When Love Goes Wrong

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By Elaine Viets

Romance scams are the cruelest fraud. Scammers steal  your savings, self-respect, sanity, even your life. These scams are mainstay of Victorian novels – but now they have a modern twist, thanks to AI, dating apps, WhatsApp, and fake social media.

Consider Anne, a fifty-something French woman duped out of $855,000 by a Brad Pitt impersonator. Anne got a message from someone claiming to be Brad’s mother. Then “Brad” himself contacted her and they were online friends for more than a year. The fake Brad said he needed money for cancer treatment because his accounts were frozen, thanks to his split from Angelina Jolie. Anne also received photos of Brad in the hospital — AI-generated, of course.

The game was up when Anne saw real photos of Brad with his new love, Ines de Ramon. Ines, who belongs to a rich Swiss family, had more than enough bucks to take care of Brad.

What did Anne get for her kindness? When her story broke, she was ridiculed until she was hospitalized for mental health problems.

Stranger still was the senior citizen who fell in love with a fake Elon Musk. You read that right. The dark-haired, dashing Elon Musk.

The fake Elon sent her cheesy texts asking, “Hey baby, how are you? What are you doing tonight, baby?” The scammer used – what else? – AI for Elon’s voice, and stole $600,000. Why the richest man in the world needed what amounted to pocket change for him wasn’t clear, but he left that woman cold, stony broke.

Men are victims, too. A Las Vegas woman scammed at least four elderly men, drugged them, and helped herself to their savings and Social Security. At least one man disappeared.

Naturally, I had to add a romance scam to my new mystery, BEACH BLONDE BETRAYAL. In my second Florida Beach Mystery, someone is strangling young blonde women in the sun-splashed town of Peerless Point. One of the eccentric residents of Norah McCarthy’s apartment house, the Florodora, finds a body on the beach. The fear grows when a local restaurant owner is found stabbed on Norah’s doorstep. Norah has to unravel fatal secrets and deadly plots.

Including a romance scam that leads to murder.

Romance scammers have a real talent for figuring out who is vulnerable. These are ways to spot them.

Romance scammers can’t meet you in person. No matter how much Elon Musk hungers for your touch, he’ll never stop by your home. Ditto for love sick Brad Pitt. The scammer will have some reason they can’t visit. They work on an oil rig in the North Sea,  a research station in Antarctica or they’re in the military and deployed to Iran. Some romance scammers travel constantly for business, but never to your hometown.

Romance scammers are extremely shy. They’ll never make a video call. If they send you a photo, they will be good-looking. Too good looking to be true. Check out their photo in one of the reverse image search engines, such as Tineye, and you’ll discover the photo belongs to a model or a free photo service.

Scammers are extremely attentive. Their emails overflow with love and flattery. They’ll confess, “I’ve never felt this way before” or “I can’t live without you.” Romance scammers will say you are kind, beautiful and most of all, generous.

Especially generous . .  . Soon the scammers will have a little money problem. Nothing serious, mind you, but could they borrow 50 bucks until their paycheck arrives? And would you send it by Zelle? Smart scammers will  pay back that money right away. A short time later, they’ll have a real emergency: their sweet old  mother is dying. Or the scammer has been diagnosed with a terrible illness. They need your money. Of course, you send it. And keep sending it. Maybe you even sell your house.

If you question why they need so much money, romance scammers will ask: “Don’t you trust me? How can you say that when I love you so much?”

If these scammers don’t have a serious illness or a sick old mother, they often have beautiful dreams for a future together. They’ll send photos of a vacation house in Hawaii, Key Largo, or Costa Rica where the two of you can marry and live happily ever after. If you’ll just wire the six-figure down payment. And the money for airfare.

Some scammers want to make you rich. They have a hot investment opportunity. Usually in cryptocurrency. All you have to do is wire them the money.

Money is the key to romance scammers. In 2025 it’s estimated they’ve duped Americans out of $1.5 billion dollars. That’s billion with a B. As in be careful.

“With elegance and wit, Viets weaves each of these colorful subplots into an appealing tapestry. The result is a genial cozy that’s ideal for summer reading.” – Publishers Weekly on Beach Blonde Betrayal.  Preorder your copy here: https://tinyurl.com/bdhx3k66

 

 

 

 

 

What Writers Can Learn From Nursing a Sick Chicken

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When we love something, like writing, or somebody, be it a friend, partner, or pet, we persevere through good times and bad. Quitting is not an option.

Last week, as I mentioned in my previous post, I moved my six adult chickens from Massachusetts, where I had a coop at a friend’s house, to my yard in New Hampshire. During the hour-plus drive, one of my chickens — Biffy, an unfortunate pet name that stuck — was accidentally smothered by two of her sisters. When I lifted her from the crate, I thought for sure she was dead. Though she bounced back, they’d injured her crop.

Biffy

For those unfamiliar with bird anatomy, the crop is above the right-side of the breast. Food and water travel down the throat to the crop where it’s processed before dumping into the stomach.

About 24-36 hours later, I noticed Biffy seemed off. She sat alone in the coop while the others enjoyed the yard. She wasn’t eating and felt cold to the touch.

Uh-oh, is she dying?

I researched everything from accidental smothering to her cold body temperature. An impacted crop seemed to be the general consensus. When I felt her crop, it felt like a golf ball. Not good. In fact, it’s often a death sentence. I refused to except that, so I learned how to perform crop massages to break up the food that had hardened into a mass.

Several times a day, I marched outside to massage her. And soon, she recovered. But because her body had gone into shock from the move (hence, the cold body temp), she then became egg-bound. Another death sentence diagnosis.

Everyone told me she would die. Some suggested to mercy kill her, that it’s the kind thing to do. No, dammit, I’m a writer. I don’t quit. And I’m certainly not giving up on her.

So, I set up a hospital coop in my house. Again, I knew nothing about how to help her, but I researched everything I could find.

  • Epson salt baths to relax her stomach muscles.
  • A crushed Tums to give her the calcium she lost by not eating.
  • Olive oil on her vent or cloaca, where eggs come out.
  • Honey water to give her an energy boost.
  • Greek yogurt mixed with chick food to create an oatmeal-like mush.
  • Lots of love, patience, and understanding.

For four straight days, I did all the above several times per day. Still hadn’t laid the egg but it had moved into laying position. When I didn’t find an egg the following day, I crawled inside her hospital coop and stared deep into her eyes. “Tell me what to do, Biffy.”

And somehow, I knew she missed her flock.

Carrying her out to her regular coop was one of the hardest things I did. An injured chicken could get stomped to death. Survival of the fittest, and all that.

When I checked on her later that day, I found her hiding behind a straw bale, though her flock wasn’t harming her. I’d sneak in to administer the same treatment, except the baths. If the others caught me, they might retaliate against her for getting all of Mom’s attention. In between rounds, I ensured everyone felt special, but I still feared the worst.

Another three grueling days past. The egg moved even closer to her vent — so close yet so far!

Most chickens would have died a week ago. Not Biffy. She has the heart of a lion and the endurance of a cheetah. On day 8 or 9 (I lost track), I walked around the corner to the coop — Biffy was in the yard with her flock! Behind the bale of straw, I found two eggs. Not only did she pass the stuck egg but laid another.

Two weeks after she was almost smothered to death in that crate, she’s egging every day, eating, drinking, playing, roosting at night with the others, and has re-earned her #2 spot in the flock hierarchy.

What can writers learn from this?

  • Keen observation
  • The necessity of isolation for growth
  • Pacing

The Power of Micro-Observation

Chickens are prey animals. They instinctively mask their illnesses until they are critically ill. Chicken moms and dads learn to look for subtle cues: a drooping wing, a change in posture, or a loss of appetite.

Writer Lesson: Think of it as building subtext and writing characters whose internal pain is revealed through micro-actions rather than exposition.

The Importance of Quarantine

The first priority with a sick chicken is to remove her from the flock to prevent her from being pecked or stomped to death.

Writer Lesson: We can draw a parallel to our own creative process… we must detach from friends, family, and online activities to write. With an early draft or a deeply personable project, step away from the noise of critiques to give it the critical distance needed to develop it later through clearer eyes.

Prioritize the Essentials

When nursing a sick bird, basic hydration and warmth take precedence over complex medical interventions.

Writer Lesson: This mirrors the process of editing… strip away the clutter, focus on foundational structure, and ensure the core narrative works before worrying about elaborate prose.

Patience and Managing Expectations

Reviving a sick bird requires time, hourly monitoring, and the harsh realization that not every story has a happy ending.

Writer Lesson: Learn the delicate balance between fighting with a difficult draft and knowing when a concept must be shelved.

Today (written last Friday), I’m moving my 11 chicks outside to their junior coop. By the time this posts, I’ll finally have my house back. Though I love them dearly, it’s time. Yeehaw!

What other lessons can writers learn from my and Biffy’s story?

Cook Your Story

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by James Scott Bell
@jamesscottbell

There’s a legendary diner near my house called Bobby’s Coffee Shop. It’s been here since 1949, when Robert “Bobby” Perkins, a U.S. Navy veteran who had served as a cook during World War II, started slinging hash. The place has not changed much over the years. It still has a few tables, a counter, and a big old flat top and burners for the cook.

My dad brought me here as a kid. I was fascinated by Bobby. He had a stack of egg crates by the stove and worked several orders at a time. He’d grab an egg in each hand and crack them—at the same time—on both sides of a pan, and in went the eggs. Then in one, swift motion he’d bring his arms down and, without looking, throw the shells into a big container hidden under the counter. He would tend the eggs (flipping or scrambling), bacon, hash browns and pancakes, without pause (he did have an assistant cook so he could take the occasional smoke break).

The place was always packed. Why? Because Bobby knew his routine and what the customers wanted—the same satisfying breakfast every time.

In this way, Bobby was like a great genre writer. Give the folks what they want, with consistent quality.

I’ve also had a meal or two at a fancy-shmancy joint, sometimes featuring a celebrity chef. They’d have their specialties, a signature style making each dish unique.

In this way, they were like great literary stylists.

What both Bobby and the star chefs had in common was that they both worked with formulas.

I’ll sometimes hear a young writer say, “I don’t need to learn all this plot and structure stuff. That’s just a formula. I don’t want to write by a formula!”

I will then ask the whelp if he likes omelets. “Sure.” Then I ask, “Can you make an omelet without eggs?”

“Of course not.”

“Without a hot pan, some butter, some ingredients?”

“What are you getting at?”

“There’s a formula for omelets. You have to follow it, or you have no omelet. What gives it individuality is your mix of spices and ingredients. Same with writing, my friend.”

Thus, I was pleased to run across this recently in Story Physics, by Kill Zone emeritus Larry Brooks:

Equate the writing of a book to a lavish meal: multiple courses, different flavors, all aligning with a theme.

It will require tools—pots, pans, a stove, a butter knife—to prepare. It will require a basic recipe and some sensibility of cooking as a craft (note to self: don’t serve steak that’s as hard as a hockey puck). It will be composed of various ingredients, each with a different role that will add to the outcome.

The courses should be served in a specific order, in certain combinations, and both the ingredients and the recipes need to align with their assigned roles in the dining experience (a little Tabasco in the dessert isn’t gonna work).

Larry goes on to explain about spices, the individuality a chef brings to the formula:

Here’s an example of choosing the right spice for your story: You give your hero an everyday job because he’s an everyday guy—in other words, you give him a boring job—when any number of compelling jobs would better serve both characterization and plot. Why? Because it was—or is—your job, and you know it well. Somewhere in your writing past you’ve been told to write what you know—solid advice, but not always the best advice—so this leads you to unvetted choices in this regard.

Maybe your job fascinates you, but is it inherently compelling to others? Unless the plot depends on the hero’s occupation, in which case the plot defines it, then this is an opportunity to contribute to characterization and context by way of injecting something interesting into the mix. Something that possesses stronger story physics.

Simply put, the great cooks deliver consistent quality, and the great chefs unique tastes and textures, while both provide a satisfying meal. That’s a matter of craft, of knowing what works and what doesn’t, leaving room for your individuality, your “voice” and style.

If you want to sell books—or open up a restaurant—learn how to cook. Honor the craft. Master the seven critical success factors of fiction—plot, structure, characters, scenes, dialogue, voice, and meaning. Get to know your spice rack, which holds ingredients like minor characters. Give others a taste—a good editor, beta reader or crit partner. Keep on cooking. You’ll burn a few things here and there, but that’s how you learn.

Enjoy the process. Bon appétit.

How do you cook your books? (Maybe I should rephrase that…)

Why You Should Write at the Car Wash

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A car between two giant spinning brushes and a car wash

A couple of days ago I went to the car wash. To pass the time, I brought a hard copy of my latest project, which I was hand editing. I was there for an hour and was insanely productive. With the comfortable chair and their rocking soundtrack that was a mix of classic country, 70s rock, and 90s alternative, it was a magical creative experience.

It reminded me of a story from a few years ago about novelist Amy Daws who cured her writer’s block by writing in the waiting room of her local tire store. She became the unofficial mascot of the store with her own reserved seat. And she wrote a book, Wait With Me, about a writer who likes to write in the waiting room of a tire store and finds love there.

My time at the car wash prompted a creative habit I had forgotten. I like writing with noise. . Keep a list of habits that work for you so when your life changes, you don’t forget. It’s also good to have creative habits in rotation. When you get tired of sitting at your desk, go to the car wash.

Sometimes when you are searching for inspiration, try changing location.

Have you ever wondered why so many people like to write at coffee shops? There is actually science behind it. There is a noise sweet spot between too loud to be distracting and just loud enough to help you focus. Having noise that your brain has to work to block out actually makes you more creative.

There’s even an app called Coffitivity that mimics the noise of a coffee shop. I used it when I had to write at an office job that was library level quiet.

Some people use music as their ambient noise. Lots of writers like to have playlists for each project that evoke the mood and the theme of the story they’re working on.

What is your favorite kind of noise to work with?

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Letter To My Pre-pubbed Self

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This morning I stared at the cursor blinking on my computer screen as I worked on my current manuscript. I’m at the point where that little voice is yelling, “What makes you think you can do this?” I yell back— “I know I can—I’ve done it nineteen times before.” But it’s not helping.

Dale’s post on Saturday encouraged me. While I haven’t lost my writing mojo, I’m tired.
The middle of a book is the hardest for me. They don’t call it the sagging middle for nothing. I know my characters, but they are rebelling on me, not going where I want them to. Of course, eventually I’ll listen to them—if I don’t, they’ll quit talking to me. As I cast my line into the possibilities, a thought hits me.

Did you really think it would be easy?

Before I was published, I doubt I ever gave a thought that this writing gig might be really hard. Back then, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Now I’m thinking about all the things I wished I’d known when I first started writing many years ago, so I decided to write unpublished-self a letter.

Dear Patricia,

You didn’t know it was going to take so long to get a book published, did you? Thirty years. Would you have kept writing if you had? Or would you have thrown up your hands and said that’s too long and too difficult? I know you were tempted a few times. What a shame it would have been.

Looking back, I can see a few places where you could have made the journey easier. Like if you had connected with other writers earlier, gotten into a critique group, or attended a few conferences. But I realize it wasn’t always an option. It is easier now, with the Internet to connect with other writers. And those self-imposed deadlines could have been a little tighter. That discipline would have really helped when the publisher’s deadlines started coming, like now.

But you did a few things right. Like taking classes, which you continue to do even now. And you finally were able to attend conferences where you met your agent…of course you didn’t realize it would take you five years to finish that manuscript she requested, but you finally did and she accepted you.

You kept learning the craft, so that when God opened the door for publication, you were ready to walk through it. Of course, you still had a lot to learn and each book has taught you something new. And as you write this book, you’ll learn something new again.

I want you to know that when you receive a publishing contract, everything changes. Oh, not the excitement about writing, but the realization that you have a responsibility now to turn in a clean manuscript on time—writing is no longer something you do when you have time. Now you must make time for it. Writing is a job; other people are depending on you to do what you say you’ll do. That means that when a friend calls and wants to do lunch, you won’t always be available. It won’t be easy, but then, I don’t suppose any goal is easy.

Thank you for sticking to it. It’s been a wonderful journey, even the pre-pub days. Keep writing and don’t give up.

Your older and wiser (hopefully) self
Patricia

Okay, TKZers, can you relate? If you’re published, what is something you would tell your pre-published self? Or what would you tell a new, struggling writer?

I’m having a medical procedure, so I may late responding to comments, but I’ll catch up!

 

Marketing, Algorithms, and Tropes

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Marketing, Algorithms, and Tropes

Terry Odell

Image by Inn from Pixabay

Marketing is, for most authors, a necessary evil. Even traditionally published authors are expected to share the burden of making their books visible, and with the thousands of books published to Amazon a day, this is a daunting task. Before I go any further, let me remind readers here that the best marketing effort is to write the next good book. That being said, it’s still a game of whack-a-mole trying to find the next best marketing tool.

How is your book discovered? It used to be readers went to their bookstore of choice and searched using keywords, the author’s name, genre, whatever. Now, it’s places like BookTok and other social media platforms that readers, especially younger ones, are gravitating to.

Even publishers are partnering with BookTok influencers to get the word out about their publications.

Word of mouth is still huge, but a lot of those mouths are digital. Book clubs on Discord, Goodreads lists, and Reddit threads are growing. Subscription services let readers find books without paying for individual titles.

Overall, there’s a split between algorithmic and social discovery, which is fast, and often viral, and the intentional, curated discovery, which is slower, more personal, and trust-based.

And what about those algorithms? Recently (no surprise), Amazon came up with a new one. Authors who had figured out how to ‘beat’ the system are having to start all over.

A recent podcast on Written Word Media summarized the changes as they relate to Amazon. Since Amazon doesn’t reveal how their algorithms work, they’ve done research to try to figure it out. Are they right? Is it foolproof? That remains to be seen.

First, optimization of your book product page is more important than previously. Keyword stuffing is out; natural language is in. Include tropes and subgenres in your description.

Next, focus on your A+ content. Make it longer and make your images match the genre and themes of your books. Getting readers to stay on the page as long as possible is a plus.

External traffic is more important than it used to be. Your ads, your social networks, newsletters—driving traffic to you page from non-Amazon sources also means more than it used to.

Finally, they mention consistent traffic. One day spikes of sales isn’t as effective as seeing increased sales over several days. Amazon isn’t updating rankings hourly anymore. It’s more like once a day.

Something mentioned in their advice is tropes.

Dictionary.com defines trope as “a recurring theme or motif, as in literature or art; a convention or device that establishes a predictable or stereotypical representation of a character, setting, or scenario in a creative work.”

Tropes make it easier for readers to find books they know they’ll like within their genre of choice. Ad graphics and memes are including tropes along with book images. Here’s a quick one I put together as an illustration.

Tropes are the new search terms. They are sharable shorthand. They build loyal, repeat buyers. They drive the long tail, not just launch work.

They’re not without risk, however. BookTok hypes aren’t substance driven. The hype is probably short-lived. You also have to be careful about making sure all aspects of your marketing reflect what’s actually in the book.

Bottom line: tropes work commercially because they reduce uncertainty for readers. In a market flooded with books, knowing a book contains your favorite trope functions like a quality signal — it tells you roughly how it will feel to read it. That reduces friction all the way from discovery to purchase.

Did I do anything with this tropification advice?

With 35 books out there, doing anything that means making changes to all of them fills me with dread. How long will it take? How much work will I have to do?

I decided to start small. I’d modify the book pages on my own website, a few books at a time. How was I going to find the tropes when I can hardly remember what many of my books are about, especially the older ones.

I turned to my more-or-less trusty assistant, Claude, and I asked it to give me marketing tropes for  Deadly Bones, one of my books. I didn’t feed it my book. It came back with data it gleaned from my website, from my Amazon pages, from reviews, from all over the interwebs.

This is what it came up with:

  • Cold case / buried remains — the bones-in-the-ground setup is a classic cold case entry point, used here with a cozy sensibility rather than a forensic thriller one
  • Accidental discovery — the mystery begins with something entirely mundane: a couple of dogs on the loose, which is perfectly in keeping with the series’ warm, small-town tone
  • Obstructionist authority figure — the mayor functions as an antagonist not through villainy but through bureaucratic shortsightedness, a distinctly cozy genre device
  • Seemingly unrelated crimes converging — the break-ins and the bones appear disconnected until they aren’t, a classic mystery plotting technique
  • Recurring detective as frenemy — Tyler Colfax returns from Book 1 as a necessary but prickly collaborator, building on the series’ ensemble continuity
  • Protagonist’s loved ones in danger — Gordon’s personal stakes are raised in the final act, pulling the story from procedural into something more urgent
  • Slow-burn series romance — Gordon and Angie’s relationship continues its gradual, warm development without overwhelming the mystery plot

I took these, chose the ones I though were most likely to show up in searches (as if I know), condensed them, then added a “Tropes” section to the basic book information on the Deadly Bones book page on my website.

Then, rinse, repeat as needed.

Am I going to take that information and add it to the book description for all my books on all my sales channels? Not right away.

Am I going to update all my A+ content, which I haven’t touched since I wrote that above post? I’ll have to see.

And, in closing, another reminder.

The best marketing is writing the next good book.
Which is what I’m in the middle of, so that’s taking priority right now.

What about you, TKZers? Are you moving with the trends, or sticking to your own methods? Any successes, less than successful methods to share?

Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Deadly Ambitions
Peace in Mapleton doesn’t last. Police Chief Gordon Hepler is already juggling a bitter ex-mayoral candidate who refuses to accept election results and a new council member determined to cut police department’s funding.
Meanwhile, Angie’s long-delayed diner remodel uncovers an old journal, sparking her curiosity about the girl who wrote it. But as she digs for answers, is she uncovering more than she bargained for?
Now, Gordon must untangle political maneuvering, personal grudges, and hidden agendas before danger closes in on the people he loves most.
Deadly Ambitions delivers small-town intrigue, political tension, and page-turning suspense rooted in both history and today’s ambitions.

Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”

 

Round Up at the Montana Writers Rodeo

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by Debbie Burke

In May, my pardner in crime Leslie Budewitz and I saddled up her trusty Subaru and hit the dusty trail. Our destination: the 2026 Montana Writers Rodeo in Helena where we were both speaking.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about this fun boutique conference and was delighted to reconnect this year with director Mindy Peltier, founder Pamela Mencher, and chief wrangler Pearl Allen.

Because the conference is affiliated with the Helena Avenue Theatre (HAT), it welcomes the drama community and playwrights. During the weekend, in addition to craft presentations, actors performed scenes from plays written by members.

The Rodeo also encourages young writers. Friday evening, we were treated to imaginative short works read by three authors in middle and high school. I recognized a young man who’d also been at the event in 2024. Afterward I talked with them and expressed admiration for their bravery, standing onstage and baring their souls in front of an audience of strangers. I could never have done that at their age.

On Saturday morning, the kids were back, listening attentively. They asked questions that kept me and other speakers on our toes.

Mindy Peltier, MT Writers Rodeo Chair

Meet conference director/whirlwind Mindy Peltier. After raising and homeschooling six kids, Mindy knows how to cheerlead. On Friday afternoon, she kicked off the conference by encouraging attendees to become involved with a critique group or writing community. Improvement happens by learning new skills and hearing feedback from others. Critique groups offer objectivity, suggestions, and fresh viewpoints the author may not have considered. They foster creativity along with accountability. Perhaps more importantly, close groups not only help writing, they become a supportive family.

 

An unexpected highlight was speaker Allison Whitmer, Montana Film Commissioner. Working for the Department of Commerce, Allison’s big score was lassoing the Taylor Sheridan series Yellowstone, filmed in Montana. The franchise has brought multi-millions to the state in tourism, jobs, and production.

As film commissioner, Allison arranges everything from livestock to locally sourced food and cooks to prepare meals for cast and crew. Need lodging? She finds hotels, B&Bs, and homes to rent. How about extras, sound techs, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and other tradespeople? She’s got ’em.

Want to film on state or federal land? She facilitates permits and also negotiates with private owners for use of their property.

Need money to make a film? In April, the Big Sky Film Grant awarded $970,000 to 22 different projects from shorts to feature-length movies and TV programs. Productions are expected to spend more than $13 million in local rural communities.

At the Friday evening buffet, I chatted with Allison about her fascinating job. She is a writer herself and helps creatives and nonprofit groups like HAT and the Montana Writers Rodeo bring their events to life. Wonder if she needs an assistant?

(BTW, the buffet desserts featured tiny typewriters made from peanut butter, Mindy’s fun, tasty touch.)

Leslie Budewitz

Leslie Budewitz‘s keynote included surprises I’d never known despite being friends for more than 25 years. Although she’s published 19 books and won three Agatha awards, I learned she once doubted her own creativity. While she has great abilities in organization, research, and planning, she didn’t think she was creative, believing “creative women wore long flowy things with scarves and beads and complicated earrings,” not Levis and cowboy boots.

“I’d put unnecessary limitations on my concept of creativity,” she explained. “I suspect many of you have done the same thing.” Then she heard a talk by Professor Gerard Puccio that revised her thinking.

She compared two artists, Norman Rockwell and Pablo Picasso, who expressed creativity in vastly different ways. She encouraged the audience to embrace their unique individuality without limiting themselves by thinking I could never do that.

Authors often experience “What if I suck” days and Leslie reassured the audience that’s normal and expected for creative people. To help get past those discouraging days, she recommends becoming part of an active writing group. She credits involvement with the writing community as a major contributor to her success and opportunities.

Playwright/director/college instructor Ross Peter Nelson presented an entertaining workshop on dialogue writing skills with illustrations and audience participation. He projected excerpts from several plays on the screen and had audience members take turns reading a few lines. This exercise demonstrated how different tone, attitudes, accents, and subtext add to the richness of dialogue. On Saturday evening, a scene from one of Ross’s many plays was performed onstage by actors.

Award-winning speculative fiction author Kim Vandel spoke about techniques to create “suspension of disbelief” for readers. To write convincingly about sci-fi/fantasy characters and situations, she recommends using the five senses that readers can identify with. She employs the “Iceberg Principle of Worldbuilding” to reveal significant, specific details about the fantasy universe rather than overwhelming amounts of description. She also talked about the importance of emotion and awareness of brain chemistry to keep readers engaged.

Kim opened my eyes to the varied universe of speculative fiction with this slide:

Spec fiction genres courtesy of Kim Vandel

My talk was “The Hero’s Journey vs. the Villain’s Journey-How They’re Different Yet Alike.” In the slide show, I used film examples to compare and contrast two journeys: Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, and Michael Corleone from The Godfather trilogy. The audience asked challenging questions and seemed to like the presentation because they bought all The Villain’s Journey paperbacks, plus a number of my thrillers. I was glad to take home a lighter load of books than I’d brought.

Jim Bell’s ears should have been burning during the conference because his name came up repeatedly. During the panel discussion with all speakers, most of us said we own his books and recommend them to improve craft skills.

May snow on roof outside my window

 

Mindy hosted Leslie, Kim, and me at her lovely log home in the forest. Sunday morning, I woke to a skiff of snow on the roof outside my bedroom window.

Even though May 17th is supposed to be well into spring, Montana weather never pays attention to the calendar.

 

 

 

Sunday breakfast with Kim, Scott, Leslie, and Mindy

Mindy’s husband Scott treated us to a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs and wonderful espresso coffee. The Peltiers deserve five stars on Yelp for gracious hospitality.

Reconnecting with friends and meeting new writers made the Rodeo weekend enjoyable, educational, and inspiring.

I especially appreciated that Leslie drove the entire 400-mile round trip. Thankfully the roads were mostly clear except occasional sleet and rain, often with sun shining through clouds at the same time. That’s springtime in the Rockies.

 

Extra bonus: We brainstormed during the journey and Leslie came up with a solution to a legal quandary in my WIP!

All in all, a fun and successful roundup!

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TKZers: Any boutique writing conferences you’d like to recommend?

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Want to build a fascinating villain or antagonist? Contact me at this link about upcoming zoom workshops. And read The Villain’s Journey – How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate.

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News: Sales and Deals

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by James Scott Bell
@jamesscottbell

A couple of items from the trad side of the business.

Book Sales Down

From Publishers Weekly:

Unit sales of print books had a slow start in 2026, according to data from Circana BookScan. Total unit sales fell 3.1% compared to a year ago for the quarter ending March 28, 2026, dropping to 163.5 million copies sold.

The young adult category had the steepest percentage decline.

This last bit concerns me. Is it phones, tablets, TikTok, or whatever else that keep kids from novel-length fiction? Are parents buying fewere books to give to their kids?

Book Deals Hard to Come By (File this under “New, What Else is?”)

Getting a traditional publishing deal has always been a challenge. Is it harder now? A column in USA TODAY says:

About 81% of Americans feel that they have a book in them, according to an often cited survey reported in The New York Times (from the early 2000s). Many aspire to write and publish a book in their lifetime, but only a small fraction see their work formally acquired and announced each year. A little over 2,000 fiction writers announced deals in 2025 on Publishers Marketplace.

***

[W]hen people ask, “Can anyone get a book deal?” what they’re often asking is something else:

  • Is this still possible for people who aren’t famous?
  • Do I have to know somebody in the industry?
  • And if I do everything “right,” will it still take years?

In short: Yes, no and maybe. A book deal is attainable – to some extent. It’s also not a finish line. 

***

The publishing industry is consolidating, which means fewer imprints (and fewer editors)…When editors are stretched thinner, the time it takes to nurture talent – especially debut authors – shrinks. The industry’s ability to take a slow bet on a writer, to develop them the way record labels develop musicians or sports teams develop rookies, becomes increasingly rare.

***

Even when the book is good, “we have less places to sell things than we have in the past,” Carly Watters, senior literary agent at PS Literary, told USA TODAY. “A lot of things are more predicated on the appetites of a smaller group of people … there might be separate imprints, but they all share an editorial board meeting.”

Quality aside, a novel also has to be “sellable” to stand out in those meetings. “In my experience, (books) that are easily pitchable, meaning we can sum up – hook, line, sinker – in one sentence, that’s something that I can get people’s attention with,” Watters added. There are gorgeous books that are hard to summarize, she said. The kind you want to hand someone and say, “Just read it, then call me.”

Those books can sell. But it’s harder.

The article’s author spoke with a literary agent Eric Smith:

Plenty of his clients come from cold querying (sending an email or form pitch) with no connections in the industry. But also, his inbox – when he’s open to submissions – can reach thousands in a few months. Smith estimated he received around 3,000 submissions over roughly 90 days and signed a handful last year.

That number can seem terrifying until you remember something important: Most of those submissions weren’t “bad writers.” They just weren’t the right fit. Or the timing was wrong. Or the market was saturated. Or an editor had just acquired something similar. Or an imprint closed. Or an editor got laid off. Or the editorial board said, “We already have a slot like this.”

You can do everything right and still lose to the invisible calendar of the industry.

Consolidation makes that sharper. Smith described it plainly: Agents can’t send five projects in a row to the same editor without burning that bridge.

So yes, it can be more challenging now; not because the “gatekeepers” hate writers, but because the gate is servicing fewer lanes.

Comments welcome.