I have belonged to a writing group for about 4 years, the Brandywine Valley Writers Group (http://www.bvwg.org). At first, as I was finally concluding my first novel and looking for help in getting published, the group offered some benefit. As time passed and my first novel was completed, and a second and a third novel began to develop, either the group changed or I did. I know the group dynamics changed as people came and left, and my reasons for being a part of the group also changed. Not that I still didn't need some of the benefits a writing group can offer, but it is almost as though I have outgrown what this group can offer. What a group like this has to do is to evolve along with its members or the members, who evolve, will eventually look elsewhere for whatever new challenges and/or offerings they need at that time in their development. I guess groups such as this are very much like people -- people develop and grow and need more sophisticated knowledge than what they previously needed, much like a child grows and needs new and better knowledge in order to continue growing as a person. If the groups don't change and offer more challenging thought, then they stagnate and can only provide the same information to a new group of people who are passing through that part of their life -- a novice writer needs different information than a writer with experience so if the group remains a group for novices, then those that have moved beyond that will find another group. So, as one looks for a writing group, and I believe they can help writers evolve, look for one that is growing and where the people are ahead of you on the leaning curve.

I ran across an old friend yesterday, or more accurately, she ran across me. It had been 10 years since we last saw each other but it was like it had only been a few days - a very busy few days for her since she is now married and has a 6 year-old daughter. Be that as it may (whatever that means), its interesting how there are always some people with whom you never seem to lose the connection; people with whom you can just pick up where you left off. It is the people that make our world -- the events are just the backdrop. So much has changed in the world since we last saw each other, and yet, in many ways, not much has changed within each of us.

Just finished reading Serena by Ron Rash. A great book along the lines of Hemingway. If you like great character development, tied to history and a knack of showing the surroundings without being intrusive, then you'll love Serena -- well, maybe not Serena, herself, but you will love the book.

Today is a momentous day. Having traveled the world and seen many other political systems and ways of governing, I can honestly say, there is none like ours -- which I consider to be far above all others. Whether one agrees with who is the leader of our country, we had the option to vote, to argue, to defend, to campaign for and to openly support our choice, which all people cannot say. The fact that someone of a different color or creed can be elected to the highest office in the land says a lot about who we are and what we stand for. So, feel proud today of our forefathers and what they created -- a lasting system where people have options and are free to choose.

I joined the social networking site, LinkedIn, for business reasons, initially, but then decided I could also use it to expand my writing connections. It didn't take long before one of my writing contacts, Tom Coyne, author of "A Course Called Ireland (A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint and the Next Tee)," found me and linked on. I first met Tom about a year ago when I asked him to speak to our local writers group, The Brandywine Valley Writers Group. He is a fascinating individual, and a bit quirky, you'll find when you understand how his latest book came to be. But he is definitely an interesting and engaging person, and I highly recommend his books if you enjoy golf, enjoy what golf can teach -- beyond the course, and just enjoy a good, light read. Visit Tom's website at http://www.tomcoyne.com. Writers are a great group of people, for the most part, who are willing to share their stories and help fellow writers find their way.

Good story tellers don't follow "good rules for story telling," or at least I don't know any that do. They just know how to paint pictures with words, words and phrasing that keeps their listeners wanting more. So why are some writers so hung up on the rules? While its good to know the rules and what helps move a story forward and keeping it interesting, to adhere to rules over substance and word painting will prevent the story from doing exactly what you want, as an author -- holding the reader in your palm and taking them wherever they want to go. Just a thought.

It took longer than I expected, but I have finally finished "American Lightning" by Howard Blum. It is an interesting read in that it combines a bit of history with a bit of mystery. The book is not one that I would say is a "grabber" but it did hold my attention as it takes the reader back to a much different time in our country; one that tied unions with film-making and with people like Clarence Darrow. If you like historical novels with a bit of intrigue, you should find this one right up your alley.

I am continuing to read Howard Blum's turn of the 20th century true mystery novel. While it continues to have interesting information about a particular mystery and how several famous characters became involved, the read is difficult at times as it plods along at several points. Interesting, still, but not a quick read -- or at least not for me.

"The Talisman"

Excerpt from Chapter 1

Jace Neffi watched as the little man carefully worked. He appeared in no hurry; the small trowel moved lightly against the earth, scraping a fraction of soil, one pass and then another until the trowel caught ever so slightly, causing the man to hesitate a split second before lifting the trowel to scrape against the obstruction – a bone or something else? He was like a surgeon performing a very delicate operation – on a body long dead.

Voices chattered all around, being picked up by the microphone embedded in the camera. The little man’s voice quietly droned on – the surgeon of archaeology, explaining each move and its resultant effect, speaking loud enough so that his voice masked the cacophony of noises coming from the groups off to his left on the sun-baked burial mound in the background.

Jace intently watched the video as the little man began the delicate task of lifting the obstacle from around the neck of the skeleton; most likely one of Jace’ long ago relatives – a giant Susquehannock Indian. Jace could almost feel his DNA straining inside his body, reaching out to the dead warrior who stared out through his large, dark eye sockets on the monitor. Sacred ground, but who would sound the alarm when all his ancestors supposedly disappeared so many years ago? Jace certainly couldn’t, unless he wanted to announce that the line had not died out, that he may be the lone survivor to that once proud and fierce tribe.

He continued to watch, for the . . . how many times had it been now that he watched this same video, over and over again? He had lost track and he’d only had the video for a few hours. But each time he watched, he felt it told him more about what the finding of the object meant, what it was that he had to do to discover more about what the object could tell him – an object that appeared to be a medallion of sorts.

“Are you going to watch that all night or are you going to come to bed?” Angie leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed and that look of “are you at it again?” in her eyes.

“Yeh. I’ll be right there. Still can’t figure out why he sent me this without letting me know it was coming.” Jace’ eyes never left the screen; watching the little man, Professor Frank O’Malley, slowly remove the amulet from around the warrior’s boney neck.

“Or why he just didn’t bring it over or have me come over there.” Jace’ eyes remained glued to the flickering screen.

“Well, you aren’t going to find out tonight, unless you want to go over there and wake the poor man up – if he is even there.” Angie walked into the room and stood behind Jace, putting her hand on his shoulder, watching the Professor hold the medallion up as he told the camera what he saw and what he thought he could be holding.

“Can’t understand why he didn’t answer when I called earlier. Since his Maggie died, he doesn’t sleep much, so if he didn’t answer, he had to be out – but Frank just doesn’t go out at night anymore. Strange.” Jace took the disc from the computer and started the Shut-down process as he reached up with his left hand to touch Angie’s hand, now resting lightly against his neck.

“Other than the possibility of the burial mound being Susquehannock, I can’t figure why he sent it. I guess it will have to wait, as you said, until tomorrow.”

Jace got up from the computer, slipping the disc into its plastic case and turned off the desk lamp. He looked down at the disc before putting it up on the top shelf of the computer desk.

“Until tomorrow,” he said as he turned and followed Angie off toward the bedroom. He loved watching her walk, especially when she was naked – that little butt, so perfect, and her back, oh how he loved her back – smooth, delicately curved and inviting. Sleek was all he could think, almost like a lioness – femininely muscular, yet so soft and smooth, something only a God could create. One of these days, he thought, we just have to get married.

I have just finished reading the first few chapters of "American Lightning" by Howard Blum. Not my normal read but interesting just the same. The story, a true crime novel, takes place at the turn of the 20th century and links Clarence Darrow, with William Burns of the famous Burns Detective Agency, and D.W. Griffith, the man who revolutionized the film industry -- all brought together by the bombing of the Los Angeles Times building by union anarchists. The story meanders at times, but the history and similarities to other incidents in our Nations life are remarkable.

I recently finished "Nemesis" by Jo Nesbo, a Norwegian aurthor. If you are looking for a mystery with great character development, a very intriguing and intricate plot or plots, then this book should appeal to you. It is part of a series of mysteries featuring an alcoholic detective, Harry Hole (sounds like a name I would have found a place for in one of my mysteries, but since Jo has already used him, I guess I can't). Check it out.

Its Friday, its snowing and its writing time. Over this past summer, I lost something -- a desire to write. Well, not a desire, exactly - more so the itch to write, and I couldn't figure out why. And then, in September, the itch returned, and again, I couldn't figure out why. But now I konw. Writers need other writers to keep the juices flowing. Not just any writers, but writers that challenge, that encourage, that are really into the writing and not so much into the "form" or the "right way" to write. Well, its back. The itch, that is, and I'm writing full steam. It feels good.

A book seller told me about a woman who came into her store and asked if she had any posters of US sunsets. The Seller said she had posters but wasn't sure about any with sunsets and wasn't sure, even if she had any that she could guarantee they were US sunsets. As they were looking, the Seller remembered a calendar that she had in inventory that had nothing but sunsets seen from various places throughout the US, and asked if that would do. The woman looked at the calendar and was ecstatic and said that the calendar was absolutely perfect.

As the Seller was ringing up the sale, she asked the Buyer why it was important to have US sunsets. The Buyer said that she was from South Africa, which led the Seller to ask if the sunsets were that much different in the southern hemisphere, to which the woman replied that there was a difference but more importantly, the calendar was a gift to a woman in South Africa who was from the US and who the Buyer knew through her work.

The Seller asked what type of work the Buyer was in and the Buyer replied that she worked in a prison and that the woman for whom she was buying the calendar was a prisoner, who had been in the prison for 14 years and during that time, because of the location of the cell in which the US woman was held, the woman had not seen a sunset in all those 14 years.

I just thought I would pass this story on.

Writing -- good writing, is tough. I don't know how many times I have heard the comment, "Everyone has a book inside them just waiting to get out." Unfortunately, while that may be true, just getting the book out does not mean that it will be well written or ever read. Getting the book out, as tough as that can be, is the easy part. Getting the book out that is well written is difficult. For those that are serious about writing, you have to get serious about writing. There are few people who can pick up a pen, pencil or laptop and just immediately begin writing well. It takes practice, practice and more practice. It means reading about writing what makes good writing. It means talking to others who have gone down the same path and hearing what they have done to make themselves better. It means working at your craft, because that is what writing is -- a craft. It is an art form of expression. And, like anything else in life, if you want to continue to get better, you have to continue to work and learn. Learning is the key. It still doesn't mean your work will be read or published, but it does mean that your odds improve.

Query letters are harder than writing a novel. It seems every writer's website and book has the exact format that one needs to get the query letter read and enough interest raised to have the agent or publisher request the synopsis and 3 chapters. The only problem -- each source is tells the writer different things so that the writer end up more confused on how to write the query letter than enlightened.

With that said, I sent off a new version over the weekend. We'll just have to see how it goes. Of course I won't know, according to the agent's site, for another 2 - 3 months. So, I'll just keep using the new letter as I scout out agents that handle similar works.

God, this is fun.

Steve Berry, thriller writer, and I have been corresponding, which I find interesting since he is on a book tour that has him traveling all along the East Coast and out to the West Coast. But, he still found time to send a quick note. It just goes to show that the busier you are the more time you seem to find to keep in touch.

I do not understand "writer's block." Ideas for mysteries is not a problem for me. Nor is the writing of the mystery -- putting words down that flow and keep the story moving. I have more than enough ideas, so I do not understand writer's block -- at least as it pertains to coming up with ideas and putting them down on paper (heck, my first novel ended up, first draft, with over 150K words and I had to then work to rewrite it down to 120K -- so if anyone needs 30K words of description or dialog, give me a call -- I have more than enough).

The problem with my latest work, which involves a bit of history to bring the mystery to life, and which is not really a problem of writer's block, is to weave the history into the story without having long stretches of narative that helps the reader through the historical parts, which are critical, but to not bore them at the same time. I have started and stopped, changed and cut, moved and removed more than ever just to get the history in while keeping the mystery alive.

I am finding out that this is, in itself, a craft -- informing while keeping the edge to the story and mystery.

I wish I had started a writing career earlier so that I would have faced these issues a long time ago -- but it is what it is and I figure I still have a couple of decades left to produce. So I am having fun telling stories that I hope will be interesting and wanted by the public.

I went to a book signing the other evening. The author was Steve Berry, author of The Amber Room, The Templar Legacy, The Romanov Prophecy, The Third Secret and, just released The Alexandria Link. First off, he was entertaining and his story is a great one for all us struggling authors who are still looking for an agent and publisher.

More importantly, he had great advice for those wishing to publish. Keep writing, which is easier to say than sometimes do, but that is only part of his advice. But for that first part to be meaningful, one has to also follow the second piece -- keep honing your craft. Use each new work as a path for growth and improvement. Be critical of your own work.

We all know, deep down, when we have struck a great line, or great image or just a great scene. So, when you have finished your work, and mine happens to be the mystery novel, feel satisfied in your accomplishment but also review it to see how you can make the next piece better.

For me, what I have found is that I have to continue to work at tightening up my work -- how to say more in fewer words. My first try at a novel ended up being over 150,000 words -- much to much, by 20%, of what a publisher wants for both economic and readership reasons. So, I worked at cutting it down by 20,000 words. While I accomplished my goal, it would have been so much easier and probably made the end story more readable, if I had been able to write a tighter prose right from the beginning.

As for Steve Berry, he has a following, people who have read his works, who live to read the next work and who let him know when he has made a mistake in his history or references or in some small area of the book. I want that. I want people who enjoy my writings, who look forward to the next story, who are entertained and maybe even enlightened by what I have created.

The book signing went on much longer than is the norm because Steve Berry is entertaining. He enjoys talking to his fans and he makes them all feel as though he knows them and wants to know them better.

Keep writing Steve so I can keep learning.

One of the issues that I struggle with is the level of graphic description and language that I use in my work. On the one hand, a writer wants dialect that reflects the character – who he or she is, how that person with a particular background and psyche would speak. Also, you want the reader to feel, taste and smell the situation, to be repelled or shocked or drawn in so that they leave with the feeling that they were there, that they experienced what the characters experienced.

Conversely , you don’t want to go too far with the graphic description or language. You want the reader's imagination to become involved, letting the reader take the scene to a place that allows them to believe they were there – to feel the experience at a level that is comfortable or “comfortably uncomfortable” for them – letting them release that prurient and deviant being that hides inside, and that they can only let be acknowledged in the secrets of their mind through books and dreams.

Also, as a father, and even though my children are no longer children, you don’t want you children to read your work and get the feeling that their father is that person of whom he writes. After all, you want them to still respect you and not be embarrassed by what you may put out there for public consumption.

So, there is this dilemma that, as a writer, I wrestle with every time I put words on paper. They are, after all, only words. Yet, as words, they communicate, and you want them to communicate to the reader, allowing them to see a full human being, regardless of how nice or depraved they may be, without having those words also draw into question the character of the writer.

That is my dilemma. I am sure I am not alone with this dilemma, but when I have broached this subject within a writers’ group, I get strange looks. Maybe it is because the other writers write in more “mainline” or less edgy genre. Maybe I’ll find out someday.

My wish is that my first novel will get published and then I can concentrate more on my writing than on my business -- basically turning my writing into the cash flow generator. One of these days.

I have completed the first novel that is now with someone who has suggested that he can help me get published by introducing me to a NY Times best selling mystery author, which he did, and then she would take my manuscript to her publisher, which she has offered to do. The manuscript was too long for today's publishers, especially one from an unpublished author, so I cut it down to fit the requirements and then passed it to my friend. The problem is, he has been so busy that he has not had time to read it -- or he has read it and is reluctant to pass it along. I think, however, if it was the latter, that he would have told me.

So, I wait. I wait with a second novel 30% completed and a third, a collaboration with another writer, about 10% complete. The problem is, I could finish both if I had nothing else to do -- like make money.

I guess this is the life of the unpublished writer.