This past year I have been focusing on my graphic design business and having a child (see adorable picture of Zoe below) and it’s been hard to give the time required to write a novel. Not that I’ve stopped writing or wanting to write, but the amount of hours I have available is not what it once was. Since I had shorter hours I decided to shift to shorter projects and I’ve spent the past year working on short stories. This has been both hard and rewarding. Hard in that I’ve always worked in long format and short stories are structured differently than novels. Short stories have made me practice new skills and work in new ways and it has been extremely rewarding to see these new skills bear fruit.
But as my life (and daughter) settle back into a routine, I’m looking forward to returning to the novel structure. In fact, I have plans for a third Carrie Mae Mystery, High-Caliber Concealer, and an as yet to be named mystery set in the San Juan islands. I can’t wait to share these new adventures with you, but today I’m releasing the last of my pre-daughter short stories. Power of Attorney a Carrie Mae Mini-Mystery is now available! I hope you enjoy it!
https://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Aug2016-Logo-op3-300x69.png00Bethany Maineshttps://bethanymaines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Aug2016-Logo-op3-300x69.pngBethany Maines2014-05-28 17:34:272014-07-20 17:41:39Power of Attorney
I was watching The Big Bang Theory the other day – the one where Sheldon was expounding on his hatred for Wil Wheaton, his “arch-nemesis.” Having an arch-nemesis is such a comic book notion that the idea of a real person with an arch-nemesis has comedic potential built in. But it got me thinking about how we approach our enemies in real life. Most of us don’t say we have enemies. We have people we don’t like – mean people at work, that jerk of a clerk at the DMV, or the weird neighbor who thinks it’s great to feed that raccoons. To say that person is an enemy is to imply that they are out to get you and that conversely you’re probably out to get them. An enemy seems to imply a state of conflict that most of us aren’t really comfortable with.
But Sheldon got me to thinking: Who have been the “enemies” in my life? That one girl at the office who over watered my bamboo plant and then blamed me for the fact that it smelled like dog poo? (That is what happens when you over water bamboo, by the way.) Could I turn her into the villain of a workplace adventure? Just how much bad behavior does it take for a reader will believe a character in the role of villain? Accidental over watering probably doesn’t make a villain. I think we’d have to ramp up the bad behavior before a reader would believe she was anything more than a workplace annoyance. And since I was considering my life through the lens of villainy I had to wonder if I had ever been anyone else’s arch-nemesis. Of course, I’d probably be horrified if I found out I was hated by someone, but to figure so large in the pantheon of someone’s life would be kind of cool. So then I paused to consider what about my character would make a good villain and I realized it was quite clearly my underground volcano lair.
What character trait do you think makes for a good villain?
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Help a starving author – leave reviews for the books you read today!
There’s a lot of talk these days about shopping local with the goal of supporting actual people instead of massive corporations. Well, you can’t get much more small, local, and actual than author. Reviews really do help authors. It’s through reviews that their books percolate through the great Google and Amazon algorithms and get recommended to other readers. And new readers means new buyers, which translates directly to an author’s pocket book.
That being said, I don’t often leave reviews for books. An author, I know that harsh reviews can be devastating to writers. I also think that after working on the craft of writing for more than a few years, that I’m pickier than the average reader and that can make for some rather negative reviews. But since I truly value an honest review I have adopted a “If I can’t say anything nice, then I don’t say anything at all” policy when it comes to reviews. Which means that my reviews are further a part as my life becomes busier with less time for reading, and I find it harder to find a book that I love with the same passion I did when I was younger. Hopefully, that means that if you see a review from me, you’ll know that I truly enjoyed the book.
So keep on leaving reviews, try not to be too mean, and definitely, definitely keep on reading.
Power of Attorney
/in Carrie Mae, General WritingThis past year I have been focusing on my graphic design business and having a child (see adorable picture of Zoe below) and it’s been hard to give the time required to write a novel. Not that I’ve stopped writing or wanting to write, but the amount of hours I have available is not what it once was. Since I had shorter hours I decided to shift to shorter projects and I’ve spent the past year working on short stories. This has been both hard and rewarding. Hard in that I’ve always worked in long format and short stories are structured differently than novels. Short stories have made me practice new skills and work in new ways and it has been extremely rewarding to see these new skills bear fruit.
But as my life (and daughter) settle back into a routine, I’m looking forward to returning to the novel structure. In fact, I have plans for a third Carrie Mae Mystery, High-Caliber Concealer, and an as yet to be named mystery set in the San Juan islands. I can’t wait to share these new adventures with you, but today I’m releasing the last of my pre-daughter short stories. Power of Attorney a Carrie Mae Mini-Mystery is now available! I hope you enjoy it!
The Arch-Nemesis
/in General WritingI was watching The Big Bang Theory the other day – the one where Sheldon was expounding on his hatred for Wil Wheaton, his “arch-nemesis.” Having an arch-nemesis is such a comic book notion that the idea of a real person with an arch-nemesis has comedic potential built in. But it got me thinking about how we approach our enemies in real life. Most of us don’t say we have enemies. We have people we don’t like – mean people at work, that jerk of a clerk at the DMV, or the weird neighbor who thinks it’s great to feed that raccoons. To say that person is an enemy is to imply that they are out to get you and that conversely you’re probably out to get them. An enemy seems to imply a state of conflict that most of us aren’t really comfortable with.
But Sheldon got me to thinking: Who have been the “enemies” in my life? That one girl at the office who over watered my bamboo plant and then blamed me for the fact that it smelled like dog poo? (That is what happens when you over water bamboo, by the way.) Could I turn her into the villain of a workplace adventure? Just how much bad behavior does it take for a reader will believe a character in the role of villain? Accidental over watering probably doesn’t make a villain. I think we’d have to ramp up the bad behavior before a reader would believe she was anything more than a workplace annoyance. And since I was considering my life through the lens of villainy I had to wonder if I had ever been anyone else’s arch-nemesis. Of course, I’d probably be horrified if I found out I was hated by someone, but to figure so large in the pantheon of someone’s life would be kind of cool. So then I paused to consider what about my character would make a good villain and I realized it was quite clearly my underground volcano lair.
What character trait do you think makes for a good villain?
Reviews (2014)
/in General WritingPUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Help a starving author – leave reviews for the books you read today!
There’s a lot of talk these days about shopping local with the goal of supporting actual people instead of massive corporations. Well, you can’t get much more small, local, and actual than author. Reviews really do help authors. It’s through reviews that their books percolate through the great Google and Amazon algorithms and get recommended to other readers. And new readers means new buyers, which translates directly to an author’s pocket book.
That being said, I don’t often leave reviews for books. An author, I know that harsh reviews can be devastating to writers. I also think that after working on the craft of writing for more than a few years, that I’m pickier than the average reader and that can make for some rather negative reviews. But since I truly value an honest review I have adopted a “If I can’t say anything nice, then I don’t say anything at all” policy when it comes to reviews. Which means that my reviews are further a part as my life becomes busier with less time for reading, and I find it harder to find a book that I love with the same passion I did when I was younger. Hopefully, that means that if you see a review from me, you’ll know that I truly enjoyed the book.
So keep on leaving reviews, try not to be too mean, and definitely, definitely keep on reading.