tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-309313892008-08-20T11:56:02.515-04:00Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comBlogger354125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-46272470357109852612008-08-20T08:49:00.004-04:002008-08-20T08:59:49.489-04:00

What I'm reading: Death Angel, by Linda Howard What I'm writing: Revisions--but technology raises its ugly head. Again. A trip isn't really underway until you remember what you forgot. Tradition states that one passes M&M's when you cross state lines (or county lines in those big, long states). We did remember to buy them, although after reaching for a bag, I realized that the dark chocolate M&

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-57931380742633387002008-08-19T11:44:00.004-04:002008-08-19T11:54:06.179-04:00

What I'm reading: Forever Blue, by Suzanne Brockmann After three checks to make sure the air conditioner was really off, we headed out, fingers crossed that Fay won't wreak havoc in our neighborhood while we're away. There was no hurry, no pressure. We opted for my car, a Honda Fit Sport, rather than hubby's Toyota pickup. More comfortable, and a heck of a lot better gas mileage. We're hoping

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-83558362281796423892008-08-18T08:07:00.003-04:002008-08-18T08:14:11.754-04:00

Being a writer means dealing with readers. Some of them are reading a completed books you've written. Others are critique partners, reading what you're working on. Others are editors, both for acquired manuscripts, or those you're trying to sell. The challenge is remembering how to interpret all the comments. "Loved your book" is an easy one. And now that I've entered some contests with

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-12271417313191807562008-08-17T10:36:00.004-04:002008-08-17T13:55:55.537-04:00

Back to the dreaded packing, this time for a 5 day trip. At least we're driving, so none of the airline luggage restrictions. And it's hubby's workshop (it's Kogia workshop, in case anyone's interested, or even knows what that means--points if you do). It's in Charleston, SC, so it'll still be hot & muggy. I'm planning to hole up in the hotel room and try to fill in some newly discovered plot

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-57168901340326145982008-08-15T10:06:00.002-04:002008-08-15T10:10:11.992-04:00

Karen Rose is another author I admire and respect—and, like Brenda Novak, Karen is on my 'don't mind coming in second to her' list -- this one was in the Lories. She addressed some of the areas where romantic suspense has different emphases from other sub-genres. Like any other book, establishing the goals, motivations, and conflict for the hero and heroine is vital. However, she attests that

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-21429631693291748362008-08-14T09:50:00.003-04:002008-08-14T09:54:29.958-04:00

What I'm reading: Trust Me, by Brenda NovakAnother RWA scheduling choice I made was to attend Brenda Novak's workshop on Romantic Suspense. It seemed like a smart thing to do, considering she won the Daphne du Maurier award (instead of me!). Highlight? She gave me a plug during her introduction. Her points: A romantic suspense must be ONE story, not a romance and a suspense. They have to be

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-7132095548093956012008-08-13T10:03:00.002-04:002008-08-13T10:06:53.760-04:00

One workshop choice I made was, "Watching the Detective" which recounted working in the office of a surveillance agency dealing primarily with Workers' Comp claims. They're hired, usually by the insurance company, to verify that a claim is legitimate. Our presenter worked in the office transcribing all the reports the investigators filed. She loves her job because she gets to know everything

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-27314619640950141332008-08-12T09:48:00.007-04:002008-08-12T10:25:41.134-04:00

NOTE: Photos added to the Barley or Hops post (August 9) Going to RWA, despite the fun and excitement, is stressful. With its jam-packed schedule of conflicting sessions, just deciding where to be and when is a challenge. The recorded sessions help with the decision making, because there's a chance to hear what's been going on at the other sessions (although there have been glitches, so it's

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-58698870780732566142008-08-11T12:51:00.004-04:002008-08-11T12:56:47.520-04:00

What I'm reading: Partner in Crime by J. A. Jance Home from RWA. While it's great to be home, finding the 'routine groove' seems to take forever. So far, the only major screw-up was that hubby left the air conditioner running for the two weeks we were gone. So much for saving electricity—not to mention a whole big chunk of change. Apparently when I said, "Did you turn off the a/c?" as we were

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-85464594707774810832008-08-09T13:00:00.007-04:002008-08-12T10:23:07.218-04:00

What I'm reading: Birds of Prey, by J.A. Jance Yesterday's excursion took us from Salem to the Oregon coast, with a brief stop at Otis, a wide spot in the road, for what was supposed to be their Marionberry pie, but turned into lunch. Most of the rest of the day was spent at scenic beach spots where I observed my husband, his sister and her husband endeavor to identify every living piece of

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-6074207067357707502008-08-08T12:34:00.010-04:002008-08-08T12:54:23.974-04:00

What I'm reading: Sweet Talk by Susan Mallery What I'm writing: Chapter 12 -- and lots of plot notes. Admittedly, I'm not a plotter. I have the broadest strokes of story, a bunch of back story for my main characters so I know how they'll behave and what makes them tick, but much of the other stuff is very vague. VERY vague. After being away from the manuscript for nearly 2 weeks, I went back

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-88014689056452509042008-08-06T14:31:00.009-04:002008-08-06T14:50:48.381-04:00

What I'm reading: Skinny Dipping, by Connie Brockway; Pursuit, by Elizabeth Jennings After a wonderful, if exhausting, week in San Francisco at the RWA National Conference, I'm enjoying some decompression time in Oregon. The guys are off doing manly stuff, and I'm totally content to stay in the house with the bird and cats. The weather is marvelous compared to Florida, and I have plenty of

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-79534281691053931162008-07-27T11:01:00.004-04:002008-07-27T11:15:10.928-04:00

What I'm reading: No One Lives Forever, by Jordan Dane What I'm writing: Chapter 12, scene 2 News to share: All my titles are now available at All Romance eBooks. This should help with one-stop shopping for anyone who (myself included) doesn't like having to go through all the payment information at multiple sites. My Cerridwen romantic suspense novels and my Wild Rose Press short stories

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-44384184512590715852008-07-26T08:17:00.002-04:002008-07-26T08:20:55.581-04:00

I've been reading the ARC of When Danger Calls. It's a different kind of reading, and requires a totally different mindset. It's not the same kind of editing I do with my critique groups, because at this point, it's strictly a 'typo or glaring error' read. It's hard not to want to make it better. I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with any of my books. There's always something I think

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-439584581778334802008-07-25T08:36:00.001-04:002008-07-25T08:39:04.889-04:00

What I'm reading: Pointe and Shoot by Natalie M. Roberts What I'm writing: Chapter 12 I leave in a few days for the annual national conference of Romance Writers of America in San Francisco. I'm looking forward to being surrounded by hundreds of people who also hear voices but aren't forced to live in padded rooms. I'm looking forward to cooler weather. I'm looking forward to meeting my

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-83962464137311288382008-07-24T10:25:00.002-04:002008-07-24T10:30:39.672-04:00

I mentioned in a previous post that cell phones were the hot commodity in prisons. A comment about using dogs to sniff them suggested I check with Mr. Malinowski. I did, and he was kind enough to send a copy of the article. Here's the link. Thanks again to David Malinowski for providing it.

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-77089696013903736282008-07-24T07:04:00.006-04:002008-07-24T10:04:46.290-04:00

I should have included these yesterday -- Criminal Thinking References: The Myth of the Out of Character Crime Inside the Criminal Mind The Criminal Personality Volume I – A Profile for Change The Criminal Personality Volume II – The Change Process The Criminal Personality Volume III – The Drug User Straight Talk About Criminals – Understanding and Treating Antisocial Behavior By

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-57859559148997294212008-07-23T07:54:00.002-04:002008-07-23T08:04:06.615-04:00

To Change a Criminal: Corrective Thinking Change is only possible when a criminal makes a choice to change. When does a person change? When they are ready, and not a moment sooner. The objective is to teach criminals to live without injuring others Note: this comes right back to Malinowski's opening statement about concern for victims. Corrective Thinking means: Strict

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-40843361584834584932008-07-22T06:54:00.003-04:002008-07-22T07:17:23.264-04:00

What I'm reading: The Drifter by Susan Wiggs What I'm writing: Chapter 11, scene 2Back to Criminal ThinkingSome more statistics … In a typical prison population: 20% are "scared straight" by the experience and won't be back 20% are "hard core" and will never change, no matter what 30% are still doing crime while they're incarcerated 30% want to change but don't know how. The last

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-51446724155955673782008-07-21T06:37:00.002-04:002008-07-21T06:49:48.343-04:00

What I'm reading: Die Trying by Lee Child What I'm writing: Chapter 11 I hope everyone had a great weekend. Back to Criminal Thinking. If you haven't read parts 1 and 2 yet, I suggest you scroll down and read them first so you understand some of the terminology, especially the definition of "criminal." Today, I'll look at what Malinowski refers to as "Time Bomb" Tactics in Criminal

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-76878405665812519922008-07-19T08:26:00.003-04:002008-07-19T08:40:46.147-04:00

I will be back on Monday with the continuation of my Criminal Thinking series. If you haven't read it yet, it's information I gleaned from a fascinating presentation given by David Malinowski of the Florida Department of Corrections. Meanwhile, you can check my website and enter my July contest for some South African souvenirs. Or visit my Red Room page. Or read a

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-12345248221956178892008-07-18T08:40:00.004-04:002008-07-18T08:56:31.171-04:00

What I'm writing: Chapter 10 A brief recap: Malinowski defines "criminal" as someone who lives a lifestyle of crime. To a criminal, the usual boundaries of authority don't apply. In his presentation, Malinowski also stressed the difference between cause and influence. For example, poverty does not cause crime, but it definitely influences it. For Malinowski, the personal motivation that

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-5298400005656606902008-07-17T08:54:00.003-04:002008-07-17T09:13:19.246-04:00

Last night's class on "Inside the Criminal Mind" was fascinating and crammed full of information—much more than I can cover here, and definitely not in a single post. So, this may turn out to be a series. I took fast and furious notes, and the speaker provided handouts, but I'll say right up front that these are the facts as I understand them, and there might be places where I'm not spot-on.

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-19257331653735794762008-07-16T09:34:00.004-04:002008-07-16T09:42:48.207-04:00

What I'm writing: Chapter 9, scene 2. Today, it's a trip to the dentist, another round of waiting for the cable guy (which will be an exercise in futility because the ghosting is intermittent and I know everything will be fine when he finally shows up, but after the inside guy said the problem was outside, and the outside guy said the problem was inside, I'm reaching the tooth-gnashing, hair

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30931389.post-10188720455863560162008-07-15T09:15:00.002-04:002008-07-15T09:19:15.379-04:00

What I'm reading: Killing Floor, by Lee Child What I'm writing: Chapter 9 On my blog route this morning, one friend posed a familiar question: Are you a plotter or a pantser? I tried to answer within the confines of a blog comment, but it got me thinking. I had hit a writing slump not long ago. I attributed a lot of it to the fact that my own life was going through some changes as I phased

Terry Odellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.com