Please visit me at my new site, elizabethpenneyauthor.com.
While this site will remain up for now, I'll be posting over there from now on.
Thank you for your interest in my work.
Mystery, history, art, music, and romance - the fiction of Elizabeth Penney
Friday, December 1, 2017
Thursday, September 21, 2017
That Book You Have to Write
LAST SUMMER IN EDEN, set in the mountain resort town Bethlehem, NH, in 1929, is the story I need to tell. The main character is Dorothy Brooks, 17, a young singer and member of the invisible class serving wealthy visitors. EDEN has flappers and bootlegging and theater and music and tender first love. And lots of pretty dresses. Has a decade ever had so many gorgeous clothes? Sequins, silks, beads, and embroidery--oh my.
Through her new friendship with a New York summer girl, Dorothy enjoys her foray into the resort's naughty fun. She wins a leading role in a romantic farce, where she must perform opposite the man who broke her heart. While fending him off, she falls for a new man--someone not quite "suitable," according to society's standards. She must make a choice, one that will define the rest of her life.
Bethlehem is beautiful and quirky, even now when most of the 30 hotels are gone. Eclectic cottages line the streets and there is an art deco theater, one of the last standing. The air is still fresh and the views magnificent.
I used to walk the quiet streets on sweet summer nights, wishing I could get into a time machine and go back to...oh, 1929, maybe...
four-story hotel that once filled a city block. Inside, a jazz band is wailing away. A flapper
and her companion slip out to the wide porch for a cigarette and a swig from a flask. They stand close together by the rail, shoulders touching as they flirt and laugh.
Bethlehem's pivotal role in New England tourism was colored by two serious issues: anti-Semitism and bootlegging. It's an ugly truth that religious bigotry was rife in New England hotels and vacation areas--not just in Bethlehem. It was never overt, but ads that state "Christian clientele" and "select clientele"are code for "no Jews welcome." The '20s were the time of a great shift for tourism, as motor touring rose and the hotel vacation went out of style. The formerly unwanted visitors saved the town during the Depression and World War II, when many other resorts shuddered to a whimpering demise. Bethlehem became a Jewish resort.
The booming hotel trade and proximity to Canada also meant a whole lot of illicit drinking going on. The town librarian told me how her father brewed beer and distributed it in a truck with fabric flaps so they could ditch the load when necessary. Accounts of car chases and shootings filled the local weekly. One elderly resident told me was also illegal gambling in the hotels. But with the amount of money that flowed into town, the hotels were left alone. In one hotel nearby, the spectacular Mount Washington Hotel, you can have a drink in the former underground speakeasy, the Cave.
LAST SUMMER IN EDEN explores that fascinating pivotal moment when old and new met, just before the jarring crash of 1929 and the end of the glorious Jazz Age.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Cover Reveal and Giveaway for Pat Esden's fabulous NA novel!
As Pat's CP and friend, I'm proud to host this cover reveal and giveaway!
A HOLD ON
ME (Dark Heart Book #1) by Pat Esden
Kensington Books
Release date: March 2016
BLURB:
She never
wanted to return.
He wants
nothing more than for her to leave.
But the
fire between them is as strong as the past that haunts them.
Annie Freemont grew up on the road, immersed in the romance of
rare things, cultivating an eye for artifacts and a spirit for bargaining. It’s
a freewheeling life she loves and plans to continue—until her dad is diagnosed
with dementia. His illness forces them to return to Moonhill, their ancestral
home on the coast of Maine—and to the family they left behind fifteen years
ago, after Annie’s mother died in a suspicious accident.
Once at Moonhill, Annie is shocked when her aunt separates her
from her father. The next time Annie sees him, he’s a bizarre, violent shadow
of his former self. Confused, she turns to an unlikely ally for support—Chase,
the dangerously seductive young groundskeeper. With his dark good looks and
powerful presence, Chase has an air of mystery that Annie is irresistibly drawn
to. But she also senses that behind his penetrating eyes are secrets she can’t
even begin to imagine. Secrets that hold the key to the past, to Annie’s own
longings—and to all of their futures. Now, to unlock them, she’ll have to face
her greatest fears and embrace her legacy…
Click
here to add A HOLD ON ME on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25621428-a-hold-on-me
PRE-ORDER
NOW!
Books-A-Million http://www.booksamillion.com/search?id=6356176307071&query=A+Hold+on+Me+by+Pat+Esden&where=All
PAT ESDEN would love to say she spent her childhood in
intellectual pursuits. The truth is she was fonder of exploring abandoned
houses and old cemeteries. When not out on her own adventures, she can be found
in her northern Vermont home writing stories about brave, smart women and the
men who capture their hearts. An antique-dealing florist by trade, she’s also a
member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Romance Writers of
America, and the League of Vermont Writers. Her short stories have appeared in
a number of publications, including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic
Medicine Show, the Mythopoeic Society’s Mythic Circle literary
magazine, and George H. Scither’s anthology Cat Tales.
GIVEAWAY!
WEBSITE:
http://patesden.com
TWITTER:
@patesden
TUMBLR: http://patesden.tumblr.com
#NAparanormal #Gothic
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Fun with Research: Leonardo Da Vinci and the Mona Lisa
To celebrate the release of Castle of Whispers, the first mystery in the Secrets of the Quilt series available here, I decided to post about a character in my book, the great Leonardo and his iconic painting, Mona Lisa. The picture above is not the one in the Louvre, it is an earlier version and appears to be of a younger woman.
Castle of Whispers features an antique quilt, with the oldest swatch rumored to have belonged to the Mona Lisa's dress. The first thing I researched was when exactly Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa we all know and love. In 1503, he was living in Florence and worked on the painting, so that became my date. During that time, he also worked on an ill-fated mural in the Palazzo Vecchio, so I included that incident in the story.
The story is set in a fictional village outside Florence, Ponte San Vincenti, or Saint Vincent's Gate, .symbolizing the area's wine-making heritage. My main character is a seamstress and her assignment is to make a wedding dress for Lisabetta Donati, a miserable bride-to-be. And...yes, the future Mona Lisa. How that happens I will save for readers.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Fun with Research: Corsets
Since the title of my historical mystery series is Canvas & Corset, naturally the undergarment makes an appearance. In 1894, the book's time period, respectable women were required to wear one or be considered scandalously under-dressed.
I grew up in a time when bras and even panties were optional so I confess fascination with old-fashioned undergarments and relief that I don't have to wear them. It amazes me that women used to hike mountains wearing long dresses, petticoats, and corsets. Wow.
Anyway, I was recently writing a scene where one of my characters gets dressed. I had to look up the procedure, how someone tightened a corset themselves. After all, most women didn't have personal maids. I found videos demonstrating this and along the way, learned women are using corsets to define their waists.
Check out Orchard Corset--they sell beautiful undergarments and also have a number of devotees who swear by "waist-training" to reduce their midsections. Apparently wearing a corset is also good for your posture. No slouching with steel digging into your ribs!
The corset is also a metaphor for propriety--think about the word straitlaced. According to dictionary.com, the word originates from about 1450 and has two meanings: wearing tightly laced clothes and puritanical. Apparently high morals are verified by proper posture.
An interesting twist is that corsets have come to be regarded as sexy--the opposite of puritanical. Perhaps even more amazing is that women are voluntarily submitting to wearing them.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
5 Things I Learned Writing Mysteries
This month I'm finishing another cozy mystery for Annie's Fiction book club, and in the process, I've learned so much--tips and techniques I'm using in all my writing, not just mysteries, since I'm not a one-genre girl.
So on to the lessons I've learned...
1. Outlining is your friend. Until my editor required it, I was a confirmed pantser. Oh, I'd sketch out plot ideas and mini outlines for sections of the book as I went, but the idea of writing a full outline gave me the heebie-jeebies. It's still painful for me, since I have one of those NF brains--intuitive. But the outline process forces me to figure out the plot arc for all the threads and noodle out issues in advance. This makes the writing process go much faster. Of course, an outline is just a guide. As you write, things get rearranged, dropped or added, whatever is needed to make the book stronger.
2. Pace carries your reader through the book. Mysteries not only have strong plot structures, they also have built-in pace. As the sleuth discovers clues, events build to the climax of solving the mystery. Often, chapters end on "cliffhangers"--exciting revelations or events--that keep the reader turning pages. The same technique can apply to any genre. The basic idea is to create suspense by raising an issue or question that will be answered later in the story. Narrative drive is another term--your novel needs an intrinsic energy that propels the reader on a journey.
3. Don't drop the sub-plot. Single-focus books seem to be a thing of the past, even in the crime genre. Detectives have personal lives and problems beyond solving their latest case. Weaving together plot and sub-plot can be tricky since you don't want big blocks of one focus then the other. Instead, include elements of plot and sub-plot in each chapter. Minor subplot can be brought in every few chapters. Creating an arc and/or outline for each sub-plot will help you make sure they weave into the main story perfectly.
4. Motivation and goals enrich your characters. I have to say it again--Deborah Dixon's Goal, Motivation, and Conflict really turned on the light bulbs for me. Yes, my sleuth was motivated to solve the mystery (and why is important, too) but what about the big picture? Identifying my character's internal goals, motivations, and conflicts added so much richness to the story. This also leads to believable reactions and behaviors and creates opportunity for interesting sub-plots and plot twists. There are layers of sophistication here with mirroring and sub-text that I admit I'm still learning about and striving to incorporate.
5. Take your readers somewhere special. The books I enjoy most immerse me into the character's world. Cozies often excel at that, since they are mainly escape reading. Whether the setting is a romantic country inn in autumn, a ski resort in January, or an exotic island getaway, readers want to feel like they are there. Sensual details abound. I've read some books that have a great set-up, characterization, and dialogue, but the setting is as bland as an airport hotel. It could happen anywhere. Great settings don't mean pages of description. Often a few specific and vivid details can convey a richness of experience.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Deadly Pattern Released!
Today I got a nice surprise in the mail--author copies of my second cozy mystery from the Annie's Quilted Mystery series.
From the cover: "The spring season is usually the time for new beginnings, but as Easter approaches, Emma Cotton and Kelly Grace--quilting entrepreneurs from Mystic Harbor, Massachusetts--are finding themselves literally at end of the line. Traveling to Sedona, Arizona in search of the next suspect in the death of their good friend Rose, they find Dakota Longbone, a Native American interpreter and guide." They also discover murder and an art forgery ring.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)