Location is Everything, a guest post by Lauren Carr

Author Lauren Carr, joins us this week with a look at the importance of location in mystery writing.  You can pre-order the first book in her newest series, Ice, which releases on February 26! 

When it Comes to a Series - Location, Location, Location is Everything!

By Lauren Carr

Back when I was nineteen years old, I sat down to write the Great American Tragedy, a 900+ page debut novel.

Setting: Hollywood.

Granted, I had never been west of the Mississippi, but that was where I wanted to be and the book was fiction, so that was where I set it. Today, that manuscript is stuffed in an attic some place where it will never see the light of day.

One of the first things writing instructors teach is to write what you know. I had never been the Hollywood, so all I knew about it was what I saw in the movies. I was from a small town in West Virginia. Who’d want to read a murder mystery set there? I wanted a murder mystery set in Hollywood, baby!

Now that I have grown a bit—I hope—I have learned a few things about settings, particularly when it has to do with settings for mystery novels, especially series.

More goes into a setting than time and place. Setting encompasses the atmosphere, feel, of the location, which can have a direct effect on your characters.

Try to imagine Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn set in New York City during that same time period. Yes, there’s a river to drift down on a raft. Huck would end up being a street urchin living in an alley instead of a shack along a river. The shack along the river is much quainter than an alley in New York City. It would have been a completely different book.

When plotting a murder mystery, I take a number of factors into consideration when deciding on the setting. Is it dirty and smoggy? Or is the sky blue and the air fresh? Are the victim and those connected to him or her caring? Or are they so self-absorbed that they curse the dead body blocking their path to the nearest Starbucks? The answers to these questions contribute to my decision of which setting I select for the mystery.

My Lovers in Crime Mystery series is set in and around Chester, West Virginia—one of those small towns where everyone knows everyone. Most of the population is senior citizens or their grown children who have returned to the nest after having been out there in the real world. It’s home. Folks don’t just know who you are, but they most likely know who your father was and what teacher you had in the fourth grade. People are friendly. Neighbors help their neighbors. The air is fresh. The pace is lazy.

That is a complete contrast to the Thorny Rose detectives. Jessica Faraday and Murphy Thornton are a young married couple who live in northern Virginia just outside Washington, DC. Murphy works at the Pentagon. In the opening scene for my current work in progress, a Thorny Rose Mystery, Murphy is navigating Friday evening rush hour, which launches the fast-paced plot. Chester does not have a rush hour, so such a scene would not work for the Lovers in Crime.

The Joshua Thornton/Lovers in Crime was my first mystery series, created after I had grown up to embrace my small-town roots. After a few installments in the series, I discovered that while the charming characters and feel are striking to readers, the limited setting can stretch a murder mystery reader’s suspension of disbelief to the breaking point.

Example: Every cozy mystery fan loves the television series, It’s Murder, She Wrote. I’ve seen every episode. If you’re a fan, you’ll recall that rather quickly, Jessica Fletcher started encountering mysteries while on book tours or visiting friends in other parts of the world, with only a few episodes happening in Cabot Cove. As a matter of fact, she even moved to New York City. Why? Because the small town of Cabot Cove was becoming the murder capital of the world. Mystery fans started making jokes about never visiting Cabot Cove because you won’t get out alive. So, the writers moved Jessica to New York City where a murder every week was more believable.

Not only does the location and atmosphere contribute to the setting, but so do the people who live there. As I had mentioned, the people who live in and around Chester, West Virginia, have roots in that area. Everyone knows everyone. A murder in Chester is a true whodunit. While there may be strangers or outsiders, they are few.

Set in the upper-class suburbs across the Potomac River from the Nation’s Capital, the Thorny Rose detectives encounter wholly different types of murder victims and suspects. In a town filled with movers and shakers, folks here are ambitious and busy. Neighbors don’t necessarily know each other—and if they do—they most likely don’t care. The Thorny Rose Mysteries offers the perfect setting for sophisticated murders involving glitzy glamourous characters with the dark metropolitan underbelly.

Sometimes, I’m in the mood for a small-town mystery with a big city setting. Enter the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery series.

Chris Matheson lives on the family farm along the Shenandoah River in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Don’t let the state name fool you. In the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, Harpers Ferry is considered part of the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. The passenger trains that leave from several stops throughout the panhandle are filled with commuters going to Union Station in Washington for their jobs in and around the city.

In the twenty-five years that I have lived here in Harpers Ferry, I have seen a tidal wave of professionals in search of a more family friendly atmosphere moving out of the city.

Being a farm girl myself, it’s frustrating to understand those folks who specifically move out of the city because they want to move to the country, and then expect the country folks to adapt to their big city ways, instead of embracing the country way of life. As a rule, you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl. From what I have seen, for some folks, you can take them out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the folks.  

I’ve also seen families who’ve made West Virginia their home for several generations. I’m still struggling with trying to figure out how to make homemade bread, by hand, without a bread maker. Some town’s people welcome the growth, while others resent the outsiders.

Chris Matheson is a mixture of the two groups—a growing dynamic I have observed. He was born and raised in Harpers Ferry. Then, he took advantage of the opportunities offered to him and went out to see the world. First, he served in the military. Then, he became an investigator with the FBI. Now, retired, he moves his family back home. He has been in both worlds, which gives him an ability to maneuver through them while working a case.

Upon returning to Harpers Ferry to work his family farm, he becomes friends with other law enforcement retirees. That is another population group who have found their way into this setting. The lower taxes in West Virginia have made the area a popular retirement spot for retirees. Their diverse law enforcement experiences make for a vast pool of storylines to choose from. The quaint setting, with a proximity to the bustling Washington DC metropolis, makes my writer’s mind spin with possible plotlines and a vast array of characters to include.

Chris Matheson and his team, the Geezer Squad, tackle their first cold case, a close to the heart missing person’s case, in Ice.

I promise you, this won’t be the last.

About the Author

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Now, Lauren has added one more hit series to her list with the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery series.  Set in the quaint West Virginia town of Harpers Ferry, Ice introduces Chris Matheson, a retired FBI agent, who joins forces with other law enforcement retirees to heat up those cold cases that keep them up at night. 

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals,  romance, and humor.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband and three dogs, including the real Sterling, on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV. 

Visit Lauren’s websites and blog at:

• E-Mail: writerlaurencarr@gmail.net
• Website: http://mysterylady.net/
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lauren.carr.984991
• Gnarly’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/GnarlyofMacFaradayMysteries
• Lovers in Crime Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/LoversInCrimeMysteries?ref=ts&fref=ts
• Acorn Book Services Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AcornBookServices?ref=hl
• Twitter: @TheMysteryLadie

The Worst Writers Conference I Ever Attended … and the Best By Lauren Carr

The Worst Writers Conference I Ever Attended … and the Best

By Lauren Carr

An eon ago (if you don’t know what that is then I’ll tell you—it was a long time ago), I was invited to attend a writer’s conference by some idiot whose name I can’t remember.

At the time, I was an editor with the federal government, a weekly columnist with a daily newspaper, and working on my first mystery in my spare time—usually while riding the commuter train to and from Washington DC.

So, a fellow commuter, when she found out I was working on a book, suggested that I go to a writers’ conference in Kentucky, claiming it was the only way I could make that transition from dreaming of being a mystery writer to actually being one. So I took a week’s vacation time to travel to Kentucky to have a miserable time.

The misery stemmed from the conference’s headline author—who wrote award-winning mysteries. I had read a couple before going and didn’t like them—but her literary agent, publisher, and the people who gave her these awards said they were true works of literary art. Since they were all in New York and she was getting published—they had to know something I didn’t.

So, I paid out a bunch of money to have this award winning author read the first three chapters of my book in order for her to determine my chances of ever making my dream come true.

Note, this was the first time in my whole life that I had dared to allow anyone other than a relative who was obligated to love everything I do read my mystery writing. Up until then, I had only written news articles and humor pieces. Murder mysteries are a whole different animal.

She was an award winning murder mystery writer—so whatever she said had to be the absolute truth—Right?

Forget that she was so arrogant that within twenty-four hours she had managed to alienate virtually every writer attending this conference. Nothing makes a week long writers conference seem longer than being stuck with someone who thinks she holds everyone’s writing dreams in her plump little claws. Over the course of the week, one writer after another would join the throngs of depressed upon her declaration that they had no talent—therefore, they should hang up their dreams.

Of course, she absolutely ripped my book apart! After fifteen minutes of being insulted from the characters to the plot to the writing style, I asked what she thought of my typing and formatting. Based on how hard she slammed the door on the way out of the little room where she was verbally assaulting my ego, I assume she didn’t.

It was a year before I attempted to write yet another murder mystery.

Fast forward ten years—at least—maybe more, maybe less.

After publishing my first two books, A Small Case of Murder and A Reunion to Die For, both of which received rave reviews and decent sales, a friend of mine convinced me to go to yet another writers conference—at which point my eyes glazed over.

While swirling from flashbacks of Kentucky, I stammered out an excuse. “I don’t do conferences.”

After much prodding from my husband, I finally agreed to travel south to yet another conference—at least this one was only a weekend, so it couldn’t rob me of a whole week of my life that I could never get back.

The friend was traveling with his wife, so I had to book a hotel room by myself. It took only a few hours at the conference for me to see that it was everything I expected it to be. Most of the attendees were college students. I was at least ten years older and, being married with children, wasn’t looking to hook-up or get drunk.

The featured authors, all academic types, wrote for genres that were more niched than mine. My writing was more main streamed. Also, I was diving head first into the growing Internet and social media. None of the authors headlining the conference seemed to be much beyond knowing where the ‘delete’ key was located on their keyboard.

When I returned to my room that night I called my husband and groaned, “I’m stuck here for another three days!” Note to self: Always drive yourself when you go to a conference that you think will be a bust!

Then it hit me. Just because I couldn’t go home, didn’t mean I had to attend the conference. The next morning, I told my friend that I was staying in my room and working on my next book.

Three days later, when I emerged from my hotel room, I had finished over the first one hundred and twenty pages of It’s Murder, My Son, the first installment of the Mac Faraday Mystery series, which went on to make it to number one on Amazon in mysteries in 2011.

Locked in that hotel room, with no distractions, I had three days of completely focused writing time. Yep, that was the best conference I ever attended.

This is not to say that I don’t like conferences. I have been to some where I have left totally motivated and inspired.

Now, years later, I can safely say this is what I learned from those two awful conferences:

1. Don’t give others the power to determine your worth as an artist. Just because they may have big contracts or awards or contacts doesn’t mean they know what readers want or may be looking for. When I think of all the dreams that creature of a feature author dashed that week—maybe some who never did return to writing, my heart breaks.
2. Focused writing time is the best! Ever since that weekend I have devoted focused writing time to each one of my books. Up until that time, due to family obligations and life, I was only able to write an hour or so at a time. Now, I schedule time, hours, days, whole weekends with nothing on my plate but writing, which results in much tighter plotlines and writing style.

Since that “awful” conference, I have shared my discovery with other writers and authors. One author who lives five hours away and I will regularly schedule weekends to meet at a bed and breakfast for focused writing time.

During breaks, we brainstorm writing ideas for problems we are having in our

respective plots. Since we both have families and spouses who are not in the business, we discovered that having a buddy who understands the various aspects of writing to use as a sounding board is invaluable.

By the end of these weekends, we go our separate ways completely invigorated and anxious to put our fresh ideas to work.

That is why I jumped at the opportunity when Lakewood Resorts, located on the shores of Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland approached me to suggest using their facility for a week-long writers retreat! Lauren Carr's Advance toward Authorship Writers' Retreat is scheduled for Friday, November 13 through Friday, November 20. Weekend packages are available, as well!

Not only will writers who attend this writers’ retreat have quiet and beautiful scenery in which to write, but they will be surrounded by other writers in order to share ideas and have someone who has been there available to encourage them and lead the way.

A variety of packages are available. Writers can sign up for a single unit at Lakewood Resort to write in complete solitude or share a unit with their spouse or writing buddies. Each lakeshore unit at the luxurious Lakewood Resorts can accommodate four or more writers—making this an ideal retreat for writers groups.

Offerings include choice of a variety packages. Many offer focused writing time, weekend workshops, private consultations with me (Lauren Carr), writers’ gatherings, and meal options.  Retreat prices vary with level of participation.  Lodging costs are per unit, and units can be shared with family or other writers.  In addition to lodging, all participants pay the per person rate for the chosen retreat package. 

The dates for the Lauren Carr’s Advanced toward Authorship Writer’s Retreat

will be Friday, November 13-20, 2015. Weekend packages (Friday through Sunday) will be available. It will be held at Lakewood Resort, McHenry, Maryland—Deep Creek Lake, the setting for Lauren Carr's Mac Faraday Mysteries! Visit Lakewood Resort’s website at http://www.lakewoodresortsmd.com/ for more information.

Space at Lauren Carr’s Advance toward Authorship Writers Retreat is limited. Writers are encouraged to visit Lauren Carr’s website at www.mysterylady.net or email her at acornbookservices@gmail.com for further details.

About the Author

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday and Lovers in Crime Mysteries.  Her latest best seller, Kill and Run was released to rave reviews on September 4, 2015. Lauren introduced the key detectives in the Thorny Rose Mysteries in Three Days to Forever, which was released in January 2015.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. Visit Acorn Book Services website for more information.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learnt in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and four dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Visit Lauren’s websites and blog at:

• E-Mail: writerlaurencarr@gmail.net
• Website: http://acornbookservices.com and http://mysterylady.net/
• Blog: Literary Wealth: http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lauren.carr.984991
• Gnarly’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/GnarlyofMacFaradayMysteries
• Lovers in Crime Facebook Page:http://www.facebook.com/LoversInCrimeMysteries?ref=ts&fref=ts
• Acorn Book Services Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/AcornBookServices?ref=hl 
• Twitter: @TheMysteryLadie

Visit Lauren Carr’s website at www.mysterylady.net to learn more about Lauren and her upcoming mysteries.

Writing Outside Your Comfort Zone a guest post by Lauren Carr

Lauren Carr, author of the Mac Faraday and Thorny Rose mysteries, joins us this week with a thoughtful post on the importance of keeping storylines and series fresh without betraying the trust you've built with your readers.  The first book in the Thorny Rose Detective series, Kill and Run is available TODAY, September 4th!

Writing Outside Your Comfort Zone: Are You and (more importantly) Are Your Readers Ready?

Guest Post

By Lauren Carr

Every writer has different dreams of “making it.” Most of us determine that we have “made it” when we are able to write full-time. Some go even further. They want to write full-time and pay their bills with their earnings. About ninety-five percent of us never really make that point.

As years go by, our definition of being a successful author will recede. By the time we reach middle-age, it will be something more obtainable. That’s so we can die feeling that we have succeeded in our life dream.

When I started writing over thirty years ago, I first defined my success as making a boatload of money. Nope, never even remotely happened.

Then, I would be happy to have Hollywood call. Now, that did happen. But then, I was rejected weeks later (after rewriting the screenplay) when the producer and star who wanted to do the project dumped me for a writer with a track record. At that time, mine was zero.

Okay, I would be happy to get a literary agent. Got that, but that relationship ended when I gave birth and decided to give up writing to be a stay-at-home mom—which lasted six months at which time I started writing again, but the literary agent was gone.

So then, I would be happy to get picked up by a traditional publisher. That did happen, but when I saw how much they were getting from my book, and how little I was getting, I decided I could do it all myself and keep my royalties. (But that’s another blog post.)

By then, my defining moment of success came when I would release a book and find that I had readers waiting to buy it. That has happened. It is very nice to release a book and have readers snapping it up, seeing its ranking crawling up on Amazon, and getting great feedback.

It’s almost enough to make a writer breathe a sigh of relief and get … comfortable.

Is it really possible for a writer to get comfortable?

I don’t think it’s part of our make-up. I have learned that authors are generally insecure anyway. Maybe it has something to do with all the rejection we get from literary agents, publishers, editors, and some nasty reviewers with deep seated issues that have nothing to do with our books. You have to have a skin made of iron to take some of the feedback from these groups.

It’s hard enough to make it. But I have found that once you “make it,” then the fear comes that you may “lose it.”

Now a writer may ask, “How can you lose it once you’ve made it? You now have readers. They are going to stay loyal to you forever, aren’t they? Every time you release a book, they are going to be buying them. Now you are set for life.”

My answer: No.

I can think of numerous examples of authors who had become great successes, only to lose their readers with their subsequent books:

•   Breaking Their Readers’ Trust

It is not uncommon for an author to strike it big with their first book--snagging the agent and the big book deal—or even a movie deal, only to flop with their second book. At a speaking engagement, one author told how this happened to him.  He wrote his first book with the goal of getting the agent and book deal. He wrote what the agents and publishers were looking for. This book became a New York Times best-seller. After achieving the success that every author dreams of, he wrote what he wanted to write, which was quite different from his first book. The audience that he had acquired with the first book was shocked and disappointed. So were the reviewers. Thus, he lost his audience.

One very successful author, who I won’t name because I have stopped following her, lost me and other readers when she took a turn in her storyline that infuriated us. After years and dozens of successful books in her series, she killed off a main character whom we had grown to love. This author is still a success and her books are top sellers, but she did lose many readers, who posted reviews saying that they felt betrayed.

Why would an author kill off a major character after years of character development and dozens of books?

Well, as an author, I can see why.  It is the next reason that authors lose readers.

• Their books have grown stale.

It can be very easy for an artist to become comfortable in their success. We see it in actors who always appear in the same type of movies playing the same type of characters, and singers singing the same song over and over again. They are saying to themselves, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Let’s not mess with a good thing.”

However, their audience can get sick of hearing and reading the same thing over and over again. Just as an audience can get bored reading the same thing, imagine writing the same thing.

After writing so many books, especially some that are successful, an author can discover that they are writing from a formula. The basic plot is the same. The names have changed. Even the characters will have the same personalities.

This can happen without the writer realizing it. When I had finished the rough draft for my latest mystery, Kill and Run, I realized that the climax was very similar to ending in The Lady Who Cried Murder, the sixth Mac Faraday Mystery. I had to go back to the drawing board to rethink and rewrite the whole ending, which I believe is much more thrilling than the original.

Fresh storylines keep an author’s creative juices flowing. It’s what keeps the writing fun.

So, once an author has “made it,” they find that they have to do a balancing act in order to keep their readers while continuing to grow their audience. Not only do we have to stretch our creative muscles by coming up with fresh storylines and characters, but we have to do it without betraying our readers’ trust.

Readers have certain expectations from the author. It shouldn’t be any mystery to the author. They can find it expressed in the readers’ reviews. Mine have expressed their love of my complex mysteries that challenge them—which challenges me as a writer.

It was in a search for yet another challenge for my readers that I tackled a new series set in Washington, DC. The detectives in the Thorny Rose Mysteries, Lieutenant Murphy Thornton, USN, and Jessica Faraday are younger, sexier, and more edgy in keeping with the metropolitan setting. Their cases will be grittier than those in my Mac Faraday and Lovers in Crime series.

After all, anyone who keeps up with the news knows that life in Washington DC is not like Spencer, Maryland, and Chester, West Virginia.

Yes, it was a step out of my comfort zone. But, like a runner tackling her first marathon and crossing the finish line, it was a lot of fun and I feel great for having done it.

Here’s hoping my readers enjoy this venture as much as I have.

Mystery—The Next Generation

Five women with seemingly nothing in common are found brutally murdered in a townhome outside Washington, DC. Among the many questions surrounding the massacre is what had brought these apparent strangers together only to be killed.

Taking on his first official murder case, Lieutenant Murphy Thornton, USN, believes that if he can uncover the thread connecting the victims, then he can find their murderer.

The case takes an unexpected turn when Murphy discovers that one of the victims has a connection to his stepmother, Homicide Detective Cameron Gates. One wintry night, over a dozen years before, her first husband, a Pennsylvania State trooper, had been run down while working a night shift on the turnpike.

In Kill and Run, best-selling mystery author Lauren Carr delights her fans by merging the son and daughter of the detectives from her two popular series for a new series—the Thorny Rose Mysteries. Fans were introduced to Murphy Thornton, the son of Joshua Thornton from Lovers in Crime Mysteries, and Jessica Faraday, the daughter of Mac Faraday from the Mac Faraday Mysteries, in the widely-acclaimed and best-selling Three Days to Forever, which was released in January 2015.

The match-up surprised even the author. “I thought long and hard about bringing Murphy and Jessica together,” Lauren confesses. “I had developed each of the characters separately. Murphy appeared in my very first book, A Small Case of Murder. At that time, he was only sixteen and his mother had recently passed away. Jessica appeared briefly in Old Loves Die Hard and I had no thought while writing that book of pairing her up with Murphy. I was as surprised as anyone when their characters ended up being a perfect match in Three Days to Forever.”

A perfect match they are! Lauren Carr’s newest series is hot and sexy, like her newest detectives. Lauren warns, “Some readers may be surprised to see that I push the envelope just a little bit more in The Thorny Rose Mysteries than I do in my other series. Due to the combination of my detectives’ youth and the environment (the Nation’s Capital), it was virtually impossible to keep things completely pure.” Some readers may notice a few more curse words (no F-bombs allowed!) and sexual references, which Lauren will confine only to the Thorny Rose Mysteries. “What can I say?” Lauren says with a sigh. “Washington, DC, is not Spencer or Chester.”

In this first installment of the Thorny Rose Mysteries, the Lovers in Crime join newlyweds Murphy Thornton and Jessica Faraday to sift through a web of lies and cover-ups. Together, can the detectives of the Thorny Rose uncover the truth without falling victim to a cunning killer?

About the Author

An Amazon All-Star author, Lauren Carr is the creator of three popular mystery series: the Mac Faraday Mysteries, The Lovers in Crime Mysteries, and now the Thorny Rose Mysteries. Kill and Run is the first installment of The Thorny Rose Mysteries. Each of Lauren Carr’s mysteries have made Amazon’s best-seller ranking internationally.

In addition to her series set on Deep Creek Lake, Lauren Carr has also written the Lovers in Crime Mysteries, which features prosecutor Joshua Thornton with homicide detective Cameron Gates, who were introduced in Shades of Murder, the third book in the Mac Faraday Mysteries. They also make an appearance in The Lady Who Cried Murder.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This year, several books, over a variety of genre, written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services, which is currently accepting submissions. Visit Acorn Book Services website for more information.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Visit Lauren Carr’s website at www.mysterylady.net to learn more about Lauren and her upcoming mysteries.

Murder, Mayhem, and Integrity, a guest post by Lauren Carr

Lauren Carr joins us today with a guest post discussing the importance of maintaining integrity in the relationship between author and reader.  Here at MRM we are (im)patiently awaiting the release of the first book in Lauren's new Thorny Rose Mysteries, Kill and Run, available for pre-order on Amazon. Don't miss the trailer for Kill and Run at the end of this post!  If you can't wait for September, be sure to pick up the latest Mac Faraday mystery, Open Season for Murder.  Thanks for another great post, Lauren!

Murder, Mayhem, and Integrity

Guest Post by Lauren Carr

With the upcoming elections (yep, another one is coming up), the word integrity crops up. Usually it comes up because we see so little of it among those asking us to instill our trust in them. But that’s another post…

Believe it or not, readers look for integrity in their books. Maybe it’s because many readers dive into the pages of a book to escape the dishonesty and chaos of the real world. Their boss may mislead to them about an upcoming promotion. Their child may lie about taking out the garbage. Their husband may fib about how good that tuna casserole was.

But Agatha Christie lie? Never! And if she did? Well, let’s just say readers will forgive their husband, to whom they have vowed to love and honor, faster.

Sure, the killer and suspects are all liars. How can you have a murder without deception? Yet, there is one person in a murder mystery who the reader counts on being honest to them.

That person is the mystery writer.

Ironically, in mysteries where lack of integrity is often the root in the motive of a major crime, readers trust that the author laying it out will have a sense of fair play. We mystery authors set up the playing field and challenge the reader to a game of who done it. The goal is to catch the killer before the author reveals him or her. If the reader uncovers the murderer too easily, then the game wasn’t enough of a challenge and it is not as much fun.

But, if the solution is revealed to show that the author has not played fair, then the reader feels betrayed, not unlike a driver getting a traffic ticket for not noticing the speed limit sign tucked fifty feet off the road and hidden under a boulder.

A couple of years ago, I was on a panel where an author recalled reading a book in which she had assumed the two main characters, a couple, were a man and woman. At the end, it was revealed out of left field that they were a homosexual couple. Finding no hint of this throughout the book, she literally threw the book across the room. That reader felt betrayed. Never would she trust that author enough to set foot into her virtual world again.

As a mystery author, I am as tickled as the reader when they say, “Hey, I caught that clue about the computer whiz in your latest book.” The reader feels clever for having caught the clue.

That’s okay.

My readers and I are playing a game. The purpose of a game is for everyone who participates to have fun. No one enjoys a game when one of the players is a cheat.

Lack of honesty on the author’s part is an intrusion into the reader’s virtual sanctuary. Readers expect authors to play fair. Even when a mystery writer is laying out the pieces of a complex mystery, readers expect there to be enough clues scattered about that when the solution is revealed they can go, “Oh, yeah! But of course! I missed that!”

Gotcha!

Together, the reader and author have a mighty chuckle. The author pulled a good one over on the reader. But, having seen the pieces that had slipped by, the reader can respect the author for a job well done.

Through my work with authors, I have come to discover that writers and readers alike have an amazing sense of integrity. We offer it and we also expect it.

Maybe it is because when an author writes a book, they are putting more than words on the page—they are putting themselves out there as well. It is like they are cutting open their hearts and offering it to their readers. They make themselves vulnerable for all readers to see.  If what they are putting on the page proves to be false, then they themselves prove to be false.

The very act of picking up a book (whether it be an actual book or a download onto an ereader) and opening up the pages is a gesture of trust for the reader. They are taking a step into the author’s world, fictional or non-fictional. Will it prove to be real? Is the author holding anything back? Do they have clues hidden up their sleeves? Will this be a worthwhile journey? When I leave, will I want to come back?

Not if it proves to be a journey of deception.   Then, the reader, feeling cheated, will end up hurling the book across the room and won’t pick up another one.

It’s like catching your husband eating another woman’s tuna casserole and liking it. Never again will you open up a can of tuna for that man again! 

Likewise, never again will a cheated reader step into a dishonest author’s virtual world. 

Praise for Lauren Carr’s Best Selling Mysteries!

"The author's stories are entertaining with well-rounded, appealing characters readers will wish to revisit with each installment in the series. Carr weaves humor into her mysteries and gives her main characters plenty of tender moments as they continue to bond. And bond they do; so much so that fans seeking to immerse themselves into the next story will feel like they have returned home." - Edie Dykeman, Mystery Editor, Belleonline

“Lauren Carr does a good job of moving the quirky storyline along nicely with an abundance of witty dialogue.  And you have no idea who the good guys are and who the bad guys are until the end." - Reviewer: Every Free Chance Book Reviews.

Kill and Run - The Thorny Rose Mysteries

Five women with seemingly nothing in common are found brutally murdered in a townhome outside Washington, DC. Among the many questions surrounding the massacre is what had brought these apparent strangers together only to be killed.

Taking on his first official murder case, Lieutenant Murphy Thornton, USN, believes that if he can uncover the thread connecting the victims, then he can find their murderer.

The case takes an unexpected turn when Murphy discovers that one of the victims has a connection to his stepmother, Homicide Detective Cameron Gates. One wintry night, over a dozen years before, her first husband, a Pennsylvania State trooper, had been run down while working a night shift on the turnpike.

In this first installment of the The Thorny Rose Mysteries, the Lovers in Crime join newlyweds Murphy Thornton and Jessica Faraday to shift through a web of lies and cover-ups. Together, can the detectives of the Thorny Rose uncover the truth without falling victim to a cunning killer?

Open Season for Murder

"Robin, it's me, Ashton."

Spring is in the air. In Deep Creek Lake, the burst of blossoms on the trees has the effect of a starting pistol in the race to get the resort area ready in time for the seasonal residents return to Spencer, Maryland.

In this latest Mac Faraday Mystery, Lauren Carr once again brings murder to the Spencer Inn, Mac Faraday's five-star resort located at the top of Spencer Mountain. "I have to confess," the author says, "personally I would wonder how the Spencer Inn hangs on to their five-star rating with all the murders that happen there."

Obviously, the high society guests in her book aren't worried about the Spencer Inn's mortality rate because they’re dying to attend the Diablo Ball, which is hosted by Mac Faraday's new bride, Archie Monday. An annual charitable event to benefit the Humane Society, the Diablo Ball used to be hosted by Robin Spencer, Mac's late mother, and would kick-off Deep Creek Lake's summer season.

"Naturally, in my book, the Diablo Ball truly is an event to die for," Lauren says. As readers have come to expect from every Lauren Carr mystery, Open Season for Murder delivers a punch even before the party invitations are put in the mail when uninvited guests begin RSVP'ing. 

Intrigued by a mysterious phone call, retired homicide detective Mac Faraday can't resist diving into the cold case of Ashton Piedmont, a young woman who had disappeared into the moonlit waters of Deep Creek Lake five years earlier. 

Mac quickly discovers that not only is the Diablo Ball drawing in A-listers from across the country, but someone is going to a lot of trouble to gather together suspects and witnesses connected to Ashton Piedmont and each one seems to have their own agenda for coming to Spencer.

When murder strikes, it is up to Mac Faraday and his friends to find the killer ... or is it killers? When it comes to murder in Deep Creek Lake, you never know. 

But readers do know this, if it's happening at the Spencer Inn, you know it's an event to die for!

About the Author

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday and Lovers in Crime Mysteries. Her upcoming new series, The Thorny Rose Mysteries will be released September 1, 2015.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This year, several books, over a variety of genre, written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services, which is currently accepting submissions. Visit Acorn Book Services website for more information.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.