Mysterious Musings

Everyone is talking and writing about Michael Jackson, especially all of us here in Southern California. 

Even if you aren’t a huge fan, you have to recognize what a tremendous contribution Michael Jackson made to music, dance and culture. You also have to marvel at the instincts, skill and courage he showed in his drive to reach the top. He was the ultimate performer — on stage and, often, off. 

It seems there was so much hurt in his life that he was always childlike and fragile. Ultimately, he may have been vulnerable to those who would use him for his popularity or for his money. 

As a mystery writer, I’m also captivated by all the unknowns in his story. Why did he die so young? Who, if anyone, contributed to his death? Who really was this charismatic, troubled, supremely talented being? Why did he transform himself so dramatically from year to year? What would it have been like to spend a day with Michael Jackson? Who loved him, who hated him, who would hurt him? 

A version of Michael Jackson would be a great character in fiction — so brilliant but yet so troubled, so public and yet so shy, so huge an icon and yet so lonely. 

Maybe this is something you can think about in your writing. Are  your characters multi-dimensional, layered and flawed like Michael Jackson? Does your main character have the drive and conviction that he had when writing and performing his music? Are you creating motives for all your characters to love, envy, dance, hate and even kill? 

We writers can look around us — to our friends, our neighbors, our pop icons — and find amazing stories, characters and worlds to write about. Maybe today you can find inspiration in the King of Pop who lived in a world of animals and children and stunning stagecraft. Maybe today you can borrow a little of that brilliance and pain and conflict.

Michael Jackson joins the long list of talented, troubled, larger-than-life icons who die suddenly and so young. Sadly, he apparently expected such an early end. According to today’s LA Times, Lisa Marie Presley, his former wife, wrote in her MySpace page that Jackson predicted an early death and compared himself to her father, Elvis Presley. 

I was thinking about this sad premonition when I came across the words to the song, “Gone too soon,” which Jackson sang as a tribute to Ryan White, the profoundly brave boy who fought prejudice against AIDs. 

Here are the final stanzas of the song, which is available on the web site, www.allmichaeljackson.com

Born to amuse, to inspire, to delight
Here one day
Gone one night

Like a sunset
Dying with the rising of the moon
Gone too soon
Gone too soon

I just started reading “Mumbo Gumbo” by Jerrilyn Farmer. I can tell already it’s going to be an enjoyable read. 

I purchased the book at the California Crime Writers Conference conference after listening to Jerrilyn Farmer’s presentation, “You, too, can plot.” She was outstanding and really helped me to understand the principles — and the fun — of plotting. 

Jerrilyn said that the best plots please three separate groups: 1. The writer. 2 The characters and 3. Your readers. 

Obviously, you as the writer decide the tone, theme, setting and social commentary of the book. That’s your right as the creator of the story. But Jerrilyn pointed out that the characters can’t do things that they normally wouldn’t do. You as the writer have to figure out what would motivate your characters to behave in the ways you want them to behave. 

Finally, you have to consider your readers. Basically, she said, consider what kind of writing moves you as a reader. That is a great clue to what you should write. For example, if you love character-driven books, that is the kind of book  you probably should be writing. 

Another interesting point she made was about the theme of the novel. In a murder mystery, she said, the motive for the murder is often an echo of the theme — dishonesty, betrayal, need for fame, etc. — of the book. 

Jerrilyn has written eight books with her Madeline Bean mystery character. She’s also co-written a mystery with Joan Rivers. She made it clear that she loves the plotting work for her novels. 

As a new mystery writer, plotting for me is the hardest part. I plan to embrace the fun side of it too!

One of the struggles I’ve had as a writer is finding time to write. During the work week, I leave the house about 7:30, commute an hour and 15 minutes, put in a full day of work and commute back. On a good day, this commute/work/commute routine takes about 12 hours. Then I feed the dogs and myself and … I’m exhausted. 

I’m sure that many writers face similar challenges. Add in a couple kids and I can’t even imagine how difficult it would be. 

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, the author of “Pen on Fire,” offers some great advice to writers who think they are too busy to write. First, she suggests looking at what time you do have and how you use your time, For example, how much time am I spending surfing the Net? or watching TV? 

Then she suggests considering using one of these identified chunks of time to … write. 

In addition, DeMarco-Barrett cautions against holding out for some great uninterrupted space of WRITING TIME. Instead, she says, look for 15 minute bits of time. She actually had us do a rapid writing exercise that was wonderful — and it took about seven minutes. 

I used this strategy yesterday when I was getting my car serviced. I walked from the mechanics down to the local Starbucks and ordered an iced chai with soy. Then I plugged in my old Mac laptop and plunged into a scene. An hour later, when I got the call about my car being ready, I didn’t want to leave. I finished the scene and felt great. 

So now I’m looking for more 15-minute, 30-minute and 45-minute bits of treasured writing time. 

Give it a try and let me know if it works for you!

So I took my Subaru Forester in for servicing today. It had just crossed the 100,000 miles mark and I was worried. I thought it might need major brake work. Whenever I used to take it to the dealership, it always needed brake work and — mysteriously! — that work was never covered under the warranty. 

But my new independent mechanics are great. I’ve been saving hundreds of dollars since I switched to them AND my Forester is driving better than ever before. 

Today’s bill? Less than $60. 

I was so happy when I got in the car to drive off. $60! That was way less than I’d expected. 

And then I thought, “What if they charged me so little because they rigged my car to blow up when I started the ignition?”

OK, honestly, who thinks such horrible thoughts? Uh, me. And I guess that’s why I’m a writer!

I really did do my research. 

Before I chose my pen name, I googled a lot of candidates. The name Kelly D. Palmer generated  few hits. I did find a nice poem by a Kelly D. Palmer. But that’s about it. 

And then I made the mistake of moving very slowly. Like a snail, in fact. By the time I got around to creating my blog and creating a Twitter account, I was shocked to find another Kelly D. Palmer had appeared. She has a Facebook acount and the actual KellyDPalmer Twitter account. I had to set up my Twitter as KellyDeePalmer. 

Aaaargh! 

The lesson here is to move quickly between research and execution. I really do wish I had the KellyDPalmer Twitter account.

Still, it’s OK. Kelly D. Palmer, the Southern California mystery writer, is my brand. I’m sticking with it. It’s me. 

I send a shout out to the other Kelly D., hanging out in North Carolina.

There were two keynote speakers at the California Crime Writers Conference — Laurie R. King and Robert Crais. Both were absolutely wonderful and inspiring. 

I was surprised how much I warmed up to Robert Crais. I haven’t read his books — I will now, believe me. And I wasn’t sure what I could learn from someone who seemed so different from me — “macho” etc. 

But Robert Crais had the room transfixed from his opening — “My name is Robert Crais and I write.” — to his closing — “Be true to yourself.” He was funny, thoughtful and ultimately the best possible cheerleader any writer could have. 

Robert Crais shared that he had received 116 rejections before he was published. And that he had bucked the conventional wisdom, creating a PI-centered mystery when that was supposedly a dead genre. 

“You can do this,” he told us. “If I can do this, you can do this.”

He cautioned us against being too involved in the news about the publishing industry. Yes, it’s very bleak but … you have to write.

And that made so much sense to me — if you are a writer, you simply must write. 

Or better said by Robert Crais: “If you write, if you’re a storyteller, you write.”

And we will write.

This weekend I tweeted about my participation at the California Crime Writers Conference. Minutes later, I had a new follower — Drew Peterson. 

Yes, that Drew Peterson — the former Illinois cop accused of murdering a wife or two. 

Now I’m wondering. Do accused and incarcerated inmates have access to twitter from prison? Or maybe Peterson’s defense team is using social media to get their message out? Or perhaps someone has just grabbed the Drew Peterson name for the publicity? 

Help me please … I want to know …

I spent the weekend at the California Crime Writers Conference, a joint effort between Sisters in Crime – LA and the Mystery Writers of America, Southern California chapter. It was wonderful — worth every penny and every minute. I left inspired and informed. 

In the next few blog posts, I will share some of the wisdom I learned from the smart, engaging and amazingly generous panelists at the event. First some overall thoughts. 

1. I’ve never attended a more interesting and amazing conference. 

2. I’ve never met a group of people who were more creative and friendly.

3. I can’t wait to read the books I bought and I can’t wait to write!

Hello. 

This is a blog for anyone who loves a mystery — a good read, an exciting movie, a perplexing moment in history or in science. 

This is a blog for anyone who has ever gotten so absorbed in a book that they forgot to go to work. This is a blog for anyone who has ever thought, “Spontaneous combustion? Yikes, could that happen to me?” This is a blog for anyone who has ever seen a Ouija board at a haunted cemetery in the woods and felt the excitement in the swaying tree limbs overhead. 

This is a blog for anyone who has ever wondered — and then gotten really scared. 

This is a blog for people who worry. Like, perhaps, you see  an ambulance parked in the middle of a sandy desert and two paramedics out there throwing a baseball back and forth. Most people would think, “good for them — getting exercise when they can.” We think: “Did they forget the patient being transported to the hospital for the kidney transplant?”

This is for you and me, the way our imaginations get us in trouble sometimes.

But would we ever have it any other way?