Latest on the Blog

Welcome! 

This is the original blogging site for P.J. Howell, where you can learn more about available books, reviews and events, HOWEVER, new blog posts are now shared on my new website, which you can visit here. 

In case you've missed them and haven't received the updates, here's a breakdown of what's new on the blog:

The P.I. Post

In these posts, I'll be sharing stories that are related to private investigators, as well as unique topics and interesting case reviews. The first P.I. Post for this series shares interesting details about how state prisons uses convicts and cold case cards to solve cold cases. I'll continue to share The P.I. Post about every other month, but you can read the first installment of The P.I. Post here.

Character Coffee Chats

For those who enjoy reading the Jorja Matthews mystery series, these coffee chats will be in the form of "interviews" with the characters in the series. The first chat is with my protagonist, Jorja Matthews, and each month I'll share a coffee chat with another character. With these chats you'll enjoy more time with the characters, learn additional details about a character's backstory and you might even learn new details about events as they are unfolding in the books at the time of the coffee chat. You can read the first coffee chat here.

Nonfiction Nuggets

There are many real-life cases or circumstances that are similar to what my characters go through and this is where I'll share some of those nuggets as I come across them. The first Nonfiction Nugget is about a medical condition I believe Jorja's bio-mom could have been diagnosed with due to her actions. I'll be sharing these posts about every other month in between The P.I. Post series, but you can read the first installment of the Nonfiction Nuggets here.

I'll also continue to share regular updates with regard to my writing, new releases and overall author-type musings, so head on over to the blog on the website to make sure you haven't missed anything!

                      

And you can always receive monthly updates and stay up-to-date with my posts by signing up for my newsletter. You can sign up here or click on the image below!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

NFReads author interview

Check out my author interview with NFReads!

Please introduce yourself and your books:

My name is Paula Howell but I write under my nickname, P.J. Howell. My current published titles include a mystery series, as well as a few short stories and a non-fiction. The Jorja Matthews mystery series is about a female private investigator. The reader tags along while Jorja works as a PI on legal cases and attempts to unravel mysteries surrounding her own family history.

What are the real-life stories behind your books?

I’ve worked in the legal field for 30 years, 15 of which were as a private investigator…

You can read the complete interview here.

NFReads is an online publication which began out of a love for learning new things and later morphed into a general interest website with a focus on stories behind creative works and people’s lives.

There are other author interviews on the website you can also review under the “writing and literature” section. The link can be found here.

I hope you take a moment to read the interview and if you know of anyone who might also enjoy it, don’t hesitate to pass the link on to them.

Take care and happy reading!

Practice Makes Perfect

I don’t believe “perfect” is the correct word…because I’ll never assume to be perfect, but practice does make us better. Case in point, author events where I’m not just showing up to meet readers and sign books, but to stand in front of a group to discuss my writing and publishing process and my journey as an author so far.

I attended this type of event last weekend, and I had such a good time. I enjoy meeting people who genuinely take pleasure in reading my books; again, it’s the surreal part of this process, the fact that others appreciate and enjoy the stories I come up with. But with practice, I’ve also learned to enjoy talking about my writing journey and my stories, so that I’m able to feel more confident in myself when speaking in front of a group.

Flashback to high school, when I had to take the most dreaded class of all: speech.  I wasn’t alone; I can’t remember knowing even a handful of other students who actually liked the class and what it required from us. It’s a necessary (evil) and useful class, I can admit as an adult, but as a teen I was fairly shy when speaking in front of even a small number of people, so the class was torture. Part of it was due to my shyness, while the other part was due to the fact that the subject matters we had to speak about felt forced.

Fast forward quite a few years later, when I was working as a private investigator, I was a member of a legal investigator association and I moved up from member, to board member and eventually to president. For a year in that position I ran almost monthly meetings near Seattle and had to put aside my introvert tendencies to speak in front of the members who attended the meetings and to introduce special guest speakers we lined up for each meeting. While I still had issues with speaking to large groups, this process was a great learning tool for me.

Stepping stones in life prepare us for what’s to come…

Now, I get to attend author events, I’m introduced as the guest speaker and I enjoy myself because I’m able to discuss a subject matter I’m extremely interested in and excited about. I’ve come full circle when I look back at my teenage self and how much I’ve grown when it comes to making speeches in front of large groups. I certainly enjoy myself now and I hope that my excitement about my stories and my writing journey give those who attend an enjoyable experience. I also learn from each event, so that I can make changes as needed to make the next event better, for myself and for those who attend.

But really, my favorite part of these author events goes beyond the preparation, the butterflies I still feel beforehand no matter how confident I think I am, the time I spend talking or the time I spend signing books. My favorite part is meeting new people, finding new readers who are willing to give my books a shot, and having a good time in general with like-minded individuals who just love books. Take a look at some of my older posts, where I offer a few stories: whether I’m attending a book signing, an author event, a book club meeting, or a fair, there’s no end to the interesting people I get to meet.

Meeting interesting people is a key highlight on a long list of highlights when it comes to what’s so wonderful about being a writer. Why would I ever want to do anything else?  J

What can these things possibly have in common?

Word count, social media, death investigations, series Bible & inbox cleanup...they can't possibly have anything in common. Absolutely nothing, except for the fact that they have all helped me stay on task for the month of January.

The first month of the year is almost over…is it hard to believe, having flown by at a fast pace? Or has it been a long month for you? For me, I find it hard to believe the month of January is about to come to a close, but I’m okay with it because now I can look back to see how I’m doing to stay on task. As I review this first month of the year, I’m pleased with how well I’ve done with my writing schedule and my intentions to make good progress this year.

My weekly tasks involve writing, blogging and other social media updates. I’ve stayed committed with blogging, obviously; so there’s that.

I’ve shared regularly on my Facebook page, and generated some interest in fun details regarding my writing life.  

Here’s one post I shared:

And here’s another that really drew some interest:

You never know what might pique the interest of others (and that sometimes depends on what Facebook decides to let others see, which can be frustrating), but when a post results in a more engaging audience, it’s always satisfying.

I’ve also done pretty well with keeping up on my word count. I left the gate a little slow…okay, very slow, with less than 1,000 words the first week. That’s an awful result when it comes to word count, but that’s because I was working on other writing tasks, as well. My second week added just over 1,000 words to the count, but also involved a lot of editing. The third week I rocked it with just over 7,000 words for the week and this past week I’ve already reached just over 4,900 words, with time still left in the day. For the month, when my goal is an absolute minimum of 3,000 words per week, or 12,000 per month, I’ve written over 13,700 words. I’m nearing the end of my story, or I would likely have a higher word count for the month, but as I write I’m also tying up loose ends in order to wrap up the story.

I’m so close to finally completing this novel! And that, by itself, feels awesome.

In addition to my weekly to-do's, my monthly tasks are also coming along. 

We’ve already established that with regard to my total word count for the month, I’m on task, which feels good. 

I’ve been keeping up on my timeline and my series Bible as I complete the fourth book in the series. Since I don’t outline before writing, I keep a timeline as I write. This helps me track what’s happening in my story, while I keep notes on a monthly calendar and also a more detailed list in my notebook of what’s happening per chapter. This is a task I must keep up with each week and month as I write so that I don’t lose sight of what’s happening in my story and also where my story may be heading.

My research topic for this month was to delve more deeply into crime scene investigations. I've investigated cases involving deaths as a private investigator, but I needed more information from the point of view when it comes to law enforcement. I researched not only scene investigations, but also how cases are worked when a suspicious death occurs in a small town versus a larger one, and how the different jurisdictions work together when cities don’t always employ the necessary people to investigate a death. Here’s something interesting that I hadn’t realized: there truly is a difference between a medical examiner and a coroner. I think the words are often used interchangeably, since most might believe they perform the same tasks. But the differences are critical. One is usually a physician; one could just be the owner of a local feed store. One is appointed; one is elected. One is a medical doctor but may not be trained in death investigations; while the other may perform death investigations but have no medical training. One can perform autopsies; the other cannot (without the medical degree). And while one may perform the autopsy, the other will eventually determine the final cause of death. It’s all very interesting but also very helpful when trying to keep fiction closer to fact.

The only other main focus for me this month was to finally clean out my e-mail inbox. It was just crazy. After about an hour, believe it or not, I could finally read my incoming e-mails without having to scroll down the screen. My next task, I think, will be to decide which e-mail I no longer wish to subscribe to. I’ve seen a serious trend lately where many professionals I willingly offered my e-mail address to in order to receive their newsletters, updates, promo offers and the like, have turned to burying my inbox with e-mails only relating to how much I can save today by purchasing their offer of the day. Once a month might not bother me, but weekly actions to commit to save here, spend there, grab my copy or snag a spot are getting old. While everyone wants to make money on what they create, there is a balance and lately it’s been tipped much too far in one direction. 

So there it is: my January update. The first month of this New Year is just about complete and ending on a high note. How about you? How are you doing with your intentions for this year?

 

     

Love is in the air…or is it?

I’m working on the fourth book in the Jorja Matthews mystery series and I’m going back and forth about the romantic interest between Jorja and Fritz (Officer Fritz of the local police department) and the old romantic interest between Jorja and Brad Dawson (high school sweetheart and current high school football coach). 

As it stands, with the ending of the third book, Ties That Bind, we left Jorja healing after her escape from harm at the hands of a dangerous adversary.  She was weak with emotion, stress and pain when Fritz showed her a side of himself he usually keeps hidden from others.  Someday, we’ll learn about Fritz’s past and what made him become the man, and cop, he is today.  Regardless of his past, Fritz made an attempt to show Jorja he cares and is interested on where their relationship may go.  Did he purposefully approach her and show this side of himself knowing she was already weak with so many emotions?  Or did he decide to set aside his usual rigid attitude after realizing how relieved he was that she had survived her ordeal?

In his personal life Fritz is not one to take advantage at the emotional sake of others so my vote is for the second option.  After all, it is only when you believe you’ve lost someone that you may finally realize how important they are to you. 

When I started this series, I really hadn’t thought much more than what was going to happen with the mystery involving Jorja and her family and the mini mysteries Jorja would solve as a private investigator.  The idea of romance…well, it never really crossed my mind.  When the possibility of romance popped up during the initial draft of the first novel, I wasn’t sure who Jorja might end up dating, or if she would ever date anyone at all.  I enjoy the friction between Jorja and Fritz and I also enjoy the easy-going relationship she has with Brad, but we all know conflict is key when it comes to stories, which is why I also enjoy the fun Brad has at Fritz’s expense when it comes to putting him on the spot with Jorja. 

I’m not writing romance, but I can’t deny romance won’t seep into the story because the characters will ultimately form relationships that may blossom into something more than friendship.  Jorja’s best friend, Taylor, and the local bakery owner, Dylan Rhoades, were quick to become more than friends and are engage to be married already.  I hadn’t planned on having to research wedding details but now that the wedding is set to happen in the fifth book in the series, I do look forward to introducing Taylor’s dysfunctional family to the mix of characters.

But I’m jumping ahead of myself here – the fourth book in the series has its own interesting and dysfunctional characters that I’m having fun with and will also include another cold case, this time involving the disappearance of an alcoholic and abusive father.

A stand-alone mystery may include only that, a who-done-it mystery.  But when we’re working with a mystery series, we tag along as the characters expose more of themselves to us.  Characters tend to find various ways to interact with each other, form bonds and close relationships, or show their annoyances, and even loathing between each other.  And sometimes, characters do fall in love, whether we plan on it or not.  Where Jorja and Fritz go from here, and whether Brad will back off, just be there as a friend or wait for his opportunity the next time Jorja and Fritz battle it out, will remain to be seen.  

To Prologue or Not to Prologue

There are many opinions with regard to whether or not an author should include a prologue in their novels and there are many articles and blog posts written about this very subject.  From the research I conducted on the topic when I was writing my first manuscript, I would have to say many appear to be completely against prologues.  I just can’t say with certainty exactly why.  I’m guessing it’s due to the fact that some authors have misused prologues in some way or only use them to dump information, thereby alienating or misguiding the reader.

 

It’s possible some people just don’t like prologues.  Period.  While others really don’t mind either way.  Some authors wouldn’t touch them with a ten foot pole while others feel they are necessary to introduce certain elements of the story to the reader.  I’ve actually read quite a few articles where the claim is made that readers skip prologues completely.  As an author, it gave me pause…but only slightly.  As a reader, I was actually surprised by these statements.  I’ve never skipped a prologue if the author began the story with one.  If it’s there, I expect it’s there for good reason.

I was also surprised at how forceful some opinions were about the reasons authors should not use prologues.  While I took to heart what I learned from those opinions, none of the advice I read from others was going to change the way I planned to introduce the reader to my story.  When I first began writing No Mother of Mine there was no question the initial part of the story had to be a prologue.  After the book became available for sale, much of the response I heard from readers was that the prologue hooked them so that they wanted to read more.  From an author’s viewpoint, comments like that are encouraging.

While I would not call it a place I “dump” information, I am using the prologue to “provide” information to the reader that my protagonist, Jorja, will not learn for some time.  Even then, the reader is left wondering as they take part in discovering the truth alongside Jorja.

For me, using a prologue is what works with these particular types of stories.  I feel the prologue corresponds to how events play out in real life and I very quickly decided it is the best approach when introducing the story to the reader.

My reason for appreciating the use of a prologue has to do with my professional life as a private investigator.  Every single case I take on as a criminal defense investigator is after the fact.  After an incident has occurred.  After a crime has allegedly been committed.  After someone has been arrested.  Beyond those actually present during the initial event, only a fly on the wall can know the whole truth about the circumstances surrounding a crime.  The incident or crime itself is the prologue and not something the main character, in fiction or in real life, is ever personally privy to. 

That’s my reason for using a prologue.  While the reader might not be given all the information they need to understand exactly why something has happened, I feel a prologue gives them necessary information to become vested in a case before they tag along with the protagonist in their attempt to discover the truth.

As I dabble with other types of writing and stories that aren’t mysteries, prologues probably won’t be my first choice.  But as an author, I retain the right to do what works best for the story regardless of whether others believe I’m bending some sort of unwritten rule.  It is what makes writing such a great endeavor; through writing you get to create and through that creation you provide to others what is unique to you.

So what are your thoughts?  Do you enjoy prologues?  Or do you skim or completely skip them?  Maybe you have no feelings about the subject either way.  But if you do, I’d like to hear from you so don’t hesitate to share your opinion or your thoughts.

 

When Curiosity leads to Murder, Part II

To follow up with my last post, I’ve been on a few road trips which have allowed me to visit about a dozen states, their parks, national forests and national monuments.  I have many favorite sights from each state but one of the most surprising was during our visit to Wyoming a few years ago.  The surprise was the unexpected beauty we found as we traveled through the Big Horn Mountains.  It wasn’t our first trip to Wyoming but it was the first time we were heading east through Wyoming on our way to South Dakota. 

Fallen City

Another unexpected discovery in Wyoming was what appeared to be a car at the bottom of an outlook called Fallen City in the Big Horn National Forest.  To some it might not seem like a big deal but after we returned home, my curiosity got the best of me.  I had to see whether I could find any information to determine when or how someone might have ended up at the bottom of that valley.  I thought the most I might find would be an article about a terrible crash after someone missed a corner on some cold, snowy, icy night. 

I certainly did not expect to find a tale about murder; especially one that occurred three decades ago…

Imagine the mountains covered in snow on a cold fall morning when three bodies are discovered in a cook tent; the deaths presumably the result of asphyxiation caused by a faulty stove.  However, once the scene is disturbed and the bodies are removed, it is discovered the next day that the three men had actually been shot at close range. 

During the investigation about a week later, police questioned one particular coal miner.  It is unknown exactly what the miner may have told police but the following day it was discovered he had driven his vehicle off the mountain at the outlook called Fallen City.  Unbelievably, the miner survived that crash and while recovering in the hospital, he confessed to killing all three men in the cook tent.  His story was that they had stolen some of his equipment and when he went to their camp to retrieve it, he felt threatened by them so he shot and killed all three before retrieving his belongings.  There was apparently no real physical evidence to back up his story other than an item found in the cook tent which the miner claimed was his.

So what do you think so far? 

My thoughts are I can’t believe the bodies were removed before anyone saw even a glimpse of blood to give them some indication that the deaths were caused by more than just a faulty stove.  I’m thinking this is a botched investigation from the very beginning.

Once a confession is obtained, of course, the police arrest the subject and the state moves on towards prosecuting the miner at trial.  During the trial the jury heard the miner’s confession and heard first-hand from the miner what happened from his point-of-view when he took the stand and claimed self-defense.  When it was time for the judge to instruct the jury before deliberation, the defense made a point of arguing that the jury could only be instructed on First Degree Murder and not Second Degree Murder or even Manslaughter.  The argument was all or nothing and when the prosecutor was not prepared to argue why the reduced charges should be an option, the judge agreed with the defense.  This meant the prosecutor had to prove the miner killed all three men with premeditation. 

Based on the evidence, or lack thereof, this made it more difficult for the state to get a conviction and in the end the jury could not agree on a verdict.  According to some accounts, it appears the jury did not believe the miner was an innocent man but that they would have liked the option of finding him guilty of a lesser charge. 

Ending with a hung jury, the state brought the miner to trial a second time; this time in a different county and before a different judge.  Where the state may have had a chance for a conviction during the first trial, the state did not stand a chance during the second one.  It started when the judge ruled that the miner’s confession was not admissible and would not be heard by the jury.  When a jail witness popped up as an informant against the miner, the evidence the state might have had was short-lived when the judge removed the witness from the stand after discovering a state agent was in the courtroom when he wasn’t supposed to be present. 

And the case for the state just went downhill from there.  The jury learned that the bodies had been removed before anyone had even realized the men had been shot and, even worse, that the state had actually lost the bullets after they were removed from the bodies.  This time around, the miner did not bother to testify.  He just watched his defense attorney poke holes at the state’s case.

I guess you can imagine what happened next.

The second jury, while they also did not believe the miner to be innocent, decided that the state had not proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt.  They acquitted the miner and set him free. 

Did the story end there?  It depends on how you look at it.  The victims’ families still had to live with only the miner’s confession on how and why the men had to die.  They had to live with the fact that, while the miner may have been guilty of a crime, the state had not been able to put together a good case in order to convict him of the appropriate crime.  However, the story took a turn for the worse with regard to the miner, not too long after the second trial.  Apparently less than two years after the miner was acquitted, he passed away.  I don’t know how, as that isn’t clear, and whether this even brought any relief to the victims’ families, I would not venture to say. 

I’ll never know whether the vehicle we saw at the bottom of that outlook was a vehicle from a recent accident or one that occurred decades ago.  And I really can’t say whether this story is completely true or only partially true, which is why I decided not to list names of the victims or the defendant here.  But one thing this story proves is that no case is clear cut, even when there is a confession. 

And what this case showed me is that when your curiosity takes hold, pay attention. You just never know the stories you might uncover.

When Curiosity leads to Murder, Part I

I’m a day late in posting because I had quite a bit of writing to do on my book.  When the story takes you someplace and you get in deep enough, it is very difficult to leave in order to turn your attention to something else.  So instead of blogging, I stuck around with Jorja to investigate cases. 

Investigating.  It is what I really enjoy, whether I’m conducting the investigations, reading about them or writing about them.  I am extremely interested in criminal law, always have been, and I think my naturally curious nature made me very good at what I do.  As a defense investigator I may not always discover the absolute truth but I do my best to get the whole picture of what will be provided to a jury in order to verify what information they will use as they deliberate after the trial.  The truth is in there somewhere; they just have to figure out whether the information they have been provided is enough to prove guilt or reasonable doubt.

Sometimes that job is not as easy as it may sound.  Have you ever been on a jury?  For a serious criminal matter full of details and packed with witnesses who remember details differently than the next person?

Some cases are simple.  Others are not.

I could describe any number of cases I’ve worked to give you examples of the good, the bad and the ugly.  But instead, I’d like to tell you about an interesting case I learned about quite by accident while on vacation and only due to my own curiosity…

Big Horn National Forest

 

Have you had the pleasure of driving through Wyoming? 



Wildlife in Big Horn

I’m not talking about Yellowstone National Park, although I have seen most of it and it is worth the trip.  I’m talking about driving east from Yellowstone and through the Big Horn National Forest.  That part of the state is absolutely beautiful.  We also saw a larger number of wildlife driving through the Big Horn National Forest than we did at Yellowstone.  Yellowstone did offer a variation: elk, a lot of bison, deer, mule deer and even a mother bear and her cub.  Through the Big Horn we saw elk, moose and so many deer I lost count after I got to 60.  We also saw a lot of cows, many of them wandering on the road rather than the fields, and a tree completely full of turkeys.  Along with the numerous sights of wildlife, the scenery was just spectacular. 

Fallen City in Big Horn

One particular area really caught my attention.  After passing through lush green fields, we drove alongside the mountain and came to an outlook we learned was titled the “Fallen City.”  An odd name, you might think, but if you look at the hillside above the valley at the rocks jutting up through the trees (called a massive boulder field) it is really quite something. 

As we stopped to check out the Fallen City, take photos, stretch our legs and take a break before we finished heading out of the mountains, we caught sight of something at the bottom of the valley.  The object appeared to be a vehicle.  We used the regular camera, the binoculars and even the video camera to try to get a closer look and while it was difficult to see much, we assumed the vehicle had been down in the valley for quite some time. 

That particular trip took us through eight states before we arrived home after a 17-day road trip.  You can imagine we saw quite a few attractions and distractions, any of which would have been on my mind for days and weeks to come.  But even after I arrived home, I could not forget about the car, or what appeared to be a car at the bottom of the valley at Fallen City.  I decided to do some research, to see why the car ended up over the cliff, who was involved and if I could find the truth behind the story my imagination was beginning to put together.

What I found was not what I expected. 

What I found was a story about a case that was said to have occurred some 28 years before.  If the accounts I read are true, it involves murder, a confession, a botched investigation and two jury trials ending with a result you might not expect... 

To read Part II, check back this weekend when I post again on Sunday. 

 

Small Town Characters

Whether you live in a small town or a very large city, there’s no doubt you will run into a number of characters on any given day.  But when it comes to small towns, the same characters are seen on a regular basis.  You become accustomed to seeing them.  Some you may like.  Some you may try to avoid.  But either way, the cast of characters in any small town make up its own little quirky community and you either come to love it or, if you just can’t bring yourself to leave the community you admittedly feel tied to, you might love to hate it.

This is why I decided to make a small town the scene of my Jorja Matthews mystery series.  It may be why many mystery writers do so.  I am a small-town girl so it is easier for me to write about small-town living, but I also enjoy writing about the small-town characters.  While it is far-fetched to believe crimes happen on a regular basis in any small town, you have to take into account the fact that this is fiction.  And there are many of us who absolutely love an enjoyable story with a believable character who lets you tag along as he or she investigates a mystery.    

Case in point is my protagonist, Jorja Matthews.  She moves back to her home town where she opens a bookstore and coffee shop called Books ‘N Brew, and eventually becomes involved in a mystery or two.  There are many ways to describe Jorja:  she loves a good challenge, is reliable and determined, she is giving and it is in her nature to help others, she does not like change or conflict but will stand up against anyone who she believes is doing wrong, she is patient, loves coffee and tea, she is organized and loves to make lists, and she adores her Lab-mix named Piper, who she rescued and adopted.  As Jorja investigates a matter involving a missing mother, as well as a mystery surrounding her own family, the reader enjoys tagging along with Jorja while she attempts to solve each mystery. 

Of course, no one should be without a BFF so we move on to Taylor Bishop.  She is a barista who is strong willed and loves to argue to prove her point, she is impulsive and sometimes impatient, she enjoys playing tricks and scaring others, she loves vampire movies and hates spiders, and she has a cat named Bella (go figure).  She also dresses according to mood and would do anything for her best friend.  Taylor plays devil’s advocate with Jorja but is also very supportive of whatever Jorja decides to take on, even if she’s not able to hide her concern for her friend.

Throughout the story the reader is introduced to a spattering of characters:  

·         Jorja’s parents, Helen and Rick Matthews, are very loving, extremely caring and probably the type of parents anyone would love to have, minus a few secrets. 

·         Jorja’s nemesis, Lydia, is an old high school classmate who never forgave Jorja for the fact that a boy they both liked in high school chose Jorja over Lydia. 

·         Brad, the boy who chose Jorja but moved away their senior year, is now back in town after accepting the high school football coach position.    

·         Kathleen, also known as Kat, is a high school senior who enlists Jorja’s help to solve the mystery about why her mother ran away when Kat was only five years old. 

·         Sandra, an old high school friend of Jorja’s mother’s and Lydia’s boss, is also a complete busy-body and owns the local hair salon. 

·         Dylan, a fairly new resident in town, bakes sweet creations in his local bakery called Dylan’s Sweet Delights and delivers not only sweets but also charm.       

Other characters include Chief Douglas, the gruff, no-nonsense Chief of Police and his front desk clerk, Betsy; Jim Cooper, who is Sandra’s brother and a police officer from a neighboring town; Nurse Willows, who holds more secrets than even she realizes; Cheryl, a county records clerk who assists Jorja on a case they will soon discover is much more than meets the eye; and Ruth, Jorja’s best friend from high school, who became a missionary, moved away and then returned to town with her husband, Pastor Pete, and their baby.

Some characters will stay, others will go and there are yet a few I have not mentioned who will likely continue on into the next story.  Officer Fritz, another character introduced in my book, is one example.  I like him but haven’t quite figured out what his character is up to yet and how his role will affect the next story.  That’s the exciting part about writing, believe it or not.  I don’t know how the characters will pan out, whether or not they will stick around or exactly what they have in store for Jorja or the story. 

These are characters you will get to know when you read No Mother of Mine and many of them will continue on throughout the Jorja Matthews mystery series.  I have made every effort to make them feel, sound and appear as real as someone you might just happen to meet on any given day and I hope you enjoy meeting them and look forward to reading more about them as the series continues.

 

 

 

The eBook is coming soon!

It’s been a week since my last post because I just did not have the time to post.  I’d love to say it’s because I was taking advantage of our beautiful summer weather, but that’s only partly true.  It was actually due to the fact that when I wasn’t working and I was finally able to get some alone time with my computer, it was to work on my book.  The eBook has been converted and was returned to me mid-week for approval and some suggested edits.  I spent two evenings reviewing the suggestions and making changes.  It’s not that there were that many changes; it’s just that I wanted to make sure I was happy with the changes I made.  I probably could have made more changes but this book has got to move on.  It was born from my imagination, raised to the best of my ability as a new author and while I will always worry about how ready it is for the real world, I am optimistic it is a good example of what kind of story and characters I can create.

While two evenings were spent on editing, another evening was spent working on my author bio.  I don’t know about you but it is a bit difficult for me to write about myself.  You might question why I am blogging if I don’t like to write about myself.  Well, it’s not quite the same thing.  The purpose of this blog is to share with you my journey as I write, move towards publication and beyond.  An author bio is used to promote, to sell, and to make people want to buy your product.  Okay, I guess this blog helps promote, will eventually help sell and hopefully does make others want to buy my book but an author bio provides information on a much smaller scale and also has to attract interest and keep it.

Try it yourself.  If you are a writer, put together a bio and see what others think.  If you aren’t a writer, you can still try to put together a paragraph or two about who you are, what you’ve done and why others should be interested in what you are trying to sell.  Trying to sum up interesting points about yourself and providing the highlights of your life in 200 words can be a bit difficult.

Here’s my stab at an author bio:

P.J. Howell grew up in a small town in Washington State and has always called the Evergreen State her home.  She continues to reside in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons, as well as three spoiled dogs and two cats.  While writing has always been a passion, P.J.’s desire to write books transpired after years of working in a law firm as a legal assistant and then as a criminal defense investigator when she opened her own private investigative agency.  P.J.’s interests in criminal law, investigations and mysteries, combined with her desire to bring characters and stories to life, inspired her to put the stories on paper and share them with others.  ‘No Mother of Mine’ is the first in a series and will introduce you to life in a small town, characters you can relate to and what it takes to unravel the mysteries of life and crime.  While P.J. chose to use her nickname for this book series, she also uses her given name in other forums.  To learn more about her, be sure to visit her blog at www.paulajhowell.blogspot.com. 

That’s just one version of many.  Try your own and see what you come up with.

Now that the eBook has been finalized and approved, I have a short wait for the final edition of the eBook to be returned to me so I can upload it and make it available.  In the meantime, I am also working on the printed edition (what you can hold in your hands), so the printed book will be available shortly after the eBook is released.  However, in the publishing world, I think the word “shortly” is defined differently by many involved.  Let’s just say it will be available as soon as the process allows it.

Again, I confess the publishing process is difficult for someone who does not have a lot of patience.  But I found a quote which helps me when I feel my patience is wearing thin…

“I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.” 

~Margaret Thatcher~

 

Where are You on the Web?

I wasn’t planning to post tonight because I thought I’d go relax in front of the tube once I got a good amount of editing completed.  However, before my shows saved on the DVR could tempt me from my office, I had to check out what our task was for the Platform Challenge today.

Yesterday was Day 9 and I’ll admit I flunked that task.  We were asked to respond to at least three tweets from other tweeps on Twitter.  For now I have opted out of the Twitter task which, I guess, makes me a twerp.

But I’m glad to say I did not flunk today’s task. 

Today we were asked to do a little research on the web…on ourselves.

This was a task I could not resist.  I love research and I enjoy searching for people.  I’ve done this before, just to see how people were finding me and my investigative agency but I hadn’t yet run a search on myself since I started my blog or my alter-ego writer Facebook page. 

I’m still in the infant stage when it comes to my blog and especially to the newest Facebook page so the results were interesting.  I searched using Google, Bing and Yahoo and I also played with some others Brewer suggested: DuckDuckGo, Dogpile, Yippy and Ask.com.  

I first ran a search just using my name as I have been using it in my blog and my Facebook page.  Yahoo gave me a big goose egg, Bing listed a bunch of other Paula’s who use Facebook or LinkenIn while Google listed someone else with my name who had died!  The only saving grace is that Google listed my actual Facebook page…at about #6.

So I tried another tactic.  I searched for myself with the word “writer” after my name.  I’m very happy to say my blog was listed as number one on Bing and Yahoo but curious enough, it was in the number two spot on Google underneath my Facebook page. 

Next I searched my name with the word “blog” after it and that pushed me down to #2 on both Bing and Yahoo and all the way down to #9 on Google.  Even though my Facebook page was #1 on Google, my blog was pushed below articles about someone else with a similar name that had been arrested.  Isn’t that nice?   Now, I’m getting a bit concerned.  After all, I’m using Blogger, by Google, yet it is Bing and Yahoo who have my blog at the top of the list while Google does not.

I decided to try the other web pages Brewer suggested.  Using “writer” as the key word with my name, my blog was in the first or second spot on DuckDuckgo, Dogpile and also Yippy.  Apparently, Ask.com has no idea who I am because I was nowhere to be seen on that list.

One of the things I’ve learned when it comes to blogging and social media in general is that it can take quite awhile before it catches on.  Blogging itself is not a quick fix to get your motor running but instead it is a very slow Sunday drive.  Traffic might go up and down at times, your race might quicken at the unexpected rise in readers after you have offered an intriguing post everyone seems to appreciate but it can takes months and months and even more months before you gain the real momentum you are looking for.

Speaking of that, my professional identity has been on the web for years now so I decided to search for my other persona, the investigator, to see where that compared to my new writing and blogging personality.  I did not have a business website and I did not blog as a P.I. but the proof is in the pudding, I’ll say.  As I searched my name with the investigator title, each web search offered pages and pages of links to sites who say they know about me (they really don’t).  My business has been around for more than 10 years so it’s no surprise to see many websites offering what they believe is useful information about my business. 

But something did surprise me.

I discovered my name had been included in a Court of Appeals opinion after the defendant in a rape case I worked filed an appeal when the jury found him guilty.  It’s not surprising that I was unaware of the document, as the attorneys who handle the appeals do not usually need to make contact with me regarding a case, but it was interesting to see my name brought up as the defendant offered a list of the reasons he was requesting a new trial (not because of something I did/didn't do, if you are curious). 

You just never know what you may find but this was a fun and very useful task for me.  You can imagine I will now be looking at ways to make sure Google keeps me at the top of the list where it concerns my blog.  I’m sure Brewer will also be offering some suggestions on how to make that happen but if he doesn’t, I’ll be researching for some advice on that issue. 

If you’ve never searched for yourself and you do have some type of presence on line, try it and see what you come up with.  You might also have fun as well.

A Platform Challenge I’ll Accept

I have decided to take on a challenge offered by another blogger so bear with me if I post odd bits and pieces here on my blog throughout the month of April.  The challenge is called the April Platform Challenge and the challenger is Robert Lee Brewer, Senior Content Editor with Writer’s Digest Community and the author of the blog My Name is Not Bob. 

Why am I taking the challenge?  Well, Robert’s intention is a good one…he hopes to help writers build their online platforms and he has offered this month-long challenge in an attempt to do just that.

Plus, there’s a prize.

What’s the prize?  Don’t get your hopes up, it’s not money.  It’s a book.  But not just any book.  It’s the 2012 Writer’s Market Deluxe Edition edited by none other than Robert Lee Brewer himself.  From the way Robert describes the book, it will be a very handy resource for someone such as myself.

But if I don’t win the book, that’s okay.  The real prize is what might happen should this challenge do what Robert hopes…help writers build their platforms.

So I may post to my blog whatever challenge has been given to us for the day – yes, he’s asking us to do something every single day – but since I only post three times a week, what you’ll see might be daily posts, or they may be sporadic as I share only the ones I wish to share or they may be thrown at you in bulk as I try to play catch up.  I guess it’ll be interesting to see what happens as I have no clue what types of tasks Robert will request of us the rest of this month.

I will post here the first task of the challenge, which you would think at first glance should not be too difficult.  However, if you aren’t used to talking about yourself or having to describe yourself, it is more difficult than you can imagine. 

The first task was this - Day 1:  Define yourself. 

Here goes…

Name:  Paula J Howell

Position:  Legal Assistant with public defender’s office, self-employed private investigator, writer aspiring to become published, editor/writer for local sports booster club, and blogger.

Skills:  creative, organized, investigations, report writing, interviewing, newsletters, multitasking, and crafts by hand of all sorts.

Social media platforms:  Blogger, Facebook

URLs:  http://paulajhowell.blogspot.com/

Accomplishments:  I put myself through college; I worked as a legal assistant at a law firm for 9 years before branching out to get my license and open my own business as a private investigator; I have owned and operated my own P.I. business, specializing in criminal defense for 12 years; I’m still a defense investigator but am now also working full time as a legal assistant with the public defender’s office; I have raised two wonderful boys; I met and married my soul mate (I wish this for everyone) and after 25 years the love is still strong; I finished my first book in 4 months after making the decision to finally put my ideas on paper (but I’m still editing the darn thing); and I’m also now working on my second book.

Interests:  my family, writing, reading, scrapbooking, photography, gardening, my dogs, birds, road trips, and the little things in life we sometimes overlook in this fast-paced world.

In one sentence, who am I?  I am a wife and a mother who currently works as a legal assistant with the public defender’s office but who is also a licensed P.I. on the side as well as a writer and blogger in the leftover hours of the day who is attempting to build a platform while aspiring to become published.

That one sentence is quite a mouthful but it pretty much says it all. 

If you had to describe yourself, would it be easy or difficult?  Would you appreciate the positives of what you have accomplished or would it make you see the areas in your life where you’d like to accomplish more? 

Try it and see what you come up with.

And if you are a writer or you are trying to build your own online platform, be sure to check out Robert’s blog and get in on the challenge yourself!

The Origin of Ideas

I’ve noticed a trend lately with the production of new movies.  The trend seems to be that the ideas behind movies aren’t necessarily “new” anymore.  There are a few exceptions, of course, but it appears to me that movie producers are out of ideas.  Movies are either produced in order to gain the most shock value, have the silliest plot imaginable or they are a remake of an older movie, quite possibly one that has been reproduced more than a few times.

That’s why I adore books over movies.  Although there are a few book ideas that tend to be piggybacked by others who also wish to publish during the frenzy of what has caught on, there are thousands of books out there with a new idea or at least a spin on an old idea, rather than a remake of the same idea.

So where do ideas come from? 

They come from real life, for one.  It depends on the person, of course, but we all lead very busy lives and are subject to a multitude of characters, scenes and dilemmas we can study and learn from every day.  Some characters, scenes and dilemmas are more interesting than others but the question of how interesting they may be to someone else is subjective.  Many authors use real people they know as inspiration, real legal cases to write true crime or they may use headlines as a way to come up with a good idea for a book.

Ideas can also emerge straight from the imagination where a limitless amount of creativity can be found.   Masters of creativity, in my opinion, include J. R. R. Tolkein, Stephen King and J. K. Rowling.  Authors such as these add strength to the following quotes by Cynthia Ozick:

“The imagination has resources and intimation we don’t even know about.”

“To imagine the unimaginable is the highest use of the imagination.”

Ideas can even come from dreams.  The trick is remembering the details of the dream when you finally wake up.  I myself have a notebook and pencil on my nightstand and have made use of it a number of times after waking from a dream.  I discovered the importance of using a pencil after pens failed me while I attempted to quickly jot down a few notes before the dream was completely lost from my memory.   

Ideas for characters are also either based on real life or imagination.  Some characters are much more likeable than others and I find when I discover an author who can continue to create likable characters or characters I love to hate, I am much more inclined to continue reading their books.

What types of characters interest you?

Do you like reading about real people…families, farmers, secretaries, entrepreneurs, blue or white collar workers…who face a life-changing dilemma?

Or do you enjoy reading about characters you would not ever actually meet in your lifetime…a spy, a young wizard, a dragon slayer or a vampire? 

The types of characters you enjoy reading about will correspond to the types of scenes and dilemmas you prefer reading about…real life drama, extreme suspense or imaginary lands.  You may enjoy a book familiar to your current life or you might enjoy a book completely different from what you know as a way to escape monotony. 

In my opinion, any book written well with a good plot and likeable characters is a great escape.

So where do my ideas come from?

Sometimes, as I said, a dream might give me an idea, but for the most part they come to me out of the blue.  Whether I’m driving to an appointment, folding laundry or taking a walk, I will suddenly be struck with a “what if” scenario.  Since I have worked as a private investigator in criminal defense cases for over a decade, you can bet a number of my ideas relate to some sort of crime and the investigation surrounding that crime. 

Do my ideas relate to cases I have worked? 

Not specifically, no, although there are a few cases I’ve worked in the past I would not mind putting down on paper with the permission of those involved.  My ideas relate in general to crimes I have investigated but not to the people I have dealt with.  However, I have met with and interviewed thousands of defendants, victims and witnesses over the course of my career and there may be some characteristics of people I’ve met that I have used or will use in character portrayals.  Beyond that, there are a few individuals I might like to base some future characters on but will do so only if they are in agreement. 

In spite of my legal background, I am not a one trick pony. 

Some of my ideas have nothing whatsoever to do with crime or investigations.  Writing about crimes and investigations is familiar to me while the other book ideas will be somewhat foreign.  I don’t mind because it will allow me to conduct a lot of research, which is something I enjoy, or it will allow my imagination to take a front seat as I write. 

Either way, it’s a challenge I look forward to.