As an indie author with a small but mighty traditional Denver publisher, it seems imperative to support local independent bookstores that help market and sell our books. We indies are a hard-working, quirky and smart group of creators and entrepreneurs who strive to foster a sense of community and support local economies. Although the mega-chains offer books at cheaper prices, half of what you spend at your local bookstore stays in the community. This serves us all. Folks at your local indie store also really know books, it’s their passion. They offer the personalized service that’s rare online and in the bigger stores. In my part of the world, stores like Tattered Cover and The Bookies Bookstore (Denver Metro), Books Are Awesome (Parker), Old Firehouse Books (Ft Collins), Boulder Bookstore (Boulder), Maria’s Bookshop (Durango), Out West Books (Grand Junction) and Poor Richard’s (Colorado Springs), all fit the bill.
To find independent bookstores in your area, go to https://bookshop.org
And here's a link if you want to buy my books on their site:
Bookshop.org is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. Readers can find a specific local bookstore to support using the site's map - and the local store will receive the full profit! Otherwise, the order will contribute to an earnings pool evenly distributed among independent bookstores (even those that don’t use Bookshop). Very cool! Find more info here https://public-production.bookshop.org/documents/Bookshop%20Author%20Brochu….
Thank you for your support of independents wherever they are!
Photos: Tattered Cover in Littleton CO, Booksellers Kathy, Stephanie and Raphael, My fabulous Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers critique group meets at the bookstore every Thursday night.
L. Frank Baum created it and Elton John sang about that iconic road. You’ve just travelled your own long, wonderful and difficult highway as you finish a book, or even more challenging, a whole series. Now it’s time to wrap it up. When it comes to endings, whether of a relationship, an experience, an ability, or a great story, some people cry, some rejoice, others take selfies and move quickly on to the next.
Personally, I’m an endings avoider. I just finished the final book in a 6-novel thriller series. As a pantser, or rather an organic/stream of conscious-type plotter, I found crafting the ending as excruciating as writing the first page years ago. But we writers have a solemn obligation to deal with the grief of endings and properly bid the characters and the readers a satisfying final au revoir (note the avoidance), as well as plant the teaser for our next book.
Following are common types of endings in crime fiction or any fiction for that matter.
· Resolved/Tied in a Bow No loose ends, all questions answered and the fate of the characters is known. I’ve recently been watching Death in Paradise on Brit Box/Prime Video, which is a terrific example of a mystery that neatly ties up everything in the end. Carolyn Keene’s beloved Nancy Drew novels do the same.
· Happily Ever After More often in cozies and romance novels. In Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott, Mrs. March’s finals words are: “Oh my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this!”
· Tragic This ending offers the inevitability of sadness and despair, foreshadowed from the beginning of the book. Dennis Lehane’s brilliant thriller, Shutter Island, is a classic example of a tragic ending.
· Open-Ended The open-ended finish lets readers use their imagination to spin the tale further in any direction they find interesting. In Tess Gerritsen’s I Know a Secret, the protagonist muses: “She knows I am guilty and she’ll be watching me…I am who I am, and nobody can watch me forever.”
· Twist The Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk is a twisty story where the two central characters turn out to be the same person. The ending leaves readers to reevaluate everything they’ve read. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, with their unreliable narrators, accomplish a similar end.
· Epilogue The author gives us a peek summary of what happens to the characters after the close of the story. William Kent Krueger’s epilogue in Spirit Crossing is a great example.
As you conclude a project, honor your own sense of grief. You’ve worked for years with the story and characters. Although you may feel a sense of relief or even glee at letting them go, there is inevitable sadness and anxiety as well. What’s next? Opportunity or abyss? Something meaningful has ended but as writers we are fortunate to be able to shape how the next adventure unfolds.
For Chicks on the Case, February 2023
I was on a roll, writing regularly with focus and discipline, religiously attending my critique group, getting work published and then, life, as it inevitably does, totally upended my plans. A fall on the ice, a concussion, years of dizziness and a limited ability to focus ensued.
After crying, denial, lots of anger and cursing, endless rehab, I slogged through the stages of grief because I knew nothing would ever be the same again. I finally struggled to acceptance, a state I’m in at least most of the time. Okay, maybe half the time.
From this experience, I gathered a few things to remember for when the ‘big unexpected’ strikes again, as it inevitably will.
1. Interruptions
Stop regarding upsetting events as interruptions of one’s “real” life. The truth is that what one calls the interruptions or crises are precisely one’s real life. All the fiction we write can’t replace that fact.
2. Grieve Your Disruption/Loss
Not grieving can result in irritability, anger, illness, obsessive disorders and other behaviors that are bad for you. A stiff upper lip will only paralyze your face.
3. Simplify and Triage
Separate what’s critical from what isn’t. Let the latter stuff go, even if it causes a bit of guilt and discomfort. It’s better for you in the long run to cast off the less important work and put that energy into recovery.
4. Recallibrate Your Expectations
You’re not going to be able to do the same things at the same pace after a traumatic event. Be willing to adjust your expectations to the circumstances and give yourself the blessing of grace.
5. Reach Out to Others
Don’t isolate. If you feel you’re struggling, seek support from your colleagues, friends, and family. Give them the opportunity to love you and be there for you. My relationships in the awesome Colorado writing community were a great source of encouragement.
6. Find the Good in the Situation
Now this one can seem impossible. Although my brain will never function the same after my accident, I have a new appreciation for folks who live their lives productively with disabilities, many much worse than mine. I included a quadriplegic vet as a major character in my latest thriller The Rx for Murder. Had it not been for my own struggles, he would not exist and he is very cool.
7. Exercise and Breathe
Do something physical that puts you ‘in the moment’ where you can leave the stressors behind even if for a short respite. Walk, run, garden, do yoga, whatever—do something to give your mind and body a break.
8. The Overwhelming Immediacy of the Crisis Will Abate
Remember the Hebrew saying by wise King Solomon, “Gam ze ya’avor,” which means, “This, too, shall pass.”
