Emily Trace Mysteries

I got a wonderful email from someone who desires to write a book. I will leave out the details of her letter, but it prompted me to write a reply I’d like to share with all writers and aspiring writers. Here it is:

Dear (put your name here):

Thank you for your lovely letter. I am always pleased to meet writers and aspiring writers.

There are several things you can do, if you want to write a book (or two or more). I will try to summarize, but the journey for each person is their own.

First of all, write. There is a wonderful, free event beginning November 1. It is called NaNoWriMo. Funny name, but it stands for National Novel Writing Month, and the idea is to write as much as you can for the 30-day month of November. I am sending you the link to their site, and I encourage you to participate. Http://nanowrimo.org

The event has participants from all over the world, and there is a chapter right here in Spokane, Washington. You can have a writing buddy or buddies if you wish, attend local “write-ins” or just sit down every day and write about 1,700 words. Don’t worry about the editing at this point, or even the flow of your story. Just write. The goal is to produce a 50,000 word novel rough draft. The best thing about NaNoWriMo is that you are accountable to no one except yourself. If you’ve put off getting started, it’s a good way to kick yourself into gear.

Second, I would urge you to attend a local writers’ meeting such as Spokane Authors. We meet the first Thursday of the month at 2:00 p.m. at the Golden Corral on North Division. If you work during the day and are unable to attend, there is a group which meets the third Wednesday of the month at Frankie Doodle’s Restaurant on Third and Division at 6:00 p.m. Both these groups have been around for a while, and I attend both meetings whenever I can. The advantages are that you become more connected with Spokane’s writing community, and you will meet some of Spokane’s authors and aspiring authors.

Third, find a critique group. There are many in Spokane. Not all of them will fit your personality and writing style, but if you try out several, you will find one that will nurture and help you in your writing journey. Critique groups are generally smaller than the two groups I mentioned above. They also usually meet more often, and take turns reading from their works in progress. The one I belong to meets twice a month, and we print out copies of what we will read, so that everyone can write their comments down. That’s not necessary, but it is helpful. I also meet with  a couple of writer friends and go even more in detail into whatever project I’m involved in at the moment.

Finally, never give up! 😊 You have a story within you. Let it come out. Who knows? The world may end up a better place because you chose to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Good luck, and thank you for your wonderful email. Because of it, I wrote something I can share in our newsletter and in my blog. You see, you have already had a positive effect on the world.

Write On!

Fall is my favorite time of year, and has been for as long as I can remember. The smell of harvested grain pours from the hopper of the combine into the waiting truck, the aroma of freshly cut grass mingles with falling leaves, apples blush red after the first frost, and  carved pumpkins sit like sentinels on neighbors’ porches. Children settle in to school and look forward to Halloween.

Ah, yes. Halloween. The month of October provides a few special treats in my little corner of the writing world. First of all, Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers will release its first anthology. All of us have worked hard to submit our stories and poems, fine-tune them, and put them together in a book. Celebrating Spokane Authors: Readings in Prose and Poetry is scheduled for release by the end of this month. One of my short stories will be included in the collection, which will be available on Amazon and Kindle, and hopefully at some of Spokane’s local bookstores.

Several SASP members will feature their books at the Mount Spokane High School Craft Fair this weekend. Located at 6015 East Mt. Spokane Park Drive, a mile east of Highway 2 and near the Green Bluff Apple Festival, the fair runs all day Saturday and from 11-4 Sunday, Oct. 14-15. Esther Hildahl and Joyce Caudel will be there both days, Kate Poitevin will join them Satuday, and I’ll be there Sunday.

Also this weekend, Larry Danek and I will do a book signing at Book Traders, located at 907 West Garland Avenue in Spokane, as part of the Artspiration event. Drop by and see us between 10-5 Saturday, Oct. 14.

More good news and activities to come.

Hello, everyone. This time I’ve changed the banner photo to reflect the relentless heat in the Pacific Northwest. Eastern Washington has set records of scorching high temperatures and days without precipitation. August, which is usually our summer’s hottest month, is only a few days old. We will get through the extra-hot summer. And don’t forget: winter, in all its icy glory, will be upon us before we know it.

The next Emily Trace mystery has been slow in development, but I believe it will be worth it. The title is Send in the Drones, and Emily and her intrepid crew will have to work especially hard to figure out the mystery of the disappearing drone.

In anticipation of its release, I’d like to let you in on a little secret from Send in the Drones. Don’t worry. I don’t believe it will in any way spoil the surprises in store for you. So here it is, folks:

Everything you ever wanted to know about Drone Wars
(well, almost everything)

“A small town airport is scheduled to play host to a new event during their annual town celebration. Drone Wars will be held for the first time Saturday afternoon on the tarmac,” the local weekly newspaper announced. Emily Trace planned to attend, and several of her staff signed up to participate.

I came up with the concept of Drone Wars as I crafted the latest Emily Trace adventure. I was inspired by the dogfights of the World War I flying aces and their battles with the Red Baron, plus the interstellar battles in Star Wars and The Last Starfighter. I thought it would be cool to have the miniature planes duke it out with lasers, totally under the control of their remote pilots.

After research on the concept, I discovered that laser weapons, which are not even used in laser tag and similar games,  posed hazards to humans which were unacceptable. I decided to have the little planes fire infrared lights instead. Much safer. Plus special effects could be added to really put on a show. Those concepts were inspired by the Lazer Tag people.

In Emily’s world, drones are equipped for competition with stick-on patches sensitive to infrared light on the frequency of special weapons, which are also installed on the little mini-planes for the competition. Whenever a drone takes a hit, five points are awarded to its opponent electronically. The dogfight continues until one drone scores 250 points, or until the main target patch suffers a fatal hit.

The main target is a small patch  located in a strategic, difficult to hit position on the drone. Once the opponent hits the tiny target, connected sensors will emit smoke and simulate sparks. They will also disable the connection with the remote control,  and the drone will automatically land and lose the match.

To find out more on Drone Wars, the first recorded Drone War in Emily Trace history, and the results of the match, stay tuned here, on Twitter (@sueeller), or on my Facebook page (follow the link on this page) for the release of Send in the Drones – an Emily Trace Mystery.

Until the next time, stay cool wherever you are, and practice flying.