Hi Charlotte,
I spent eight years in the USN. My base was NAS Jacksonville, but most of the time was on ships or overseas. Atlanta suburbs go from McDonough up to Gainesville and over to Cartersville.
Emerson will always be on my mind. I was hit by a CSX train in front of Doug's Resturant in 1995...
I'm working on my my first serious project a Romance Suspense story. Any good advice for a rookie...LOL

Take care
Joe

Thanks, Charlotte. When I was a kid reading Burroughs, I never thought of collecting the books. But a friend of mine did, and he has quite a selection of first editions now. As for me, I stick with paperbacks for the most part. Love 'em. Computers will never replace books in my house, for sure.

By the way, I forgot to mention that Sheriff Rhodes is not me. Maybe like me in some ways, though.

Hi Bill,
Edgar Rice Burroughs is a favorite, for sure. I read lots of paperbacks, too. I belong to two book clubs. One sends me hardback cover; the other club sends me paperbacks. These I circulate. The hardbacks, I keep.
I'd love to have one of those old Victorian houses with a room big enough for a library (like in the old movies. That was before computers, though)
Aha! I knew there was Sheriff Dan in you somewhere. It comes out in your books. The Mammoth Murder is still my favorite.

Charlotte,
The signal was out and I was hit by the crossing train. Never saw it coming, so sometimes its better to be lucky. The witness saw my car fly thirty feet and land upside down.
I suggested to the CSX lawyers to put up crossing arms and 48 hours later, they were operational...LOL

Joe

thank you for the invitation, Charlotte. I am posting this comment using my latest toy, Dragon naturally speaking nine, which I received in the mail last evening. It may be the just the ticket to use when I finally get around to writing the bestseller.

Bill,
Do tell. What's Dragon? I may never write the bestseller or the Great American Novel, but I do write and have been able to get two of them published. I think of it as a minor accomplishment.

Sorry everyone, about the absence. I do taxes for a living, and it's been crazy. No time to text or write. Just a quick "hello" to everyone and it's a mad dash back to the land of the insanity of tax season.

Thanks for your recent comment, which I get... I may have recently landed a keeper, time will tell.

Dragon Naturally Speaking Nine Preferred Edition is a software program which converts speech to written text. It comes with a microphone headset and can be purchased from Amazon. com for about $160.

I know you're glad tax season is over. Best wishes.

Dan,
IN answer to your last four (or five) comments to me: Don't worry about it. I don't care what you call me (or spell me), just call me.
I love the little town of Hopewell. It's advertised as "Convienently located in the middle of nowhere" When I went up there to promote my book, I got a great reception. I was asked a thousand times, "What made you choose Hopewell as the location of your novel?" It's always a great conversation starter. I'm a southern gal myself, and enjoy meeting southern gentlemen.
Can't wait for your mystery novel posting.
Be sure and let me know what you think about my novel. I'm working on getting famous
Gotta Go! Phone's ringing off the hook. Talk to you later

I understand what you are saying about the kids getting older, my eldest is 42 in July, and us getting "younger". I am more like a space ship..zipping though the stratasphere at hyper speed.(mentally)
Bye the bye I am part of a paranormal group this is planning a paracon this October, 24 in Bowling Green, Ky..come on , join us.

Then you just have to come..24,25,26.We have got some pretty decent room rates and the registration fee is great as it is our first parcon. MUFON will be there and some ghost hunters, a tour of a haunted building and all kinds of crazy stuff yet to be cleared. Yeah, I am a demon on a cane, if you know what I mean....

Hi, Charlotte!
Your page is certainly very interesting, as is your life! I'm so impressed by what you've accomplished and all the exciting things that you have done. (By the way, I used to live very close to Hopewell, Virginia at one time. It was a lovely place back in the 80's and I enjoyed it there.)
I checked out your website and the descriptions of your books, Switched and Say Aloha to Murder, as well as the excerpt. They sound wonderful! I guess I'll just have to buy them and let you know what I think, won't I? I'm also looking forward to the release of your newest masterpiece, Murder Revisited, as soon as it is completed and released.
Have a great day and I'm so glad you crossed my path. I'm hoping we'll become great friends one day.
Sincerely,
Cynde L. Hammond

Hello Charlotte:
Thanks for inviting me as a friend. Glad to see you not only survived "the job" but have gone on to even bigger and better things in retirement, like fiction writing. Good for you! To answer your question about "Little Blue Whales" your best bet would be online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. Unless of course you want to take a little trip out here to the great PNW and buy it from a bricks and mortar bookstore. But with the price of gas these days my guess is you'll probably not want to do that. Stay in touch, and let me know how your current book is coming along.

Yeah, isn't that the truth! I'll never forget what my agent said to me just after I'd signed with her and told her how excited I was about getting started on my second book, which was going to be a "modern day western set in eastern, Oregon." She said, "No, you are going to write a sequel to this current novel, because that's what you're going to be known as; a crime writer." Damn, I HATE when that happens! But as it turns out she was absolutely right, and I still have that "modern day western" lurking around in the deepest, darkest recesses of my brain. K. R. stands for Kenneth Richard, but I go by Ken. I don't know why I joined CrimeSpace as "K.R." Got tired of typing out the whole, long name I guess.

Dear Charlotte,
I'm so sorry about your father and son-in-law! Their deaths must have been such a terrible blow to you and your entire family. I'll be sure to add all of you to my prayer list.
Remember: there is no correct way to mourn, nor is there a proper time frame in which to stop grieving. Everyone has to grieve in their own way. I personally have found that it's so much easier to get through a crisis when you have the Lord in your life; I can't imagine how I would have gotten through my own trials without Him.
The one thing that makes the loss of my loved ones evenbearable is knowing that because they, too, had a relationship with the Lord, I will be reunited with them in Heaven one day. That's why God sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins, so that He could ensure that we would have life everlasting. Isn't that amazing? You and I hadn't even been born, yet he still did that for us!
I'm so glad I've met you, Charlotte. I don't think it was by accident that our paths crossed--I believe it was by design. I'm not usually quite so bold, but I just want you to know I'll be here for you, if you need me, no matter what the reason is.
I've never added a friend on here before (the others have invited me) and I tried to invite you, but nothing happened, so I must have done it wrong. Could you tell me how to do it? (unless you'd rather not add me and if not, there will be no hard feelings. Really! I haven't finished my book yet and maybe you are only inviting published authors right now. I can understand that. Just let me know, ok?)
Anyway, this note has turned into a novel, hasn't it?
Well, have a nice day and I look forward to hearing from you again. I'll try not to bend your ear quite so much next time.
All the best,
~Cynde

Hi there. Earl Biggers authored Charlie Chan. My goodness, I haven't thought about Charlie Chan in years. I wonder if the books are available at the library. Probably not. I see in your bio that you are from Cobb County, GA. I have family there. And I work for an accounting firm. Small world. Glad to count you as a friend.

Actually as it turned out, I didn't have a hard time getting an agent...but only after I spent seven years writing my novel, then researching the heck out of the market, developing a "master plan" to get signed by attending the biggest writer's conference here in the Northwest two years ago when I signed up to pitch my book to six different, hand picked agents at the conference. All of them thought the book was good, but one thought it was exceptional, and THAT is the agent out there you need to be looking for, and to ultimately find. As to how you find them, I think pitching at conferences is way more potentially successful than cold query letters, although I was doing both at the time and I would suggest you do both, too. In the two weeks before the conference I had sent out query letters to twelve different agents, and out of the twelve eleven said "no" and one said "send the first 30 pages," and then said "no" about two weeks later. But at the Willamette Writers Conference face to face, one on one, it was a much different story. Three of the agents took the book home with them, one told me to contact him when I'd sold "2,000 copies" (I'd sold about 300 at the time from March, until the conference in August), one said his agency just wasn't taking on any crime thrillers at the moment, but he'd be surprised if I came away from the conference "without getting at least two contract offers" and one said he'd like to take me on, but his boss "absolutely wouldn't do any books dealing with either terrorism, or child abuse." Of the three agents who read the book, one declined in a very nice email about a week later saying he didn't find any reason "not to like" the story but it just wasn't for him, and the other two both wanted to sign me, but Angela Rinaldi called me first. And that was just fine with me because of all the agents I had pitched, she was the one I felt most comfortable with and seemed the most interested in my work. Anyhow, getting an agent was HUGE. So huge, in fact, I almost retired from writing right there on the spot after I'd signed the contract because I almost had this feeling of, "Well, I've pretty much done it all. Who needs to actually have a book published by a big N.Y. house, if they've accomplished the almost unattainable goal of getting an agent?" But of course I didn't. And then I had the surprise of my life when my agent actually expected me to make my book even better. Well, I followed her advice and spent six and a half months rewriting the manuscript from "He saw them again, the two white swans...." all the way to "The End," trimming away over 70,000 words of excess, verbose, writing fat, and when I was finally finished, the story, the words, the writing, literally popped off the printed page...it was that much better. I like to tell my agent that I finally learned how to write, for real, by un-writing my book. And I have her to thank for it all. So yes, I think getting an agent...a good agent...would be well worth your while. Just be advised: That's when the REAL work of writing will begin.

Agent's KNOW you are going to be nervous. In fact, they'd probably think you were a little weird if you weren't nervous. The good ones will coax the information from you, one way or another, but your efforts at joining Toastmaster's should really pay off. This was a very smart move, so kudos to you!

Hi, Charlotte!
I'm enjoying eavesdropping on your conversation with K. R. Lewis--what an interesting man he is! I sure wish he'd add me to his friends list! Speaking of friends list, thank you for trying to add me. There's a problem with my page that I'm trying to get straightened out with Ning.com.
Ever since I signed on to another one of their sites, this one and the other site don't work properly. As soon as we get it ironed out, you'll be the first friend I'll add.
Years ago, I used to have the same fear of public speaking and talking to managers, etc. that you did, until I had to do a lot of it for my job. I had to do extensive travelling and I was in charge of training hundreds of people. One big secret is to really know what it is you are going to be discussing; in other words, be prepared!
I'll be praying for you. You are so beautiful that you should jump at the chance to go in front of people and let them see you! I'd want to show off, if I were you.
Say "hi" to your mom for me. I hope all is well with you. We've had plenty of excited here and my mom is fit to be tied, but she's been through worse, so I think she'll be ok.
God bless you,
*Hugs*
~Cynde

Aha! I finally figured it out! My computer had some plug-ins that were incompatible with Ning.com, but it's fixed now...so you're stuck with me now!

Well, I be back later when I have something new to talk about!

~Cynde

Hi Charlotte: Yes, I thought you might enjoy being a part of Police -Writers. I haven't been on my site there in ages...guess I should check in soon and see if I'm even still there! But you know how it is...busy, busy, busy. And lately I've been spending lots of time getting ready for the first episode of my new podcast "NETDRAG" which I hope to have up on the net by the end of this month. Congratulations on the short story! Where I can purchase a copy of Women's Digest?

Charlotte...

Nice to hear about your short story being published in Women's Digest. I remember when my first was published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. It was a real thrill and I've been able to sell them several since. They have two waiting now from me that they've accepted and I might write another this week and send it off for consideration. As for all the credits I have, I got lucky, I guess, when I fell into newspaper writing almost by accident at 19. I liked writing and seeing my buyline from the beginning and just never stopped. Are you working on a third novel? Keep me posted.

Hi, Charlotte!
Congratulations on selling your mystery short story to a magazine! I'm so happy for you! Be sure and let me know what magazine it is so I can buy it and if I send it to you, would you autograph it for me? I would pay for everything, (postage & all) and you wouldn't have to spend a dime! If you want to charge for the autograph, I would understand--it would be worth it! I'm so excited and it's an event worth commemorating! I can't wait to read your story; I bet it's fantastic!
I bet your mom and daughter are so proud of you--I know that I am. You've worked so hard for this and there's no sweeter, more deserving person than you, Charlotte.
I'm glad to hear that your becoming more relaxed in front of crowds. That is good news. Before you know it, you'll be looking forward to your speaking engagement; just you wait and see!
By the way...I love it when you're "chatty!" You're just as cute as can be. Also, don't ever worry about when you get a chance to get back to me, either. I know you're busy and now that you're "famous," you'll be even busier, so get back to me whenever you get the chance. Just always know that I've got your back and I'll be praying for you, ok? I'll always be available for immediate prayer requests, day or night and if you want me to send you my phone number by email, just let me know and I will.
God bless you, Charlotte.
*Hugs and Prayers*
~Cynde

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w262/cyndelouwho22/cyndelouwho22-1/congratulations-q.gif

They've changed the format on these messages and I don't like it very much because it doesn't work properly. I'll try once more. I'm trying to send you a "Congratulations" message. Here goes:

Are you sure? I'd be happy to buy a copy if I only knew where to look. Here's my mailing address: P.O. Box 396 Rogue River, OR 97537.

Thanks, Charlotte. I'll be watching for it.

Charlotte...the way to break into Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine is pretty much the same, I think, as for most any other publication: Study what's being published in the magazine, think imaginatively, and follow their writer's guidelines for submission (available on the magazine's website) to the letter. EQMM is very good about reading all submitted short stories and replying, though the time varies from a few weeks to a few months. The key is writing a short story that is well-crafted, entertaining, and does not read and feel like a million other mystery shorts that have been published over the decades. Good luck!

I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July and holiday weekend! (Sorry this is late--we had a death in the family.)
Is everything going well for you and are you feeling alright? You and your family are in my prayers always, Charlotte.
Talk to you soon,
Cynde

It came in yesterday's mail, Charlotte. Will read it tonight and let you know!

hahaha! We use "plain talk code" now, and other than "10-4" I con't even remember what those other two codes mean! Read the story, and it's quite the little cliff hanger! I can't believe they're going to make us wait THAT long to read part 2! Oh, and I loved the book review you got for "Switched." Who is that reviewer? She did a very nice job.

You're a real sweetheart! Just in case you didn't receive the email that I sent you a while back with my home address in it, I'm sending you a message via Crime Space and I look forward to receiving my copy of the magazine. Thank you!
I've made quite a bit of progress on the rewriting of my book and I'm very pleased with it so far. It looks as if this version may even be better than the first and for that I am truly thankful. The Lord is so good.
By the way, how's this message for colourful?
They still have not sent me the box that I am supposed to ship my computer back in for repairs, so I'll have to call and see what the hold up is. It's very frustrating, but everything is in the Lord's timing. For each extra day that I've had the computer at home, I've found more things hidden in the hard drive, so maybe I'll find my book! Wouldn't that be great?
Until next time,
Cynde

Super! I should have you on as a guest on my podcast sometime, Charlotte, NETDRAG. You can check out all the episodes so far on my CrimeSpace blog.

Your messages are always perfect as far as I'm concerned!
Yes, I did receive the magazine and thank you! I was waiting until my husband had also finished reading the story before I posted my comment to you about it.
We both absolutely loved it! It was awesome and we can't wait for the conclusion--(that's why I detest it when they split the stories like that!) It drives me crazy--especially when the story is as excellent as yours is!
Much love,
Cynde

You are such a dear heart! Of course I realize that it was the editor's idea to split the story into two parts--it's a brilliant marketing strategy! From that point of view I think it's a great idea, but when I'm the one reading the story and I have to wait, I hate it! A lot like a spoiled brat, right? Well, I've lived through much worse, so I think I'll live through this alright. And besides that, the conclusion to your story is definitely worth waiting for!
*Hugs*
Cynde

Cynde,
I need you for my publicist. You have such a way with words.
Charlotte

Yes London is big alright. In fact, sometimes it can be TOO big. Make sure you wait till the dollar rebounds (if that ever happens...) before you come back - the exchange rate is prohibitive! :-/

Well there is no hard and fast rule as to when to start a writing career. Most writers who are very young have nothing to say. How can they, when most of them haven't even lived a life yet?

Hi Charlotte:

Received the book OK...several days ago, in fact. Have been busy, busy, busy with my podcast! Thanks for sending it. Love the cover!

Good morning, Charlotte. I know exactly what you mean by not having enough hours in the day. Happily, most of my time is filled with things that I love doing like reading and writing, working and working out. I feel I am truly blessed to be able to do what I do. I'm sure you feel the same way.

Charlotte, your comment made me laugh and sniffle...both good emotions, especially if you're a writer! I think our engines still rev at about the same rate! Lucky person who bought your Camaro; hope he appreciates her like you did. I know you're a busy lady, but if you have the time, I'd love for you to visit my web site, jeanniebarber.com. I'm a novice writer so feel free to make any kind of suggestions, ideas or thoughts to correct it. I’m co-authoring a novel with Patty Wiseman, another friend on Goodreads. We’ve known each other for over 30 years. While you're there, please sign the guestbook, too! There’s also a link to our book you can click on…clairkelley@synthasite.com. This site is brand new and in the editing stage as is our story. Please visit it as well. We’re both very green, but like Crimespace, I’ve met so many people willing to reach out and offer advice or a guiding hand. I've love for you to join. We can never have enough friends and I'd LOVE to be in FL with you. Cheryl Norman is also from FL and she invited me to Goodread.
Hugs,
Jeannie
OH...P.S. Charlotte has always been one of my very FAVORITE names!

Oh thanks so much Charlotte. I haven't gone back to finish all the editing for my NaNoWriMo story; the excerpt is on the website though.
I'm trying so hard to get thru all the editing phases with the story I'm co-authoring. It's been written for a long time, but then we discovered there were "rules", of all things! LOL. But I definitely appreciate your time and your expertise. I'm blessed to have made a friend named "Charlotte".
Hugs,
Jeannie

Hi, Charlotte!
Did you ever get signed in to Book Place yet? (I'm sorry I didn't answer you sooner, but Dion took his vacation from work and I haven't been on the computer much. We just got back.) Let me know and if you still need help, I'll be johnny-on-the-spot!
Much love,
Cynde

Yes, I received the magazine and we loved your story; it was awesome! The article that you wrote was very professional and well-written, too. You have a very delightful, pleasing writing style and I predict that you're going to be very much in demand from now on. Keep up the good work, Charlotte!
*Hugs*
Cynde

Hi, Charlotte!
God bless you and I hope you have a wonderful New Year!
Lots of love,
Cynde

Auto tag? I used to work in accounting, so I have great sympathy for you right now . . . ;)

Hi Charlotte,

It was an interesting discussion, yes. Did you close the comments? It didn't seem to be getting entirely out of hand, but maybe I have a higher-than-average tolerance for internet foolery than most...

What, filing regs making sense! You must be joking Charlotte ;)
-Theresa

I saw a similar article, about turning good books into bad movies. I think Revolutionary Road has a lot of critics stirred up. It was a wonderful book, but I hear the movie just doesn't get it.

Thanks for the friend invite. That was a good discussion you started. A lot of fun, and I learned a few things, which is why I like them.