Category Archives: Armchair Detective

Rocking the Boat Authors must defend themselves

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Don’t say anything. Don’t make a comment. It will make you look bad. That’s the usual advice in the publishing industry when someone posts a caustic review of your book, under the assumption that this is about some type of insecurity on the part of a writer. This is not insecurity. It is frustration, and in this case, it’s also outrage. In fact, historically, authors are expected to keep their mouth shut about these things, but I am a proponent of the adage Silence equals Death. This advice to stay mum strikes me as the same mentality that got that Orange Nightmare in the Oval … Continue reading →

Tropes, Motifs and Being Meta

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Tropes, in one definition, are “devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members’ minds and expectations.” There are many types, but one, in the subcategory of devices, we see quite frequently in crime shows on TV or in mystery books. There is a crime, and an investigation, and the first suspect is never the true suspect. That also gets into the Red Herring territory. For myself, I have always tried not to rely on tropes, simply because I don’t ever want the reader to easily predict what will happen. But I … Continue reading →

Glaring Errors

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  This is a wide subject area, but I want to focus on just a few things. As a segue, I have to share this post I came across. I was on a forum where people were posting for help about making money blogging. One poster was frustrated and confused and posted this: “Been using these for over a year and made 2 penies.  How do I earn money on goggle.  It is simply frostrating.  I posted so many adds  on my blog but I have earned no money. what is happening? I have been trying to write all the … Continue reading →

“well written and fast paced page turner from start to finish” Review

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REVIEW of ARMCHAIR DETECTIVE from Terry at Affinity eBooks. Armchair Detective An AKA Investigations Book Amateur unlicensed Private Detective, Jobeth O’Brien, is living on the breadline, she’s not even keeping her head above water. Her night time job delivering newspapers doesn’t even begin to pay the bills. She’s hiding a secret which prevents her from getting her private investigators license. The one thing she has to her name that she loves, is her 1962 Falcon. Jobeth meets rich socialite, Phoebe McMasters while she’s delivering her newspapers. Jobeth is smitten. Unfortunately, Phoebe is married and straight, isn’t she? Apparently not! The … Continue reading →

New Book Trailer for Armchair Detective

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Finally got around to making a book trailer. This was first one.  Will post the others after this. … Continue reading →

Excerpt from Armchair Detective

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…..I had the prepaid cell phone on the seat beside me. Huxley had provided that so he could keep in touch with me, and in case I had some emergency and needed to call him. It was a source of embarrassment for me that I didn’t have something as fundamental as a cell phone, but Huxley seemed to understand, and displayed no judgment on it. Until now, I saw little reason to have one. Who would I call? I kept to myself and didn’t have any real friends here. …..Next to the cell phone, lay the .45 caliber Ruger SP-101. … Continue reading →

Review of "Armchair Detective" in Kissed by Venus

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Title: ARMCHAIR DETECTIVE Author: Kelli Jae Baeli ISBN: 1434824624 Rating: 4.5 Stars Genre: Detective/Romance Jobeth O’Brien awakens on the floor of her kitchen, her battered face and the memory of an angry visitor tells her that she is close to something important in her investigation. In between this surveillance and delivering newspapers, her beloved ’62 Falcon is the scene of middle-of-the-night romps with a lonely socialite, who gives her more than she bargained for. Her quest for the truth pits her against errant husbands, a modern-day madam with a taste for blood, a horny landlady, a vicious attack dog, and … Continue reading →

Review of "Armchair Detective" in Kissed by Venus

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Title: ARMCHAIR DETECTIVE Author: Kelli Jae Baeli Publisher: Lesbian Literati Press ISBN-13: 978-1499178425 Rating: 4.5 Stars Genre: Detective/Romance Jobeth O’Brien awakens on the floor of her kitchen, her battered face and the memory of an angry visitor tells her that she is close to something important in her investigation. In between this surveillance and delivering newspapers, her beloved 62 Falcon is the scene of middle-of-the-night romps with a lonely socialite, who gives her more than she bargained for. Her quest for the truth pits her against errant husbands, a modern-day madam with a taste for blood, a horny landlady, a … Continue reading →

Excerpt from Armchair Detective (AKA Investigations Series #1)

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Excerpt from Armchair Detective, by yours truly available on Amazon. I had the prepaid cell phone on the seat beside me. Huxley had provided that so he could keep in touch with me, and in case I had some emergency and needed to call him. It was a source of embarrassment for me that I didn’t have something as fundamental as a cell phone, but Huxley seemed to understand, and displayed no judgment on it. Until now, I saw little reason to have one. Who would I call? I kept to myself and didn’t have any real friends here.       … Continue reading →

My Beginnings

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In my readings about writing, I came across several good points about how the beginning of your book is often the most important part–at least, if you intend to grab the attention of an editor, publisher or agent. I wondered what all my beginnings really looked like…and so I gathered them here for kicks. Would these beginnings make you, as a reader, want to keep reading? I welcome all comments. My beginnings…. The openings (first sentences/paragraphs) of my books. “Sully’s, on South Prospect, was the quintessential biker-bar, complete with hefty, leather-clad Harley worshippers, and stringy-haired heroin-addicted women who made the … Continue reading →

He Said/She Said–Attributions in Fiction

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When you deal with a lengthy work like a novel, there are opportunities galore to repeat yourself, and being lazy about attributions is a good example of that. Remember, it doesn’t help to change “she said” to “she exclaimed” as a means of beefing up your writing, although in moderation, that can be fine. Repeating the attribution “said” or finding a synonym for “said” is an example of a rank amateur whose writing is rank. In these cases, leave the attribution out altogether. If your dialogue is arranged properly, your reader should always know who’s speaking, with only a few … Continue reading →

A is for Annoying

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Not long ago, it came to my attention that I have some rather irritating trends in my work. Namely, the names. Titles, I mean. My first “slew” of books all begin with “A.” Achilles Forjan, Armchair Detective, As You Were, Another Justice. . .[addendum: later, came Also Known as DNA]. I’m not sure if it’s some deep-seated Alphabetical Addiction, or merely a subconscious belief that my writing is still at the beginning . . . perhaps I am working my way through the alphabet, like some popular mystery writers (A is for Annoying). Now that would be sufficient to vex … Continue reading →