Tragic headline mirrors book plot

In Phoenix, two families are stunned to find their daughters' identities were mixed up. First reports identified Abby Guerra dying at the scene of a traffic accident and Marlena Cantu was in critical condition at a Phoenix hospital. Six days later the roles have been reversed. Now the Cantu family is mourning the death of their daughter and the Guerra family goes from planning a funeral to a bedside vigil.

When I first read this story thanks to my critic partner sending me the link, I couldn't believe it. It is so similar to the beginning plot line for A Case of Accidental Intersection. The book just came out and starts off with a horrendous accident involving a sports car and a cement truck. Both girls look similar. That is the same for the this case where the women look like sisters in the photos. In the hospital emergency room the sheriff's deputy comes in, the family comes in and the hospital personnel is trying to get information on the victim. From my book, it is easy to see how a mix up could happen.

In my book, the woman has a severe head injury, has surgery to relieve some pressure and then is put into a coma to allow the brain time to heal. In the case of Abby Guerra, she had a head injury and is also in critical condition. My book talks about the face and head being bandaged, black and blue, swollen which allows the identification error to continue. Crime beat reporter Mitch Malone takes several days to discover the identification and only does after the victim comes out of the coma. Then the problems really begin...

My heart goes out to these two families struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. Dealing with the accident itself is difficult but then the added stress of the snafu is even worse.

News Story is Eerily Similar to A Case of Accidental Intersection

I’ve been trying to get a blog done about my great launch for A Case of Accidental Intersection but haven’t had much luck. It was great and I enjoyed seeing everyone. Hope you are reading and enjoying.

What promoted this post was an article on CBS news about a traffic accident and the terrible aftermath that follows. I don’t want to say too much about it and give away how A Case of Accidental Intersection mirrors the accident but parts of it are errie and similar. Check it out at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/26/earlyshow/main6713545.shtml.

What do you think?

A Case of Accidental Intersection Now Out

My apologies for sadly lacking in the blog department. I have a million excuses but the worst is the computer taking a dive. Luckily it was fixable so I’m back in business. Enough of that though. The big news is (drum roll here)…

A CASE OF ACCIDENTAL INTERSECTION is available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com and from my publisher: Oaktreebooks.com. It also is available at your local bookstore but you might have to order it. It will be worth the wait of a few days.

In the second Mitch Malone Mystery, the crime beat reporter is in another fix when he has to spend times in a hospital, which he hates. A car accident has him stumped and when he looks closer, he finds more bodies. If he can’t figure it out and get his exclusive, he could be found floating in the river.

I had so much fun writing this one (okay the editing was horrible and took forever) at least the characters, I couldn’t let them be when the story was done. I had to write a Mitch Malone short story. Send me an email at wsgager@yahoo.com and I will send you a pdf of the Eyes Have It.
Also, the launch for the book will be Tuesday, July 13 at the Koffee Kuppe in downtown Fremont (Michigan) from 7-9 p.m. Come join us for a great time and some great coffee – Mitch Malone style!

Top 10 Writing List

I created this top 10 list for my students in my college writing class. It is some of the things that I see a lot of as well as a message that says the more you practice the better you will be. Feel free to add any of your suggestions.

W.S. Gager’s Top 10 List For Writing

1. Figure out who your audience is before you start writing

2. Always take your time to think about the words you use and if they fit your audience.

3. Make sure to start a sentence with a capital letter and end with a period.

4. Never start a sentence with “There”

5. Never use “u” for “you” and “r “for “are” unless you are texting.

6. When in doubt about spelling, use a dictionary.

7. Never send something in anger. Give yourself a cooling off period and then revisit it.

8. Just write the words down and fix it later.

9. Always give yourself time to put it away, and then reread with fresh eyes.

10. The more you write the better you will write!

Meet KJ Roberts

For a special treat today, I have author KJ Roberts who prides herself on being a country girl born and raised. KJ and I share a couple things in common besides the initials that are our names, we can’t remember when we started writing but it’s just a natural part of life for the both of us. Us fellow Midwesterners have to stick together. Like my stories set in West Michigan, KJ is an Indiana native; her stories are usually set in the Hoosier state. After a ten year stent in the military, she moved to Mississippi (we won’t hold that against her) with her husband and two kids. She loves reading, listening to her son play guitar and watching her daughter dance. Let’s see what she has to say…

How do you get your inspirations for your characters?
I don’t want to sound crazy, but it’s like they talk to me or live in my mind. I don’t usually base them on any real life person. I’ll “hear” a few lines in my head and know if it’s a past character, someone from my WIP or someone new. If they’re new, I’ll listen and try to figure out their story. Maybe it’s enough for a book, maybe not. When I give them a name it will either just come to me or I’ll scour the social security popular baby names website by year. Other details fall into place as I “get to know them.”

Are you a plotter or a pantser, ie, do you write from an outline or have a general idea where the story is going and then just roll with it until the end?
I usually know the start of the story and the end. Then I try to figure out the journey in between, throwing in a few plot twists as I go. I would call that more of a pantser, because I don’t write anything in stone or do a chapter by chapter outline. Some might call it plotting since I usually have major events figured out, but not always. My characters surprise me as I go. They drive the story. If I plot everything, they’ll get mad and let me know that is not how the story goes. If I try to force it, they clam up and the words stop flowing. I guess it’s true what they say, you teach others how to treat you, I just didn’t think it applied to fictional characters too.

What was the most surprising thing your characters did in your most recent release that was a surprise to you?
Oh, wow. If I told you that, I’d give away the ending, because that was the most surprising thing Maxwell did. But If I have to pick something else, I’d say I was surprised he almost lost his cookies so-to-say when he was at the morgue. I think he was surprised too. He’s an ex-homicide cop. He’d seen victims before and these victims aren’t mutilated or anything. They just had a cut around their ear. So he can’t figure out why he had this strong reaction. It become clear in the story as he discovered a connect between the victims and himself.

Thank you so much for the insight into your writing. Anything else you would like to add?
I’d like to say thanks to Wendy for having me on her blog today and share the blurb of my latest release, Pieces of the Star.

Ex-cop and brain tumor survivor, Vincent Maxwell has been recalled for a special assignment: Capture a killer. With no obvious common links or clues, Maxwell must work fast before another body turns up. What he discovers suggest more than his reputation is at stake. Wrapped up in an unbelievable world of superpowers, he’s dragged in deeper with a connection he never thought possible. Can he use the information to his advantage and stop the killer? Or will death strike before he finds answers?

Keep track of KJ Roberts and her books at:
Blog: http://authorKJRoberts.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KJRoberts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/authorKJRoberts

Out of the Mouth of the Young

I was speaking at a Mother-Daughter Banquet Tuesday night and met the most awesome nine-year-old girl. Hannah was her name and when I asked who wanted to be a writer, her hand shot up so fast and so strong she nearly climbed on her seat to get it higher.

She came up as she as the door prize winner and I couldn’t help but ask her some questions. Her answers made me think about my writing, but more importantly how enthusiastic she was and knew her goals. I asked her about what she wanted to write thinking it may be a children’s book or the next Twilight series. She wasn’t interested in that. After only nine years, she knew she wanted to write adult books. There was no wavering, no hesitation.

Now that is one girl who will be giving all authors a run for her money and in only a few years, if we are lucky and it takes her that long. I suspect it may be sooner. She wore a black sequined shirt that simmered in the light but that couldn’t match the light shining in her eyes and her willingness to take on the world.

Sometimes as writers it seems really tough to do all the things you have to do to promote your books once you spend years writing and revising them to get them published. No one tells you that the writing is the easy part and the promoting and networking is the real job of writing. With my second book, A Case of Accidental Intersection, coming out in a couple of months, I’m in the middle of trying to get all the publicity ready, arrange the blog tours and set some signings, appearances and book launch. I’ve been overwhelmed with “to do” lists.

Hannah reminded me of my enthusiasm for writing and not to let the promoting of it drag you down. My message for the evening was don’t forget to write and nine-year-old Hannah was the one who reminded me. And I’m off to do just that. The list can wait, my characters can’t!

“Don’t YOU forget to write” too!

Writing in Chaos

I went to listen to National Bestselling Author Anne Lamott Thursday night and she had a special message about grace and finding it in three places where you would least expect it. She talked about the three moments in her life where grace found her. The first when her son became a father, the second when she was in India in the fog and the last was an ordinary moment of chaos.

I haven’t read any of Anne’s books, yet! I purchased Bird By Bird, Some Instructions on Writing and Life. I hadn’t really planned on going until a friend insisted on making it “Writer’s Night Out” for our critique group. Usually we are relegated to an afternoon of reading each other’s work while kids are in school and our husbands are at work. It was the best suggestion! It was a moment of grace, according to Anne Lamott. I’m not sure about the grace part but it was a great evening for friends to laugh, think and enjoy each other’s company. No written words were needed. Just a love of the written word and knowing that writing is a part of each of us. It just is. With all the chaos in our lives, the big decisions that need to be made and all the things we do for our family, there is a part of us that has to write, that burns inside until we put words to the paper. It isn’t something we can control, it just is. At the end, Anne challenged each of us if we felt that burn to give up the news each night and write. We can always catch a recap the next morning. It’s true. Each of my friends knew it, have known it because we are writing books with chaos all around. We’ve talked about stopping because of the pressure of everything else and it is just that, talk. It is a part of who we are.

So as Anne challenged us last night, I challenge you. Pick up the pencil, the pen, the keyboard and start banging out the words. It doesn’t matter if they make sense or not. They are yours. With Anne’s inspiration, I also developed a tag line that I plan to end every blog with starting today . . . Don’t forget to write!