Nature vs. Nachos... & a Special Annoucement

Mindy Tarquini is the author of Hindsight (SparkPress, 2016), a gadget slave, and an upmarket fiction writer with a weakness for quirky characters and magical realism. Her second novel, The Infinite Now (SparkPress), releases tomorrow and is available through all the typical venues. Mindy is very excited about the launch. She is celebrating by working on her third novel.

Today she joins us with a guest blog post. Then read on for a very special announcement.

Nature vs. Nachos

Lao Tzu said, Nature does not hurry, yet all things are accomplished.

Who is Lao Tzu? I had the same question. And Google. It turns out Lao-Tzu was a Chinese Philosopher credited with developing Taoism.

Oh. What’s Taoism?

 Living in harmony with the Tao, which is an ordering principle that makes cosmic harmony possible. (Per Beliefnet.com http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/taoism/what-do-taoists-believe.aspx)

Which means what?

That nature doesn’t hurry, yet all things are accomplished. And by their deadlines.

And that’s great if you’re a buttercup. Or a mighty oak. Neither has any ability to fight their natural imperatives. Allowed to proceed without obstruction, they achieve their goals. Not like us.

There’s that Girl Scout meeting we promised to lead, the Bake Sale that needs four dozen Halloween-themed cookies, and, well…it’s Nacho Night.

The phone rings, our texts beep, our damned garage doors let us know they are opening and closing. Sheesh, even my air conditioner feels the need to remind me when it needs a new filter.

The laptop is open, the word processor primed, but Facebook sent a notice. Oh, and that webinar on how to write efficiently starts in 15 minutes, and omg! Is this NOT the cutest little journal for listing my story ideas, my character sketches, store my coupons and chart my weight and calorie goals? Look! It’s covered in butterflies and wistful sayings and comes with felt-tip pens (neon colors!) to highlight my inspirations.

These are not obstacles; they are distractions. And while the distractions happen, guess what doesn’t?

Your novel. Your short story. Your web page. Your social media setups. Your necessary research and reading. Your everything you truly would rather be doing, but for some reason are not.

Because you aren’t Nature. You’re a writer, the protagonist in your own play and so used to putting protagonists through the wringer, you don’t know what to do when your own way forward is not choked with prickly pear.

Stop.

Just stop.

Do you only have fifteen minutes? Write a page. Do you only have five? Write a paragraph. How about one? Write a sentence.

Do you not have your word doc or Scrivener with you? Then jot down subplots, note the character’s motivations, gather those dangling plot threads. Go ahead, look up something you need to know, then write down what you learn.

But wait, you left the cool bullet-pointed-multi-colored-journal-you-had-a-take-a-course-to-understand at home?

Do you not have a note-taking app downloaded to your phone?

Oh. Yeah.

So long as those ideas and descriptions, those turns of phrases, and to-do lists are bouncing around in your head, they will never be anything more than a frustration. Once written, they become something to work with, either a good idea, or a bad idea, either something to be kept or something to be discarded.

It doesn’t matter their color coding; it matters they are written down, brain-dumped, listed so they can be considered.

The cookies are baking, you have a few minutes. The phone has voicemail, you can pick it up later. And the nachos? That’s what takeout is for. When our paying jobs need attention, we give it, so why do we put writing at the bottom of the list? Our jobs are what we must do. Our writing is what we want to do.

And it won’t get done if we busy ourselves with all the things we think we need to before we can do it, or in order to do it, or to get ourselves into the right headspace to do it.

Nature does not hurry because Nature is always working toward its goal. That’s why all things are accomplished.

How about you?

Announcement

Spinetingler Magazine announces that it will begin regular publication of a print magazine. The long-running eZine will continue to publish web content between print issues. The first issue will be published in November 2017 by Down & Out Books.

“As is true in life, the events of the past have a tendency to influence our actions in the future,” said Sandra Ruttan, co-editor of Spinetingler Magazine. “It is the support of our readers that has enabled us to return with this print edition. With their continued support we hope to be able to continue to bring exceptional short fiction and features to you for years to come.”

“I am a life-long fan of short crime fiction,” said Eric Campbell, publisher of Down & Out Books. “And when Sandra and Jack Getze, her co-editor, approached me about putting out a print edition of Spinetingler Magazine, I didn’t hesitate. The variety of features and quality of stories is exceptional.”

The Fall 2017 edition of Spinetingler Magazine will feature original stories by Tracy Falenwolfe, Karin Montin, Jennifer Soosar, BV Lawson, Nick Kolakowski, David Rachels, and more. There are author snapshots of Con Lehane, Rusty Barnes, Mindy Tarquini, and others. Book features and reviews fill out the magazine’s pages.

About Spinetingler Magazine: Founded in 2005 by K. Robert Einarson and Sandra Ruttan, the ezine (http://www.spinetinglermag.com/) was later acquired by Jack Getze and transitioned to an ongoing publication format online. 

About Down & Out Books: Celebrating six years as an independent publisher of award-winning literary and crime fiction, Down & Out Books (https://downandoutbooks.com) is based in Tampa, Florida. For more information about the magazine, or to request an interview with the editors or publisher, contact lance@downandoutbooks.com.

Bouchercon 2017

By Claire Booth

TORONTO – It’s been a week since I got back from Bouchercon, and I think I’m mostly recovered. It’s a four-day stretch of constant action, and it’s one of the absolute highlights of my year. It’s the World Mystery Convention, and it draws both writers and fans of crime fiction from all over the globe. This year, it was held in Toronto, Canada, a fabulous city I’d never visited before.

I took the light rail train from the airport to downtown (which was an easy ride of 25 minutes) and ended up in Union Station, which was a pretty spectacular welcome to the city.

Union Station, Toronto

On the map it looked like a short walk to the hotel, but with pouring rain and gusty wind, it turned out to be a bit more of a trek than I wanted after a transcontinental flight. I finally made it and turned in early.

Thursday morning, I volunteered at the registration desk, handing out packets and tote bags stuffed with books (yay!) to attendees. Then I spent time catching up with people. Just walking through the halls takes forever, in a very good way, because there are friendly faces everywhere and plenty to talk about. 

I love these women! Authors Laura McHugh and Jill Orr live in Columbia, MO., and catching up with them is wonderful (and makes me a little homesick for Mizzou and the town where I went to college).

I went to dinner Thursday night with three good friends – Judy Clemens, Kristopher Zgorski and Michael Mueller. We’ve made this a conference tradition, and it’s so much fun every time. Judy had gone on a ghost tour of Toronto the evening before, and the group saw a supposedly haunted old courthouse that’s now an Italian restaurant. When Judy said the building’s jail cells were still there and incorporated into current use, we knew we that’s where we had to eat.

The building was beautiful, and the jail cells turned out to house wine cellars and the bathrooms. And the hazelnut gelato was to die for.

Me, Judy Clemens (aka JC Lane), Kristopher Zgorski of the BOLO Books review site and Michael Mueller.

Friday morning, I spoke on a panel about writing your second novel. It was a great discussion and we had some fantastic questions from the audience about continuing the development of your characters throughout a series. Afterword I got to do one of the things I was most looking forward to - have coffee with my dear friend Dotty Morefield. 

We had a wonderful chat with a few other friends at the top of the hotel. The company was great and the view wasn't bad either. 

 

Friday night, I had another wonderful dinner, again with Judy Clemens, and also new friend Jess Montgomery.  We had a charming waiter with a French accent, ate great food and laughed a ton - what could be better than that?
I did get the chance to attend a few panels throughout the weekend. One of my favorites was the Young Adult panel. Every year, Bouchercon hands out a prestigious award called the Anthony. There are several different categories and this year two of my good friends, JC Lane and Owen Matthews, were nominated for Best Young Adult Novel.

Judy Clemens, who writes YA under the name JC Lane, moderator Leslie Blatt, and Owen Laukkanen, who writes YA under the name Owen Matthews. Both of their books are fantastic!

Another of my favorites was a panel on having your books turned into television or film. I was excited to see Ann Cleeves, whose Jimmy Perez books/Shetland TV series I absolutely adore. Also on the panel was Maureen Jennings, whose Murdoch Mysteries is hugely popular in Canada. And it was fascinating to listen to David Morrell, whose experience in selling his books for TV and film is unparalleled. Did you know that it took 10 years from the time he optioned Rambo for it to make it to the screen? And at different points, it had actors like Paul Newman floated as possibilities for various roles? See – fascinating!

L-R: Shawn Reilly Simmons (moderator), David Morrell (in hat), Ann Cleeves, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Maureen Jennings, Lou Berney

Friday night, I participated in the Pub Quiz event, which pitted groups of twelve against one another in crime fiction trivia. Purely by luck, our table had very diverse expertise and we ended up winning. As a prize, we got a big bag of books and goodies to divide amongst ourselves. Teammate Nikki Bonanni turned out to be as big a Louise Penny fan as I am. We both nabbed the Three Pines mugs.

Louise was definitely the biggest draw at the convention, and with good reason. Her Chief Inspector Gamache books, set in the fictional Quebec village of Three Pines, are beloved around the world.

The book signing line for Louise Penny. This is about a third of what it was at its longest.

Louise was the Guest of Honor this year. Here she is being interviewed by Ann Cleeves on the last day of the convention.

I also manned the Bouchercon 2020 information table. (Not included – boring photos of me sitting at a table.) That year, it will be held in Sacramento, and I’m on the local organizing committee. This actually turned out to be tons of fun. I ended up having great conversations with many people, even if they’d originally approached only because they needed directions to the hotel coffee shop.

On Sunday afternoon, I loaded myself onto a plane for home - tired, happy and with 20 pounds of new books in my carry on. I can't wait until next year.