recently, didn’t we? [Yes! Which is why I want TOL readers to hear it from you! Lane] Here it is, y’all, as crazy as it sounds: enjoy writing just for the love of writing. It should always be true, in my opinion, but it’s easy for that to get lost in the pressure of deadlines and edits and marketing after you have a contract (or three). I owe my friend Gretchen McNeil thanks for telling me that about a year before Front Page sold, and now I have paid it forward. Your days of editors and deadlines and reviews will come in their own time. If you’re a writer, it’s part of who you are. Take joy in sitting down and creating.
Q: Tell us about the audio books.
A: *Squeals* That was the most amazing thing yet! I think. Maybe tied with that amazon #1. But really: an actress (no, I do not know who yet) is going to read my books out loud. Holy crow. All I really know about it right now is that the rights to both Front Page and Buried Leads have sold, and as the production process moves along, we’ll have more information on the narrator and release dates.
Q: What is the most fun part of the book release?
A: Meeting people. Getting to know different folks was always my favorite part of being a reporter, and whether it’s online or at a signing, meeting people—readers, other authors, bloggers, booksellers—is my favorite part of this, too.
Q: Tell us where your release is going to happen, and why that is awesome.
A: It IS awesome! The Buried Leads launch party is part of this year’s Virginia Literary Festival! I am just over the moon about this opportunity. The people who organize the festival are amazing, and it’s such a great event. And and AND, we’re launching this book at the Library of Virginia, which is a breathtaking building that houses the state’s most important historical document collections. In Virginia, that’s some pretty amazing stuff. Nichelle would be honored to be so close to that much history.
Until I started to write this blog entry, I had forgotten how much I loved Bill Fitzhugh’s book, Pest Control. It is, hands down, one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. It also got me a date. See, I bought it, then went into the B&N cafe to start reading it (as was my wont back in the college days) and I started giggling out loud. The laughter caught the attention of a fellow bookworm, who struck up a conversation and asked me out.
That dating relationship lasted somewhat longer than the “romance” that blossomed in my psychologist’s office around the same time, but was no less strange. Oh, the stories I have to tell, People. The stories I have to tell.
Anyway, Bill Fitzhugh. Hilarious. Look him up. Organ Grinders is another great work of his.
I remembered Fitzhugh because I had forgotten a large part of an interview I read that involved him. I’m getting there. Stay with me. I can’t remember if it was Fitzhugh being interviewed, or someone else being interviewed who mentioned him, but the long and short of it was that one author had worked his arse off trying to get published and there had been some hijinks about renting an ice cream cone costume to try to get his manuscript into the hands of an agent/publisher/something, and one author just sent in a manuscript and was published and famous the next day. It was an anecdote about how fickle the publishing industry is–any industry that relies on public consumption, really.
Is it who you know? Or how good you are at what you do? Or just happening to be where lightning strikes? Or what? JK Rowling and EL James are both names you’d recognize, but took very different pathways to their success. And seriously? How depressing must that be for some writers? I mean, Rowling is a demi-god, who should stand in the Pantheon with Lewis and Tolkien (sacrilege? I think not.) You can be okay with never achieving her level of success because–look at her body of work! James is… a very different story. Although, it makes you feel better about your chances at being struck by lightning, it might make you feel a lot worse about rejection notices.
Everyone goes about it differently. There isn’t any set way. The only things that are certain are that you must have the mental energy to finish a manuscript, the willingness to put it out there for criticism, the ability to accept rejection, a thick enough skin to live around the people who hate it, and the optimism, self-confidence and mental energy to do it all over again until lightning strikes. Lather, rinse, repeat.
It’s funny how many of my friends are writers. I didn’t go looking for writer friends. We all just sort of ended up in the same places (LiveJournal, TTP, Facebook–places where you can write) excited about the same things. We work together, most of us, to help each other along.
And that’s good, because while I am totally into the idea of wearing an ice cream cone costume, I am exhausted by the idea of printing out so many pages of work and hulking them around everywhere.
LynDee Walker’s new book, Buried Leads, is due out in October. I am very excited to start talking about it, but you’re going to have to wait just a little longer–ee! Meanwhile, I had the great pleasure of meeting LynDee’s editor, Kendel Flaum, and thought you’d enjoy hearing from her. As the managing editor of Henery Press, she has great insight and is, of course, very interesting.
But don’t just take my word for it. This is Kendel’s bio:
Kendel Flaum is a Southern California native who now parks her flip flops in Dallas, Texas. Deciding to combine her fifteen years of entrepreneurial savvy and over a decade of designing, writing, and editorial experience, she launched Henery Press, an independent publishing house focused on mystery and suspense. As managing editor, she’s always looking for captivating stories — from cozies and crime capers to paranormals and PIs. She’s got a coop full of award-winners and nominees in the Hen House, and just loves finding a gem in the slush pile.
Q) I love the story of how Henery Press came to be. Will you please tell it for our audience?
Let me nutshell it for your readers: It started from a love of writing. Which led me to an amazing organization, Sisters in Crime, and its upstart sub-chapter, the Guppies. I met my mentor there, I met my bff there, and I met 500+ mystery writers looking to be published there. After several years, Diane Vallere, the aforementioned bff, and I decided to create a sub-chapter of the Guppies called called Press Quest where we’d spearhead the efforts to compile information on every mid-to-small-to boutique press open to mystery writers. We researched until our fingers cramped – we detailed lists, facts, databases, interviews, websites, and on-the-ground commentary.
Some of that commentary proved scary: contracts that fell apart, offers to publish in weeks (weeks! oy.), cringe-worthy covers, non-existent support. After years of being in the trenches, writing, editing, designing, I decided there had to be a better way. One with a chicken at the helm. (Side note: In a previous life, I spent over fifteen years building a completely separate business from dollar one into a multi-million dollar company, so I knew what it would take.)
That’s some nutshell.
Henery: Where it happens. And by “it”, I mean “great fun.”
Q) When we met, we talked about how covers sell books. The cover art coming out of Henery is every kind of eye-catching, captivating, and charming. Who creates the art, and how do you fit the art to the book?
Why, thank you for the kind words! I absolutely believe the cover is essential to the book, everyone likes to see a pretty package. We consult with the author to get their take, then meet with the in-house staff to discuss. Once we have a concept, we’ll either design here or hire freelance – or both.
Just a few of the eye catching covers coming out of Henery.
Q) What are the most challenging, and the most delightful aspects of your work?
The nuts and bolts of publishing can be the most challenging, probably because it’s not as much fun as engaging artwork and intriguing editorial. It’s also quite a challenge to find manuscripts – our catalog has limited space (about 2 books per month), and we’re building quite a niche in the mystery market.
Q) A good editor can help an author craft a decent manuscript into a great book. How do help an author on the edge of greatness make that leap?
Agreed, an editor can see things the author can’t. Mostly because the author has read the manuscript about 113 times. I’d say the most useful tool in the box is remembering “less is more.” Truly, tighten, tighten, tighten. Keep the dialog snappy, the scenes vivid, and the narrative on point. And when if your beta readers all love your work, you need new betas.You need the beta who enjoys your writing, but dishes out the sharp critiques. Like you said, it’s turning decent into great.
LynDee’s new book, due out on October 15, 2013. In an upcoming interview with the author, LynDee will give you her take on the importance of having a great editor like Kendel.
Q) How can an author make an editor’s job easier?
Don’t forgo the beta/editor stage when writing the second, third, fourth books. When you wrote your first, it probably went through 57 drafts, plus a multitude of critiques, contests, betas, and revisions. Over and over and over again until that baby sparkled. Now that you’ve sold it, and it’s published, and you’re onto the next, take the same care. Only more. Push yourself to be better, stronger. And that generally means better betas. (I’m sensing a theme…)
Q) What advice would you give to aspiring editors? Or people looking to break into publishing on the publishing house side of the industry?
Start freelancing. Even if you don’t get paid in the beginning, just to prove your work. Start with 50 page critiques, and move on from there. Read every writing book you can get your hands on, read lots of genres to understand techniques. Then grab an internship if you can find one. Nothing like learning from the inside.
Q) What was your favorite book growing up?
Just one? I’m torn between A Wrinkle in Time, Charlotte’s Web, Little Women, and The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot.
Lane, thank you so much for having me. It was a delight to meet you in person, and an honor to be featured on your blog!
Did you know that you can track your pizza delivery from Dominos now? With cute animated pizza guy and everything. Like I needed something else to distract me!
Between that and Pottermore…
Some books, I wish I could experience again for the first time. I wish I could experience all of Narnia again, A Wrinkle In Time, Skinny Legs and All, Tam Lin, and the first Harry Potter book. And Slummy Mummy, because I laughed out loud at that book more times than you need to know.
Pottermore (and yes, I was sorted into Gryffindor, though I expected Hufflepuff) is bittersweet because even though JK Rowling writes for it, the adventure is over and no matter how many potions you get to make, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine have long left the building. I like to think we’d all have been friends. I like to think the Pevensies, the Murrys and I would all have gotten on–I always thought my dearest elementary school friend was exactly like Meg Murry, so I loved Meg Murry all the more.
Yesterday, I was thinking back to how I got started writing. I can’t remember a time I wasn’t making up stories for my own entertainment. When forced to lie down for naps, I would tell myself stories–frequently involving Mr. Spock ending up as my guardian, since he was a favorite. Then, when I was in 3rd grade, a friend introduced me to fanfiction, and it wasn’t long before I was crossing over Battlestar Galactica with Star Blazers. –That’s an easy way to go to practice writing. No character development required. You only have to work out the plot. Or, in my case, work out how live action could cross over with anime.
Maybe if I am ever a famous writer, Leonard Nimoy and Dirk Benedict will find out how instrumental they were to my development and–well, that’s not ladylike writing, and Leonard Nimoy might not be limber enough at this stage of the game.
The Outside Lane 