As someone who works in a creative field professionally, I’m endlessly interested in how creativity functions. Where does anyone get their inspiration? Heck, where do I get my inspiration? The Greek idea of a muse—a goddess who comes by to inspire an artist—makes sense to me because sometimes ideas do feel external to myself.
Well, how did you come up with that?
Well, first I was doing the laundry while listening to Pandora (can’t get away from those Greek myths today, can I?) and the song used the phrase “bad for business” which reminded me of Risky Business, which made me think of Tom Cruise, and then I started to wonder why so many people were confused by the original Mission Impossible plot.
Thirty minutes later, I was jotting down an idea about what would happen if a demon burst through the floor of a non-profit fundraiser. Basically, I came up with the idea by having a lived experience and feeding it all into the hopper of my brain and letting everything pinball around like one of those kid’s mower toys with the balls that go pop-pop-pop.
So You Live With that Brain All the Time?
I do! And I like it! I worry about people who can’t connect completely random dots. Don’t they get bored just going from A to B to C? It’s so much better to go A to Q to C to R. But that’s not to say that creativity is just something that happens. There are ways to lure the muse into the house and trap her in a box.
To be clear, I’m referring to a computer where my muse has full reign to create whatever she wants. We are not shoving women in boxes over here. (I never saw Boxing Helena, but I have been troubled by it since I read the back of the box in a Blockbuster in the 90s. Who greenlit that?! Don’t Google it. You’re happier not knowing.)
The trick is to gather both the correct input (Read books! Watch movies! Experience the creativity of others!), and make sure I have the space and time to create. But probably my number one trick is to look for a problem to solve.
What problem?
I love James Bond, but when I wrote my first novel, there weren’t a lot of female spies in the marketplace. So I solved that problem. I wrote Bulletproof Mascara about a girl who starts by selling make-up and ends up saving the world. Check out my my full catalog to see what other problems I’ve solved.
Short stories are their own art form and while I enjoy writing them, I will frequently wait for inspiration to strike rather than trying to force one into existence. And this year, I’ve only had one short idea that I wanted to work on—The Rage Cage. However, once I do have a story, I really like to give it a chance to exist out in the world. Submitting a story is usually a long wait for a stack of rejections which may or may not be kind. And usually I take a spreadsheet approach—pick my targets, check my deadlines, read all the lists, and be strategic about my submissions. But this time I had barely finished The Rage Cage when I saw the deadline for this Larceny & Last Chances Anthology was quickly approaching. The fourth anthology from Superior Shores Press has a theme could not have been more perfect for my story. But even more desirable, the promised wait time between submission and rejection was only a few weeks. I leaped into action to get the story proof read and formatted per the instructions and turned it in. And then I had to wait… Fortunately, The Rage Cage was accepted and I could breathe a sigh of relief.
Larceny & Last Chances features twenty-two stories that must include, yes, you guessed it, theft and a final chance at something. In The Rage Cage my heroine Amber has a dog, a Dutch oven, and finally a plan. Amber’s life has been complicated by poor choices, but when she realizes that she’s not entirely to blame for everything that’s gone wrong, she decides to pick herself up and steal her last chance at happiness and maybe sobriety.
The Superior Shores Anthologies have been nominated for multiple awards and I’m excited to have been included. You can find all of the anthologies — The Best Laid Plans, Heartbreak & Half-Truths, Moonlight & Misadventures, and now Larceny & Last Chances –– at all book retailers. (But here is a quick link to Amazon: https://amzn.to/3UmMrvV )
Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense
Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk
Sometimes it’s about doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s about getting even. Sometimes it’s about taking what you think you deserve. And sometimes, it’s your last, best, hope.
Featuring stories by Christina Boufis, John Bukowski, Brenda Chapman, Susan Daly, Wil A. Emerson, Tracy Falenwolfe, Kate Fellowes, Molly Wills Fraser, Gina X. Grant, Karen Grose, Wendy Harrison, Julie Hastrup, Larry M. Keeton, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Gregory Meece, Cate Moyle, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Kevin R. Tipple, and Robert Weibezahl.
Last year, I connected with a Canadian film director who was looking for a fast, funny, crime-centered short script. Of which I had… zero. But what I did have was a stack of short stories. So I transferred one of my short stories to script format. He loved it, optioned it (that’s put it on hold in movie terms) and then produced it. It was a fantastic collaborative process and I loved seeing what he did with the script. Once the short film was complete, it was submitted to a variety of film festivals (including Sasqwatch Film Festival). Unfortunately, I wasn’t near to any of the festivals that accepted the film. And I wanted to see MY movie on the big screen.
But finally…
Then it got accepted into the Sasqwatch Film Festival in Vancouver BC. Which is well within driving distance for me in Washington State. So we farmed out the kiddo to my brother and invaded Canada! And then, after four hours sitting down in the car, we sat down in a darkened theater and watched Suzy Makes Cupcakes and a slate of other shorts.
So, it’s about cupcakes?
No. It’s about crime. And cupcakes. But mostly it’s about a woman who got married young to an abusive jerkwad who works for a crime syndicate. Suzy wants out of the life and away from her husband, but how to do that? Well… you come up with a plan, you make some cupcakes and then you see where the day takes you. But you do it all in twelve minutes or less because this is a short film after all. The short story version of the story made it’s debut at Noir at the Bar in Seattle and you can hear me read it in the recording from KUOW.
Was Sasqwatch everything you hoped?
Yes, actually it was. While it was a bit weird to hear people saying words that I made up, it was so fantastic to see it on the big screen. The director Jayson Theirren also flew into town and we got to meet in person for the first time. Afterwards, we all got drinks and talked movies, movies, movies. Then my partner and I went out for dinner, ate too much, and had a lovely evening out in Vancouver sans child. So basically, it was all that I hoped for and more.
There are plenty of life affirmations that get put on artistic signs. And I usually mock them. If you need someone or something to remind you to Live, Laugh, Love! then you’ve probably got bigger problems than a sign can help you with. However, I do think people sometimes need to be reminded to celebrate the accomplishments of the day. We get caught up in measuring my win, against your win, against that person over on social media, and so on, that sometimes our win doesn’t seem like a thing worth celebrating.
But this past week, as I celebrated the release of my latest mystery novel (Eye Contact – it’s awesome, go buy it), I caught a case of the comparisons as I compared myself to another writer. Writing is a very internal process and while there are certain parts that invite collaboration, by and large, it requires sitting down and plunking out words in solitude. And as an introvert, that is usually fine by me, but sometimes… Sometimes I think we need some friends to show up to remind us that the things that go on in our head aren’t always real. Fortunately for me, one of my friends excitedly commented how funny they found my book and were excited for the release. (Get yourself some friends like that. They’re gold.) Thanks to her enthusiasm I remembered that oh, wait, this is a win. It’s a whole book. MY book and I’m proud of it.
So if you’re over there struggling with what someone else has done… This is me whispering in your ear. Hey, you, you’re pretty cool. Your win is good and I hope you have many more. Don’t let comparison be the thief of your joy.
However, if you put that on a faux vintage sign, I will mock you. (But I will also celebrate you getting it actually hung up. Way to check something off the list!)
EYE CONTACT: Lexi Byrne, UW grad student, brilliant researcher, and high-functioning autistic is working on cutting edge research into how to replace damaged eyes with bionic technology. But after Lexi’s normal, safe, science-based life takes an abrupt left turn after her prototype is stolen, Lexi learns that not everyone on campus is who they say they are. Now Lexi’s scrambling to recover the prototype and figure out who is behind the theft before her work is sold to the Chinese. Lexi must fight her own limitations and lean on the strengths of her friends to stop a misogynistic, greedy thief and recover her work.
Creativity
/in Carrie Mae, Life, The Stiletto GangIs it Creativity or Goddess?
As someone who works in a creative field professionally, I’m endlessly interested in how creativity functions. Where does anyone get their inspiration? Heck, where do I get my inspiration? The Greek idea of a muse—a goddess who comes by to inspire an artist—makes sense to me because sometimes ideas do feel external to myself.
Well, how did you come up with that?
Well, first I was doing the laundry while listening to Pandora (can’t get away from those Greek myths today, can I?) and the song used the phrase “bad for business” which reminded me of Risky Business, which made me think of Tom Cruise, and then I started to wonder why so many people were confused by the original Mission Impossible plot.
Thirty minutes later, I was jotting down an idea about what would happen if a demon burst through the floor of a non-profit fundraiser. Basically, I came up with the idea by having a lived experience and feeding it all into the hopper of my brain and letting everything pinball around like one of those kid’s mower toys with the balls that go pop-pop-pop.
So You Live With that Brain All the Time?
I do! And I like it! I worry about people who can’t connect completely random dots. Don’t they get bored just going from A to B to C? It’s so much better to go A to Q to C to R. But that’s not to say that creativity is just something that happens. There are ways to lure the muse into the house and trap her in a box.
To be clear, I’m referring to a computer where my muse has full reign to create whatever she wants. We are not shoving women in boxes over here. (I never saw Boxing Helena, but I have been troubled by it since I read the back of the box in a Blockbuster in the 90s. Who greenlit that?! Don’t Google it. You’re happier not knowing.)
The trick is to gather both the correct input (Read books! Watch movies! Experience the creativity of others!), and make sure I have the space and time to create. But probably my number one trick is to look for a problem to solve.
What problem?
I love James Bond, but when I wrote my first novel, there weren’t a lot of female spies in the marketplace. So I solved that problem. I wrote Bulletproof Mascara about a girl who starts by selling make-up and ends up saving the world. Check out my my full catalog to see what other problems I’ve solved.
A Little Larceny…
/in Anthology, mystery, The Stiletto GangIs it Larceny or Just Larcenous?
Short stories are their own art form and while I enjoy writing them, I will frequently wait for inspiration to strike rather than trying to force one into existence. And this year, I’ve only had one short idea that I wanted to work on—The Rage Cage. However, once I do have a story, I really like to give it a chance to exist out in the world. Submitting a story is usually a long wait for a stack of rejections which may or may not be kind. And usually I take a spreadsheet approach—pick my targets, check my deadlines, read all the lists, and be strategic about my submissions. But this time I had barely finished The Rage Cage when I saw the deadline for this Larceny & Last Chances Anthology was quickly approaching. The fourth anthology from Superior Shores Press has a theme could not have been more perfect for my story. But even more desirable, the promised wait time between submission and rejection was only a few weeks. I leaped into action to get the story proof read and formatted per the instructions and turned it in. And then I had to wait… Fortunately, The Rage Cage was accepted and I could breathe a sigh of relief.
Larceny & Last Chances features twenty-two stories that must include, yes, you guessed it, theft and a final chance at something. In The Rage Cage my heroine Amber has a dog, a Dutch oven, and finally a plan. Amber’s life has been complicated by poor choices, but when she realizes that she’s not entirely to blame for everything that’s gone wrong, she decides to pick herself up and steal her last chance at happiness and maybe sobriety.
The Superior Shores Anthologies have been nominated for multiple awards and I’m excited to have been included. You can find all of the anthologies — The Best Laid Plans, Heartbreak & Half-Truths, Moonlight & Misadventures, and now Larceny & Last Chances –– at all book retailers. (But here is a quick link to Amazon: https://amzn.to/3UmMrvV )
Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense
Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk
Sometimes it’s about doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s about getting even. Sometimes it’s about taking what you think you deserve. And sometimes, it’s your last, best, hope.
Featuring stories by Christina Boufis, John Bukowski, Brenda Chapman, Susan Daly, Wil A. Emerson, Tracy Falenwolfe, Kate Fellowes, Molly Wills Fraser, Gina X. Grant, Karen Grose, Wendy Harrison, Julie Hastrup, Larry M. Keeton, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Gregory Meece, Cate Moyle, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Kevin R. Tipple, and Robert Weibezahl.
Release Date: June 18, 2024
Buy Link: www.books2read.com/larceny
A Happy Birthday
/in An Unseen Current, Free Book, Life, mystery, Paranormal Romance, The Deveraux, The Stiletto GangSasqwatch!
/in Action Movies, General Writing, Life, Scripts, The Stiletto GangThe Sasqwatch Film Festival
Last year, I connected with a Canadian film director who was looking for a fast, funny, crime-centered short script. Of which I had… zero. But what I did have was a stack of short stories. So I transferred one of my short stories to script format. He loved it, optioned it (that’s put it on hold in movie terms) and then produced it. It was a fantastic collaborative process and I loved seeing what he did with the script. Once the short film was complete, it was submitted to a variety of film festivals (including Sasqwatch Film Festival). Unfortunately, I wasn’t near to any of the festivals that accepted the film. And I wanted to see MY movie on the big screen.
But finally…
Then it got accepted into the Sasqwatch Film Festival in Vancouver BC. Which is well within driving distance for me in Washington State. So we farmed out the kiddo to my brother and invaded Canada! And then, after four hours sitting down in the car, we sat down in a darkened theater and watched Suzy Makes Cupcakes and a slate of other shorts.
So, it’s about cupcakes?
No. It’s about crime. And cupcakes. But mostly it’s about a woman who got married young to an abusive jerkwad who works for a crime syndicate. Suzy wants out of the life and away from her husband, but how to do that? Well… you come up with a plan, you make some cupcakes and then you see where the day takes you. But you do it all in twelve minutes or less because this is a short film after all. The short story version of the story made it’s debut at Noir at the Bar in Seattle and you can hear me read it in the recording from KUOW.
Was Sasqwatch everything you hoped?
Yes, actually it was. While it was a bit weird to hear people saying words that I made up, it was so fantastic to see it on the big screen. The director Jayson Theirren also flew into town and we got to meet in person for the first time. Afterwards, we all got drinks and talked movies, movies, movies. Then my partner and I went out for dinner, ate too much, and had a lovely evening out in Vancouver sans child. So basically, it was all that I hoped for and more.
Celebrate
/in General Writing, mysteryCelebrate!
There are plenty of life affirmations that get put on artistic signs. And I usually mock them. If you need someone or something to remind you to Live, Laugh, Love! then you’ve probably got bigger problems than a sign can help you with. However, I do think people sometimes need to be reminded to celebrate the accomplishments of the day. We get caught up in measuring my win, against your win, against that person over on social media, and so on, that sometimes our win doesn’t seem like a thing worth celebrating.
But this past week, as I celebrated the release of my latest mystery novel (Eye Contact – it’s awesome, go buy it), I caught a case of the comparisons as I compared myself to another writer. Writing is a very internal process and while there are certain parts that invite collaboration, by and large, it requires sitting down and plunking out words in solitude. And as an introvert, that is usually fine by me, but sometimes… Sometimes I think we need some friends to show up to remind us that the things that go on in our head aren’t always real. Fortunately for me, one of my friends excitedly commented how funny they found my book and were excited for the release. (Get yourself some friends like that. They’re gold.) Thanks to her enthusiasm I remembered that oh, wait, this is a win. It’s a whole book. MY book and I’m proud of it.
So if you’re over there struggling with what someone else has done… This is me whispering in your ear. Hey, you, you’re pretty cool. Your win is good and I hope you have many more. Don’t let comparison be the thief of your joy.
However, if you put that on a faux vintage sign, I will mock you. (But I will also celebrate you getting it actually hung up. Way to check something off the list!)
EYE CONTACT: Lexi Byrne, UW grad student, brilliant researcher, and high-functioning autistic is working on cutting edge research into how to replace damaged eyes with bionic technology. But after Lexi’s normal, safe, science-based life takes an abrupt left turn after her prototype is stolen, Lexi learns that not everyone on campus is who they say they are. Now Lexi’s scrambling to recover the prototype and figure out who is behind the theft before her work is sold to the Chinese. Lexi must fight her own limitations and lean on the strengths of her friends to stop a misogynistic, greedy thief and recover her work.
BUY HERE (all retailers): https://books2read.com/Maines-Eye-Contact