Long ago and far away … well, not that far away … I came across a book in a bookstore, one that told it all. I don’t remember the precise title now but it was along the lines of how to write and publish a book. I snatched it up and took it home. I had toyed with the idea of writing novels for years but the most I would come up with was a page or two of evocative scenery or a character based on someone who did something outrageous. With my how-to book in hand, I devoured every word on characters, plot, conflict, locations. I went back with highlighter pen in hand, and marked everything I needed to remember (which was basically the whole book!)
 
I got my first word processor and started writing. Five hundred pages into it, I decided the story was done and I followed the instructions and sent it off to a contest I’d heard about, the prestigious Southwest Writers Workshop annual contest where the entries were judged by New York editors. When I received the call saying I had placed in the top three, I was over the moon. It never occurred to me that whichever editor had judged the contest wouldn’t just automatically accept my wonderful multi-generation family saga for publication.
 
I attended the conference where the awards were to be presented—accepted my third-place certificate and prize money, and spent the rest of the conference collecting business cards from every editor and agent there. Nearly all of them were willing to have me send the full manuscript. My trusty how-to book had advised that I only submit a book to one publishing house at a time, so that’s what I did. For about two years. No one wanted it. (It seems the first two chapters of a book might garner it a prize but don’t necessarily mean the entire tome is worth the massive amount of editing a NY house would have to put into it.)
 
Meanwhile, back at the keyboard … I followed every scrap of advice for editing that first book, kept sending it out, started a second book. And a third. Somewhere in there, I moved to another state. A friend and I shared loads of paperback books and we were both huge mystery fans. New female writers and female protagonists were making a big splash about then. Sara Paretsky and a group had formed Sisters In Crime, an organization for women crime writers, which I joined. Sue Grafton’s series was receiving attention, Marcia Muller was writing and publishing a lot. Going back to my first love of reading—mysteries—I began to consider what characters and plots I might bring to my writing. Charlotte “Charlie” Parker was born!
 
Although those first three non-mystery novels were never published, they provided excellent practice for me and by the time I finished the first two Charlie Parker books I was ready for publication. My next post talks about the process of launching the series with Deadly Gamble.

Deadly Gamble is the first in my Charlie Parker mystery series, but a little-known fact is that it was actually the second in this series to be written. How and why did I decide to switch the order of the first two books?
 
I was living in Hawaii at the time I went back to my reading roots, decided to write a mystery series, and came up with the character of Charlotte “Charlie” Parker. Going on the advice of “write what you know” I figured, what the heck—I’m living in Hawaii, it’s a beautiful and exotic place, and I can present the story with a lot more depth than if I’d come here on a quick vacation. BUT … I also knew I would be moving back to New Mexico within a couple of years and it made more sense to set an ongoing series in the place I knew better. So, Charlie’s home state would be the same as mine. She would merely be in Hawaii on her vacation. I sat down and wrote Vacations Can Be Murder.
 
I attended my next writer’s conference and met with a few agents. They liked the exotic location idea, but one guy advised me to establish Charlie first in her home territory. It was important, he said, that readers see her at home doing her regular thing before she goes off to this fabulous vacation. She should earn the vacation before she goes there. Okay. I didn’t disagree.
 
I went home and came up with Charlie’s backstory—her family, home, neighbors and career. Most importantly, her sidekick companion dog Rusty. He turned out to be one of the most beloved characters in the whole series, so I was glad to introduce him, along with the standard cast of characters, in Deadly Gamble. A few minor rewrites to Vacations to make it clear Charlie was home-based in New Mexico, and the series was on its way.
 
For readers who have not yet started this series, Deadly Gamble is free at most online retailers—a great way to meet Charlie and get a feel for the series at no risk. Click here to learn more about the storyline.