Novellas: Not too short, not too long!

by M. Louisa Locke

Novellas and short stories are gaining in popularity, both with writers and readers. This is true not only for me, but for writers like M. Louisa Locke, my guest today. Start reading to learn why she has come to love the shorter form.

When I started writing and publishing my Victorian San Francisco Mystery series in 2009, I never expected that now, thirteen years later, I would have written eight full-length novels in the series. However, I really, really didn’t expect that I would have written an additional thirteen books in the format of short stories or novellas. That’s because, in general, I am not someone who is ever succinct about anything: not when talking, writing emails or posts, and certainly not when writing fiction (my full-length novels range from 110,000 to 140,000 words.)

Today, I am going to explore why I have taken to these shorter forms, both as a reader and a writer, and also why I have found myself increasingly more comfortable with the novella length.

Before I started publishing my Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, I didn’t read short stories, except for an occasional story in the New Yorker. What changed my reading habits was the arrival of ebooks. Previously, most people, myself included, read their fiction in print, and the main place you could find shorter fiction was in magazines. Occasionally, a traditional publisher would put out an anthology of “best of” short stories that had previously appeared in magazines or put together a collection of stories by a well-known author. A single short story or even a novella was generally seen as inappropriate for print by traditional publishers because they assumed-perhaps rightly-that the resulting book would be too thin and the price too high to be attractive to a readers. The exception, of course, was literature for children and young adults.

The rise of the digital age has changed all that. As people began to consume fiction on their ereaders, tablets, and phones, often when commuting or waiting in lines, a shorter work of fiction became a plus. This was certainly true for me. I am terrible at putting a book down once I have started it, letting it get in the way of work or chores, or keeping me up too late. So, I am more likely now to open up a short story in my Kindle when I know I don’t have a lot of time.

In addition, I am more willing to give an unknown author a try if the cost in terms of money and time is lower. On the other hand, I am also delighted to see a shorter work by a favorite author in a series I love, often because it helps tide me over until their next full-length book comes out.

Getting people to try my work and tide them over between one novel and the next were the primary reasons I wrote my first short story, Dandy Detects. Maids of Misfortune, the first book in my historical mystery series, came out at the end of 2009, but it was taking a long time to write the second book, Uneasy Spirits, which became one of my longest novels and wasn’t published until fall of 2011—almost two years after the first. Consequently, I wanted to get something out in this new series, reminding people that it even was a series.

I was also following the advice given by one of the early self-published authors who suggested publishing a short story would encourage people to try the work of an unknown author such as myself. This advice was spot on! After a two-day free promotion of Dandy Detects in one of the very first promotional newsletters around, the sell-through to Maids of Misfortune went on to push this novel up to the top of the historical mystery best-seller list, and both the short story and the longer novel sold steadily over the next year.

However, it wasn’t the “loss-leader” aspect of short stories that kept me writing them. Instead, I had discovered how much fun it was to write a story where I could expand on the growing number of minor characters in the series, and I learned through the reviews how much fans of the series also seemed to enjoy these chances to get to know these minor characters better.

As a reader, one of the reasons I have always enjoyed mystery series, for example Louise Penny’s series set in Three Pines, is the continuing cast of characters that are introduced along the way. Whether these characters are family members, neighbors, co-workers, or local officials, they make the stories richer as they introduce humor, conflict, and even romance into the basic mystery plot.

Yet, as an author, I discovered that minor characters can slow down the plot too much if I give them free reign. It’s difficult to balance writing a tightly plotted mystery, with well-developed main characters, within a rich historical setting. This means I really can’t afford to develop my minor characters as much as I want to within the novels, particularly since there are so many of them! My main protagonists, Annie and her husband Nate, run the O’Farrell Street boardinghouse, which currently has three servants and nine boarders. And these twelve minor characters also have family and friends who often appear as minor characters in the longer novels.

My solution was to give some of these characters their own published short stories.

For example, in Maids of Misfortune, I had created two elderly dressmakers who lived in the boardinghouse. One of these sisters talked all the time, the other never said a word. And that was about all a reader learned of them in that first book. But I had developed a whole history for them and I wanted my readers to learn that backstory. So, in my second short story, The Misses Moffet Mend a Marriage, I gave them a minor mystery to solve that helped reveal a good deal about their past as well as their current occupation.

In addition, the shorter formats permit me to explore historical themes in more detail. In the second short story I wrote for the series, Mr. Wong Rights a Wrong, I addressed the anti-Chinese movement in the city. In my most recent short story, Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery, I was able to illustrate the difficulties a poor widowed woman in 1880s San Francisco would have faced, raising multiple children in a crowded two-room apartment, and still be able to offer the reader a mystery. In one of the novels, where that mystery wasn’t part of the plot, the scenes in the small crowded flat would have simply distracted the reader or been seen as some kind of dumping of information.

This desire to expand upon minor characters and provide good historical detail has also been behind my five novellas, like Kathleen Catches a Killer and Mrs. Stein Solves a Crime—since each started as a short story that grew to long for that designation.

That is what happened to my most recent “short story,” Dandy and the Dognappers, which morphed pretty quickly into a novella as I tried to give three minor characters (and the dog Dandy) center state. The three children who live in the boardinghouse, Jamie Hewitt, Emmaline Fournier, and Ian Hennessey, by virtue of their ages, have been difficult to integrate in any meaningful fashion into the longer novels. The same goes for the Boston Terrier, Dandy. Spending any time with them would have simply distracted from what the adults were doing to solve the on-going mysteries.

However, by giving these characters a novella all for themselves, I was able to build on their appearances in other shorter works, and I was also able to use historical detail from the local San Francisco newspapers and create a sense of tension over the question of who might be stealing dogs in San Francisco. I just couldn’t do all of this effectively in a short story!

Consequently, I think I have finally thrown up my hands and admitted that the length of a novella (between 17,000 and 40,000 words) is perfect for me when I am writing in a shorter format. Thankfully, fans of the series seem to get as much enjoyment out of reading about these characters as I do in writing about them and are willing to pay the slightly higher price for a novella where they get to solve a mystery. This permits me to write my long novels, which take time, and write stories to keep fans happy in the interim, while spending some quality time with minor characters I have come to love.­

Purchase Dandy and the Dognappers here.

M. Louisa Locke, a retired professor of U.S. and Women’s History, is the author of the USA Today best-selling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series. This series features Annie, a young boardinghouse keeper, and Nate Dawson, a local San Francisco lawyer, as they investigate crimes with the help of their friends and family. Locke also helped create and writes in the Paradisi Chronicles, an multi-author science fiction series. She currently lives in San Diego, California with her husband and an energetic rescue dog.

Learn more about M. Louisa Locke at the following:

The Victorian San Francisco Mystery Series

Paradisi Chronicles Science Fiction Series

Facebook

Goodreads

Pinterest

Instagram

Subscribe to M. Louisa Locke’s newsletter to get notifications of new publications and promotions and learn how to get a free copy of her short story collection. Your email will never be shared.

Do you read short stories and novellas? Share your thoughts in the comments.

If you like historical mysteries, you’ll love BY STRANGERS MOURNED

By Strangers Mourned is another page turner from the pen of the talented and prolific J.R. Lindermuth. J.R. is my guest today and will tell my readers all about By Strangers Mourned, the latest in his Sheriff Syl Tilghman historical mystery series.

He also pays tribute to the many independent, accomplished, and often overlooked women of the 19th century.

Now for J.R. Lindermuth …

Sylvester Tilghman is the third of his family to serve as sheriff of the bustling rural community of Arahpot, Jordan County, Pennsylvania, in the waning days of the 19th Century.

Syl is a dedicated and energetic lawman and has won the respect of most community leaders and citizens in three previous novels in this historical mystery series. But a goal of another kind continues to elude him. His courtship of Lydia Longlow has progressed. Yet, despite numerous proposals, Lydia still refuses to marry him.

Lydia hasn’t rejected his many proposals because she doesn’t love him. Her resistance is based on her independence. The woman is busy. In addition to caring for her elderly parents and running the family general store, she’s also postmistress, head of the Women’s Temperance League, a Sunday school teacher and sings in the Methodist church choir, among other activities.

Some might question the existence of such an independent woman in the 19th century when male dominance restricted many to the home and childbirth, denying them the right to own property, vote and participate in many other areas. Truth is, there were many more such women in the period than you might suspect. Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (better known as Nellie Bly), for example, was only one of numerous women journalists. They were derisively known as ‘stunt reporters,’ because men didn’t think they should be taken seriously.

There were entrepreneurs like Lydia Pinkham. Inventors like Tabitha Babbitt, who invented the circular saw, and one might also mention Elizabeth Blackwell, who blazed the path for women in the medical profession. Others founded religions. Some even served as soldiers or spies in time of war. And, of course, there were numerous women novelists.

So, Lydia Longlow is not an exception, but an example of the intelligent, energetic women of the period. Syl’s persistence to win her hand continues in By Strangers Mourned, though once more he’s beset with more obstacles than a lesser man could endure.

Blurb for By Strangers Mourned:

Spring is usually heralded as a time of renewal, not murder.

Preparations are underway in the spring of 1899 for the wedding of Deputy Cyrus Gutshall. Sheriff Tilghman is hopeful this will put his sweetheart Lydia Longlow in the marital mood.

But then a woman is found drowned in a local creek.

Doc Mariner’s autopsy reveals the woman is a victim of foul play. The sheriff’s investigation soon puts him on the trail of a mysterious man named Bauer and a gang preying on young immigrant women.

One of the women escapes her captors and comes to their small town in search of help. A coal miner she encounters, a fellow Pole, brings her to Tilghman and helps translate the story of her ordeal. The girl is befriended and sheltered by a coworker of Lydia’s, an act of kindness that puts both young women in danger.

Sylvester Tilghman will need all his detecting skills and the help of his friends to unravel the many skeins of the case before he can dream again of marriage.

♦ ♦ ♦

Intrigued? Like I said, By Strangers Mourned is a page turner. It is available in print and electronic format from the publisher, Sunbury Press: https://www.sunburypress.com/collections/all-books/products/by-strangers-mourned?variant=40045793575005

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Strangers-Mourned-Sheriff-Tilghman-Book-ebook/dp/B09Z7GCX49/

And from other booksellers.

J.R. Lindermuth lives and writes in central Pennsylvania. A retired newspaper reporter and editor, he now serves as librarian of his county historical society where he assists patrons with genealogy and research. He’s the author of 18 novels and two regional histories. He is a member of International Thriller Writers and is a past vice president of the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Website: http://www.jrlindermuth.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/John-Lindermuth-175253187537/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1005496.J_R_Lindermuth#

 

Missing Mystery Authors: Update #7

It’s been a while, but the “Missing Mystery Authors” series is back! I created this series for readers who want to know what happened to their favorite mystery authors who, for whatever reason, haven’t published in a while.

Some authors are easy to find, while some are not. Fortunately, many still maintain websites and are active on social media so I can contact them. Often life circumstances put her or his writing on hold. Some are making a comeback with a new series. Sadly, some have left us for the great beyond. Others have seemingly vanished.

Read on for the latest!

Connie Archer, author of the Soup Lover’s mysteries. As Connie di Marco, she writes the Zodiac Mysteries.

I emailed the author. Here is her response:

Life’s been a little crazy lately, I’ve become a grandmother twice this year, once in May and again in August.  That’s taken up a lot of free time. So sorry, I’ve been listed as missing.  LOL!  It took quite a while to get my rights to the Zodiac Mysteries from my now defunct publisher.  My new publisher (Suspense) has re-released the first three books with amazing covers. Very soon, the next book out, I think within a month or so, is a novella that’s set before the series begins.  Readers wrote to me asking how Julia first became interested in astrology, how she found her cat, and wanted to read more about Gloria, Julia’s grandmother. Enter a Wizard, Stage Leftanswers all those questions.  It’s set at a theater production of Agatha Christie’s Appointment with Death and it’s a bit of a nod to Golden Age classics.  After that, #4, Serpent’s Doom, will be out and I’m just finishing up #5.  

The promised prequel novella is here! October 26, 2021 is release day for the latest in Connie’s Zodiac Mysteries series, ENTER A WIZARD, STAGE LEFT.

More on Connie here.

Conor Fitzgerald, author of the Alec Blume series, set in Rome.

Conor is on Twitter (@fitzfromdublin). He hasn’t responded to my request regarding his writing status. He publishes a newsletter, focusing on Irish politics. Subscribe to it here  (you can read it before subscribing).

Ann Purser, Author of the Ivy Beasley Mysteries, Lois Meade Mysteries, and Round Ringford Village Stories

Ms. Purser has a Facebook page with no recent updates. Many of her readers posted touching messages, wanting more stories. I sent her a message, but haven’t heard back. Anyone interested in her status can LIKE her page and inquire. You never know.

Linda Barnes, author of the Carlotta Carlyle series and the Michael Spraggue series.

According to her website, Linda Barnes has discontinued the Spraggue series. I emailed her, asking about the Carlotta series. She hasn’t responded, but did say she could take a while.

Updates from previous posts

Earlene Fowler, author of the Benni Harper quilting mysteries

Earlene Fowler wrote a statement on her website, explaining her decision to discontinue her series: “I stepped away from the industry when social media started taking over.  It was something I did not feel comfortable participating in.  And, honestly, it just felt like time to leave.”

Read her entire statement.

RIP

I recently learned that Carole Nelson Douglas, best known for the Irene Adler Sherlockian suspense novels and the Midnight Louie mystery series. passed away in October, 2021.

A few years back, Judith Van Gieson appeared in a Missing Authors post. Judith, author of the Claire Reynier and Neil Hamel series set in New Mexico, and later owner of ABQ Press in Albuquerque, died early in 2021.

Read about Judith on my Missing Authors post.

Read Judith’s obit.

Posts from my “Missing Authors” series, in chronological order:

Missing Rochelle Krich

Discovering a Lost Author: John J. Lamb

Whatever Happened to Gabrielle Kraft?

Whatever Happened to (Name an Author)?

In Memory of My Favorite Mystery Authors (And Maybe Yours)

Those Missing Authors: An Update

Missing Author Found!

Missing Authors: Update 2

“Missing Authors: Update 3”

“Missing Authors: Update 4”

“Missing Authors: Update 5”

“Missing Authors: Update 6”

Do you have a favorite author who hasn’t written in some time and isn’t included in one of the above posts? Yes? Include the name(s) in the comments section and I’ll see what I can find out. It may take me some time but I will get back to you, either personally or in an upcoming blog post.

 

Guest post: Phyllis Entis, author of THE SILVER STAR CAPER

I’m thrilled to welcome award-winning author Phyllis Entis to the blog. Phyllis introduces The Silver Star Caper (isn’t that a great title?), the latest in her Damien Dickens Mystery series. Bonus: a peek at the prologue!

Take it away, Phyllis!

Writing fiction is a very intense experience, at least for me. Once a story starts to develop inside my brain, I feel as though I am simply a reporter, taking dictation from the main characters.

In December 2019, I bade a temporary farewell to Damien and Millie Dickens and shooed them out of my head while undertaking a non-fiction project.

The dynamic detective duo started clamoring to return late last fall, and have been with me ever since.

The first draft of The Silver Star Caper wrote itself in only four months—an extremely fast pace for me. There were nights when Damien and Millie entered my dreams, and days when the emotional content of the plot was so overwhelming that I had to stop and open a fresh box of tissues. At times, I was afraid of shorting out my keyboard!

Although set in the mid-1980s, The Silver Star Caper embraces themes that are relevant today: racism, domestic terrorists, white supremacy militias, and neo-Nazi movements. Although fiction, the story is grounded in history.

I’ll be sharing pieces of that history from time to time on my blog. I hope you’ll drop by and read the stories behind the story.

Blurb for The Silver Star Caper

Damien and Millie take on their most dangerous assignment yet.

After a string of arson fires drives migrant farm workers from their homes and threatens Millie’s daughter-in-law, Damien agrees to go undercover to infiltrate the white-supremacist, neo-Nazi militia responsible for the fires and unmask the identity of their leader.

Millie covers his absence by spreading the news that they have separated, while he travels back to Atlantic City. When Damien reappears in California, it’s in the guise of a former cop with neo-Nazi sympathies.

Left alone to run their detective agency while maintaining a brave front, Millie dives into an investigation of a friend of the new mayor of Carmel-by-the Sea, a local resident she suspects of being a Nazi war criminal in hiding.

The action is non-stop as Damien and Millie risk their lives to eradicate the spectre of violence and racism from their community.

Prologue
Thursday, March 20, 1986

We were seated on the patio of the Hog’s Breath Inn, the downtown Carmel restaurant owned by Clint Eastwood. The place was packed with a lunchtime mix of tourists and locals, most of them talking about the upcoming municipal elections and the likelihood that Clint would be the town’s next mayor. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a couple of friendly waves, but I ignored them, focusing my attention instead on Millie, who was slowly crumbling a sourdough roll into pieces small enough to feed to the birds.

The last few weeks had been hard on her as we engaged in an ever-rising tide of public displays of discord. Our friends had started asking what was wrong. Had wondered out loud whether our marriage was on the rocks. Today, they would have their answer.

This morning, it was Millie’s turn to pick the fight. She did so in my office, her accusations about my excessive drinking loud enough to carry through the walls to the dental offices next door. I followed through by giving my wastebasket a noisy kick, sending its contents flying, and punctuated my angry retorts by slamming my fist into the wall so hard that the plaster cracked. Millie retreated into her own office, slamming the door with such force that Hershey, our 60-pound labradoodle, took shelter under the reception counter.

A few seconds later, she emerged from her office, a grim smile on her face. “That should about do it, especially since Malvina was scheduled for a dental check-up this morning. Let’s go to lunch and get this over with.”

Amazon Buy link: mybook.to/TSSC
Amazon Buy link for Damien Dickens Mystery series: mybook.to/DDMSERIES

Phyllis Entis is the author of the Damien Dickens Mysteries series, which includes The Green Pearl Caper, The White Russian Caper, The Chocolate Labradoodle Caper, The Gold Dragon Caper, The Blue Moon Caper, and The Silver Star Caper. She was the recipient of the 2019 Top Female Author award (Mystery/Suspense/Thriller).

Phyllis is a free-lance writer and retired food safety microbiologist with degrees from McGill University and the University of Toronto. In December 2020, she released TAINTED: From Farm Gate to Dinner Plate, Fifty Years of Food Safety Failures, an exposé of the shortcomings of the food manufacturing and foodservice industry sectors on which we all rely to supply us with safe food.

Phyllis lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada with her husband and their Australian Cobberdog, Shalom. When she’s not writing, Phyllis usually can be found walking around town, baking bagels and pastries, or enjoying her garden.

For more on Phyllis and the Damien Dickens Mysteries:

Website and blog: phyllisentis.wordpress.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/PromptProse

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/DamienDickensMysteries/

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/PhyllisEntis

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/phyllis-entis-1697a849/

Amazon: www.amazon.com/Phyllis-Entis/e/B001JRZM1K

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/1750852.Phyllis_Entis

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/phyllis-entis

 

MURDER BY THE GLASS coming soon!

I’m thrilled to announce that MURDER BY THE GLASS launches on July 13, 2021 with Untreed Reads Publishing

Each story in this stellar anthology blends a baffling mystery, a glass … and a MURDER!

In my story, “How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?,” a pricey fundraiser brings together Richmond, Virginia’s elite. Enter two glamorous sisters, Kate and Becca, who are grieving the loss of their parents. What better way to mend their broken hearts than a hunt for rich husbands? It doesn’t take long for Becca to choose the attractive, sexy—and rich!—Jeremy Redman as perfect husband material. She employs every one of the many feminine wiles in her arsenal to stake her claim on his heart.

Many talented authors contributed stories:

“Revenge on the Rocks” by Betsy Ashton

“Malbec Gold” by Frances Aylor

“The Good Citizen” by Mary Dutta

“The Nightcap” by Diane Fanning

“Bucket List Dreams” by Debra Goldstein

“Chimera” by Libby Hall

“Fly Away Gourmet” by Maria Hudgins

“Murder on Tap” by Teresa Inge

“Brayking Glass” by Eleanor Cawood Jones

“How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?” by Maggie King

“Swiping Right” by Kristin Kisska

“Grape Minds Drink Alike” by Allie Marie

“Everus” by K.L. Murphy

“A Taste of Murder” by Alan Orloff

“Zero Hour” by Josh Pachter

“From Whiskey to Wine” by Shawn Reilly Simmons

“Out of Commission” by Heather Weidner

Don’t you just love those titles?

I’ve worked with most of these authors on previous anthologies–VIRGINIA IS FOR MYSTERIES, VIRGINIA IS FOR MYSTERIES, VOL. II, 50 SHADES OF CABERNET, and DEADLY SOUTHERN CHARMand look forward to seeing them again at signings and promotional events. Granted, the events will be virtual for quite a while, but our enthusiasm will fill cyberspace to overflowing!

Connect with MURDER BY THE GLASS on social media and get updates on our doings (like the cover reveal, pre-orders, launch events, etc.)

Facebook: facebook.com/MBTGAnthology

Instagram: instagram.com/murderbytheglass

We look forward to seeing our reading friends!