Edits, Edits, Edits. P.S. Edits
By E.A. Aymar
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Author's Note
New Releases (That I'm Excited About!)
Two Writers You Should Read
Events
It's Contest Time!
Other Writing
Edits, Edits, Edits. P.S. Edits
I am IMMERSED in edits for No Home for Killers, which is a happy place for me. I love editing, and I'll need you believe me on that because, reading those words back, I realize they sound sarcastic. But I really do love this part of the process.
(It still sounds sarcastic, I know.)
I've mentioned before that I've been fortunate to work with wonderful people in publishing. Not everyone, of course, but the majority of publishing professionals I've met are champions of literature, who consider their only goal is to produce the best books. This industry craves success, even if it sometimes seems like the visions for attaining it are wildly different. But trust me when I say that, at every step, the people involved want the best work - writers, agents, editors, and readers.
I've known writers resistant to edits, who feel attacked the minute they open Track Changes and see RED. And that's one of the worst attitudes a writer can have. You want someone invested in your writing. Of course you'll have disagreements. An editor might have a completely different vision for your book, and that view (although they might be right) isn't your own. That does happen. But a good editor understands and lifts your voice.
Happily, it's been my experience that the editors I've worked with for The Unrepentant, They're Gone, and now, No Home for Killers (and this includes my agent, who always has valuable input), believed in what I was doing, understood what I wanted to say, and helped guide me. Did I take every edit and suggestion? Naw, but I took upwards of 90% of them.
Their input has been doubly important for me. All three of those books have almost exclusively had female POVs and my agent and editors have all been women, and I SORELY need them to call me out on my male bullshit. My truth or understanding doesn't always equal someone else's (which took me a while to learn), and if that truth is to the detriment of the story or the honesty of a character, then that's something I desperately need to know..
Many of this newsletter's readers are writers aspiring to publish, and you may have considered the services of a freelance editor. I try to never recommend paid services because I don't like advising anyone to spend money and, so much of writing, particularly when it turns to publishing, can be unscrupulous. But I would happily recommend two editors I've worked with in the past, both who do freelance editing.
Alice Peck helped turn my early work from general fiction to crime fiction. Her web site hasn't been updated since something like 2016 (I really hope she's not dead) but I was happy with the results when I worked with her, prior to finding my agent.
I'd also recommend Chantelle Aimee Osman, who edited The Unrepentant for Down and Out Books and is now a hugely successful figure in publishing for Agora/Polis Books. Chantelle is truly wonderful, a significant presence in crime fiction, and I was deeply fortunate to work with her.
As I said, I really don't like recommending paid services to writers, but Alice and Chantelle are legit. You have to want the work, and you have to understand that the best visions are ones that can eventually be shared. But once you reach that point, once you have someone else who is both professionally and emotionally invested in your book...that's when you see the story's real potential, and there's nothing more exciting than that.
EA
This week I'm giving a talk to a class at Marymount University, a wonderful school with a terrific English program, where I got my Masters in Literature. An English class read They're Gone and is going to ask me about it (so I'd better re-read it). I really liked that book - my first true commercial effort, but in line with my approach to modern noir. You can learn more about They're Gone HERE. And I just saw that Amazon has the hardcover on sale for, like, $7? WHAT.
(NOTE: It was taking me FOREVER to add cover images to these books and they never came out the right size and that always irritated me, so now I'm just including title, author, and description. And I really like book covers! Don't worry, I'll figure something out.
We'll get through this, together.)
The Damage Done
Michael Landweber
Imagine a world devoid of violence - a world where fists can’t hit, guns don’t kill, and bombs can’t destroy. In this tantalizing novel of possibility, this has - suddenly and inexplicably - become our new reality. The US president must find a new way to wage war. The pope ponders whether the Commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill” is still relevant.
A dictator takes his own life after realizing that the violence he used to control his people is no longer an option. In the first days after the change, seven people who have experienced violence struggle to adapt to this radical new paradigm: Dab, a bullied middle-schooler; Marcus, a high school student whose brother is the last victim of gun violence in America; Ann, a social worker stuck in an abusive marriage; Richard, a professor whose past makes him expect the worst in the present; Gabriela, who is making a dangerous border crossing into the US; the Empty Shell, a dissident writer waiting to be tortured in a notorious prison; and Julian, a white supremacist plotting a horrific massacre. As their fates intertwine, the promise and perils of this new world begin to take shape. Although violence is no longer possible, mindless cruelty is still alive and well - and those bent on destruction still seek the means to achieve it.
Bad Blood Sisters
Saralyn Richard
Quinn's always joked about death, but this summer, death stops being funny. For one thing, her brother finally undergoes transplant surgery. For another, Quinn's estranged BFF-her "blood sister"-is brought into the family mortuary, bludgeoned to death.
Quinn is haunted by the past, her friendship gone awry, and the blood oath she's sworn to keep secret. The police consider her a person of interest, and someone threatens her not to talk. Quinn is the only one who knows enough to bring the killer to justice, but what she's buried puts her in extreme danger.
Three Shots to the Wind
Sherry Harris
Saloon owner Chloe Jackson appears to have a secret admirer. She’s pouring drinks at the Sea Glass Saloon in Emerald Cove when an airplane flies by above the beach with a banner reading I LOVE YOU CHLOE JACKSON. She immediately rules out Rip Barnett. They are in the early stages of dating and no one has said the L word. Then a bouquet of lilacs—her favorite flower—is delivered to the bar, followed by an expensive bottle of her favorite sparkling wine. It couldn’t be…
Sure enough, her ex-fiancé from Chicago has flown down to Florida for an accountants’ convention. But is he trying to mix business with pleasure and win her back? Unfortunately he’s not in a hotel conference room, he’s floating facedown in the lake next to her house, clutching a photo of Chloe. Who murders an accountant on a business trip—it just doesn’t add up. When Rip becomes the prime suspect, Chloe is determined to find the secret murderer. But if she isn’t careful, it may be closing time and lights out for her…
Like a Sister
Kellye Garrett
“I found out my sister was back in New York from Instagram. I found out she’d died from the New York Daily News.”
When the body of disgraced reality TV star Desiree Pierce is found on a playground in the Bronx the morning after her 25th birthday party, the police and the media are quick to declare her death an overdose. It’s a tragedy, certainly, but not a crime.
But Desiree’s half-sister Lena Scott knows that can’t be the case. A graduate student at Columbia, Lena has spent the past decade forging her own path far from the spotlight, but some facts about Desiree just couldn’t have changed since their childhood. And Desiree would never travel above 125th Street. So why is no one listening to her?
Despite the bitter truth that the two haven’t spoken in two years, torn apart by Desiree’s partying and by their father, Mel, a wealthy and influential hip-hop mogul, Lena becomes determined to find justice for her sister, even if it means untangling her family’s darkest secrets—or ending up dead herself.
Secret Identity
Alex Segura
It’s 1975 and the comic book industry is struggling, but Carmen Valdez doesn’t care. She’s an assistant at Triumph Comics, which doesn’t have the creative zeal of Marvel nor the buttoned-up efficiency of DC, but it doesn’t matter. Carmen is tantalizingly close to fulfilling her dream of writing a superhero book.
That dream is nearly a reality when one of the Triumph writers enlists her help to create a new character, which they call “The Lethal Lynx,” Triumph's first female hero. But her colleague is acting strangely and asking to keep her involvement a secret. And then he’s found dead, with all of their scripts turned into the publisher without her name. Carmen is desperate to piece together what happened to him, to hang on to her piece of the Lynx, which turns out to be a runaway hit. But that’s complicated by a surprise visitor from her home in Miami, a tenacious cop who is piecing everything together too quickly for Carmen, and the tangled web of secrets and resentments among the passionate eccentrics who write comics for a living.
Under Lock and Skeleton Key
Gigi Pandian
After a disastrous accident derails Tempest Raj’s career, and life, she heads back to her childhood home in California to comfort herself with her grandfather’s Indian home-cooked meals. Though she resists, every day brings her closer to the inevitable: working for her father’s company. Secret Staircase Construction specializes in bringing the magic of childhood to all by transforming clients’ homes with sliding bookcases, intricate locks, backyard treehouses, and hidden reading nooks.
When Tempest visits her dad’s latest renovation project, her former stage double is discovered dead inside a wall that’s supposedly been sealed for more than a century. Fearing she was the intended victim, it’s up to Tempest to solve this seemingly impossible crime. But as she delves further into the mystery, Tempest can’t help but wonder if the Raj family curse that’s plagued her family for generations—something she used to swear didn’t exist—has finally come for her.
Danger on the Atlantic
Erica Ruth Neubauer
Atlantic Ocean, 1926: Voyaging from Southampton to New York, self-reliant Jane is determined to prove herself a worthy investigator on the stately ship—even awkwardly going undercover as the fashionable wife of her magnetic partner, Mr. Redvers. Few details are known about the rumored German spy the duo have been tasked with identifying among fellow passengers, but new troubles unfold once wealthy newlywed Vanessa FitzSimmons announces the sudden disappearance of her husband at sea . . .
Miles Van de Meter, the man Vanessa rushed to marry in Monte Carlo, has allegedly vanished into thin air along with his luggage. Redvers guesses the shifty heiress may be weaving tall tales for fun between flutes of champagne, yet Jane isn’t convinced—not after the stunning murder of a trusted acquaintance sends them into uncharted waters. Facing two dangerous mysteries and a boat load of suspects, Jane must navigate a claustrophobic quest for answers before the culprits can slip from her grasp on land . . . or, worse, ensure she and Redvers never reach their destination.
Tracking a Fugitive
Elizabeth Heiter and Nicole Helm
Alaska Mountain Rescue by Elizabeth Heiter
A jailbreak brings Alanna Morgan on a collision course with the woman who stole her childhood. To prevent other helpless victims from being abducted, she sets out with Chance, a therapy St. Bernard, by her side. But rookie police officer Peter Robak has other plans for the civilian investigator. Together in the frigid mountain wilderness, they forge a wary alliance to catch a desperate fugitive.
Hunting a Killer by Nicole Helm
When K-9 handler Selena Lopez discovers her half brother’s a fugitive from justice, she must find him—and his dangerous crew. It’s a good thing that her partner is infuriatingly efficient and handsome lead agent Axel Morrow. But as smart and cunning as the duo may be, it’s a race against time to catch the armed and dangerous criminals before they kill again..
The Secrets We Share
Edwin Hill
At first glance, Natalie Cavanaugh and Glenn Abbott hardly look like sisters. Even off-duty, Natalie dresses like a Boston cop, preferring practical clothes and unfussy, pinned-up hair. Her younger sister, Glenn, seems tailor-made for the spotlight, from her signature red mane to her camera-ready smile. Glenn has spent years cultivating her brand through her baking blog, and with the publication of her new book, that hard work seems about to pay off. But her fans have no idea about the nightmare in Glenn and Natalie’s past.
Twenty years ago, their father’s body was discovered in the woods behind their house. A trauma like that doesn’t fit with Glenn’s public image. Yet, maybe someone reading her blog does know something. There have been anonymous online messages, vague yet ominous, hinting that she’s being watched. And with unsettling coincidences hitting ever closer to home, both Glenn and Natalie soon have more pressing matters to worry about, especially when a dead body is found in an abandoned building . . .
Natalie is starting to wonder how much Glenn really knows about the people closest to her. But are there also secrets Natalie has yet to uncover about those she herself trusts? For two decades, she’s believed their father was murdered by their neighbor, with whom he was having an affair. But if those events are connected to what’s happening now, maybe there’s much more that Natalie doesn’t know. About their father. About their neighbors. About her friends. Maybe even about herself.
But there are no secrets between sisters . . . are there?
Payback is Forever
Nick Kolakowski
Miller thought it was the perfect heist: Five minutes to hit the cash room of an amusement park, then another two minutes to the getaway car, then gone. As a professional thief, he'd done jobs like that dozens of times. But Miller’s partners had other ideas. When things go bad and bloody, Miller is forced to flee back to familiar territory: New York City’s West Village, where even the target of a nationwide manhunt can hide out amidst the freaks.
But Miller’s refuge might prove even more dangerous. Approached by an old friend about a shady protection job, Miller finds himself thrown into a bizarre world of pint-sized gangsters, aging war criminals, and shady government agents… all of whom are pursuing a prize beyond imagination.
"At times brutal, often beautiful, Meredith Doench's Whereabouts Unknown is so much more than a detailed, researched, believable police procedural. It's a story of desperate people searching for stability in a harsh world, and the few moments granted to them are authentic and lovely. The haunting characters and unnerving twists will remain with you long after the last page closes. Doench is a writer to watch, and I'm determined to read everything she writes."
That was the blurb I gave to Meredith Doench's Whereabouts Unknown, and I could have written a page of praise. Doench'e story, set in and around Dayton, Ohio, is so layered and emotional that it pulled me in, HARD. The characters manage to walk that nimble line of being compelling without unnecessary dramatics or overwriting, and you read it with the sense that an expert storyteller is guiding you. I just loved it.
And a writer Meredith recommends?
Jess Montgomery's Kinship series has been one of my favorite historical crime fiction collections. The Echoes, fourth in the series, provides intricately woven crimes for Ohio's first female sheriff, Lily Ross to unravel. This book centers around the opening of an amusement park and an immigration issue which intertwine in Ross' investigation. I've always loved the rich detail and historical accuracy in Montgomery's work along with her portrayal of strong women characters. The Echoes does not disappoint!
To learn more about these authors, click on the photos above.
Short and Sweet: Crafting Prose in a Short Story
Art Taylor is, without exaggeration, one of the greatest short story writers crime fiction has ever produced. His fiction has won every award there is, and deservedly so. I haven't come across many writers who can create such complete characters, captivating plots, and shuddering twists - all in a few pagraphs. He's hosting a series of webinars for Sisters in Crime about short stories, and invited me to discuss the importance of prose. I can't wait for this discussion, both as a writer and a fan of the form. Click HERE to register.
An Interview with Jennifer Hillier and Alex Segura
If you've read my newsletter, then you've come across the names Jennifer Hillier and Alex Segura before. Jennifer Hillier has made a career of, as she puts it, "imagining the worst about people, and then writing about it" and, honestly, there aren't many writers with such a defined style. And Alex Segura, who was already a lauded, award-winning writer, has broken new ground with his highly praised new mystery, Secret Identity. Both their novels have appeared on every "most anticipated list" and are destined to end up on "best of the year" lists this December. I'm chatting both of them up "at" (virtually) One More Page Books. They're also both very good friends of mine, so I plan to make this interview super uncomfortable for them. Should be fun! Click HERE to register.
Malice Domestic
I'll be at Malice Domestic this year and moderating a panel with some wonderful writers...but the schedule hasn't been released, so I don't think I can fully announce it yet? But if you're a fan of crime fiction, then Malice Domestic - an annual conference celebrating traditional mysteries, and bringing a slew of today's finest writers and fans together - should be on your schedule. Click HERE to learn more and register.
It's contest time! The monthly contest winner wins copies of the books listed in my "Two Writers You Should Read" segment. And the winner is...
e____rawl@gmail.com
Congrats, and keep your eye out for a separate e-mail from me!
Remember Alex Segura, the writer I'm chatting up (along with Jennifer Hillier) on April 13th? Well, I wrote about Secret Identity and interviewed him for the Washington Independent Review of Books. And he told me about his planned sequel, which sounds AMAZING and is a f'ing brilliant approach. I'm a little jealous. You can read that interview HERE.
Until next time, much love and happy reading!