The Books!!

"If I had a bookstore, I'd make the mystery section really hard to find. 'Excuse me, do you have any mystery novels?' 'Well, that's a damn good question!'" -- Demetri Martin

Published

The Silent Treatment

Katrina Jaitley doesn't expect to find a piece of forgotten movie history during a bout of retail therapy. After watching the coil of film found tucked inside her purchase, she's shocked to witness the brutal murder of a famous 1920's star by a fellow actor. 80-year-old mystery aside, someone will stop at nothing to get the film away from her and silence what she's discovered.

Reviews:
Smashwords
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Goodreads

The Morning After (was at Untreed Reads, unfortunately, this work is out of print!)

When Jen and Rahul are tardy joining their friends for a weekend getaway in the woods, they're shocked to find the cabin deserted except for Arjun, who has been stabbed. Rescue efforts lead to drama, heartbreak, and unexpected revelations in this short mystery.

Reviews:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Goodreads

Commanding Disappointment (was at Amazon -- unfortunately, this work is out of print!)

A Body in a Seat (was at CautionaryTale.com -- unfortunately, this work is out of print!)

An undignified end to a day at work.

A Similar Fate (at Tiny Lights)
A small child realizes a universal truth.

Works in Progress
Most of my works in progress started with NaNoWriMo, and can be found on my profile there.







BOOK REVIEWS

WRITING TIPS

Writing works differently for everyone. I'll tell you my method here, share some links that helped me. Play around with different things to find out what works best for you.

In no particular order:

1. Nanowrimo

I might not be writing anymore if it weren't for this site. Yes, it's gotten some flack over teaching people to produce 50,000 horrible words per month, but what I learned from it far exceeds the ability to pump out crap.

I had been coming up with a general idea for a story, starting with chapter one, pushing through till I got bored, going back to edit what I'd written, failing to come up with an ending, and abandoning the project. I'd never finished a novel-length story until I decided to try Nanowrimo.

Now, I start with an outline (with as many details as possible, and including the ending!), and then bang out the novel as quickly as possible. Yes, it's crap at first, but I have a working copy with most of the pieces in place. 10-15 re-write/edits later, I have a version of something that's quite good.

2. Autocrit

Once I have my finished draft in place (and have taken out the superfluous words and scenes), I use Autocrit to help me get my text tightened up and repitition-free.

3. Casting

This might sound stupid, but I cast my novels like a movie. This is nothing my readers will ever see, only a tool to help my creative process.

Say a certain actor (or one of my friends) is perfect for one of my characters. I might go find pictures of that actor to look at while I write, or imagine that person as I brainstorm a scene. The character I come up with isn't a copy of anything, but he or she helps me find that character's voice.

4. Getting Over Writer's Block

You might remember John Mayer's old Twitter account (now closed). Got this gem there. Sometimes I need to stop trying to find the perfect wording and get on to the next part, and sometimes I need to take a break. The creative mind needs a chance to recharge; ideas sometimes come in the most unlikely places. Take a walk, read a book, go somewhere new.

5. Scribophile
Getting your work critiqued by a stranger is scary, but so necessary. Sometimes your mom and your friends aren't the best people to give you the help you need. Scribophile is a community of writers lending each other a hand with their work. Some people will gush about how much they love your work and offer very little in the way of notes, others give step-by-step guides that will make you want to kiss that person, while others just don't "get" your work at all. Take what's helpful and ignore the rest.

How To:

Sex Scenes
Chopping