Make Note of Rosalie Spielman

Greetings, noters!

Happy June to you all! My favorite season for writing is well underway, and I am enjoying its benefits to the utmost. I just received all my beta reader feedback for Too Much to Candle, so now comes the task of incorporating changes and polishing Hazel’s mystery adventure. Then, the manuscript is off to my editor! My goal is to have ARCs available by mid-July/early August. It’s always such a thrill to get the ball rolling toward publication.

I’m also working on Book Two in the Trending Topic Mysteries. Coco is the perfect character to spend the summer with. Even when she’s up against murder, she knows how to have fun. And last, but certainly not least, Book Nine (eek, nine!) in the Court of Mystery series is about 10,000 words deep. Jax has already arrived at her intended destination, and the mystery is just around the corner.

I get a lot of questions from readers about how I’m able to keep all my different characters organized in my head. Two things: I do a lot of notetaking, and I basically view my manuscripts as visiting with old friends. We usually don’t mix up our friends too much with each other, as everyone has their distinct personalities. That’s really how writing goes for me. Jax is Jax, Hazel is Hazel, Coco is Coco, and so on. Yes, there’s a lot to remember about them, but you tend to remember the important things about your friends.

Speaking of friends, I am delighted to introduce one of my good writing pals this week. She’s here celebrating the release of her new cozy mystery, Welcome Home to Murder.

So, without further ado…

A Bit About the Author: Originally from a tiny town in the Palouse region of Idaho, as a military brat, veteran, and military spouse (retired), Rosalie Spielman has moved more times than she has fingers to count on. Somewhere along the way, Rosalie discovered that she could make other people laugh with her writing. She enjoys reading to escape from the real world and hopes to give you the same with her stories. 

Welcome Home to Murder was released on 7 June and the next Aloha Lagoon story, Death on a Cliff, arrives 8 August 2022. Subscribe to her newsletter, "You Know the Spiel," at www.Rosalie-Spielman-author.com

Rosalie, thank you so much for stopping by Noteworthy as part of your book release celebrations. It’s wonderful to host you, and I’m excited for readers to learn more about your writing journey. Tell us, how did this all come about? When did you first feel like an “author?”

I played with the idea of writing for years. Then, when I had a story floating around in my head for years and mentioned it to a friend, she basically asked me what I was waiting for. It made sense—if not now, when? I started writing, learning, going to conferences, and co-founded a writing group. After a couple of years, I started getting more and more favorable responses from agents. I still preferred to call myself a writer, not an author at that point.

A few months after I signed with my agent, she posted about an opportunity to try out for the Aloha Lagoon multi-author series. I was in the submission phase for Welcome Home to Murder, so I figured, why not? I was accepted and offered a contract to write my first published book, Death Under the Sea. And that was when I really felt like an author.

I absolutely love the advice your friend gave and how it prompted you into action. I think, for so many aspiring writers, that kind of encouragement is what folks need to hear. So, how did you first begin writing Welcome Home to Murder? What did the outlining/brainstorming process look like?

This book has taken several forms. It was originally a middle-grade detective dog book, with the point-of-view being the dog (yes, really). It was chaos. I actually queried it, and it was way too soon to have been trying that! I put it away and turned to a new idea and then another one. I learned a lot from writing those books. Then I decided to give that first story another try, and used the dog detective book as the starting point for the current book. Nothing of that original book remains—the characters, plot, and location changed gradually and some aspects, repeatedly. I finally realized the character needed to be a veteran returning to her hometown. . . and definitely not a four-legged creature.

I’ll admit, I’m intrigued by a dog-detective book, but I’m so glad that your writing process eventually led you to the cast and setting of Welcome Home to Murder. The creative process really is astounding. I remember querying my first manuscript back when I was in college, and it definitely was TOO SOON to be doing such things. Live and learn, right? What was the biggest challenge that you encountered while working on Welcome Home to Murder? How did you overcome it?

Welcome Home to Murder was completed a few years ago and was the book I queried agents and then editors with. At that point, it had a paranormal subplot that I loved. I got mild interest, but it wasn't until I removed that paranormal subplot that I got serious interest from agents. That was a bummer but was done in the interest of getting my foot in the proverbial door. I know a lot of writers are very insistent about their writing being all theirs, but agents and editors know the industry better than a new writer does. I'm not saying don't write your heart, but also be educated on your genre as well as the industry. Publishing is a business and rejections aren't personal, and that needs to be understood in order to survive the traditional querying process.

In everything I've written, my biggest struggle has always been length. I tend to write short, but manage to beef up the manuscript in editing.

Rosalie, I want to reiterate your invaluable statement to readers: Publishing is a business and rejections aren't personal. Noters, if you are gearing up to query your work, please, please, please remember Rosalie’s advice. It can be a very rough, disheartening experience if you take everything personally.

Rosalie, which of your characters is the most fun or easiest for you to write? Who is the toughest? Why?

The characters that are the most fun are the side characters, they get the best lines and do the crazy stuff. The hardest is, well, any character that someone in my real life could think is based on them. . .

Oh goodness, I hear you on that one. I have family members who think characters are based on them, and it always makes for interesting conversation at a reunion. Taking a step back and looking at your love of writing and books, what novel made you first fall in love with reading?

My first literary love was Little Women, but it was read to me. The first book I clearly remember reading by myself repeatedly was Island of the Blue Dolphins. I checked it out so many times that the school librarian stopped letting me check it out, saying other kids needed a chance to read it. I won the reading award for my grade that year. No one was even close to my number of pages read.

I absolutely loved Island of the Blue Dolphins. Such a beautiful story. And reading challenges are the best! Give me that over the Presidential Fitness Challenge any day LOL

All right, let’s have some fun. What word can you never spell correctly the first time around?

Oh my gosh, I was just talking to my husband about this. The word I can never spell is lieutenant, which is especially embarrassing because I was a lieutenant in the US Army! Granted, I don't write that daily, even when I was active duty. (We used the abbreviations 2LT and 1LT for Second and First Lieutenant, and yes, I spelled it wrong writing it just then.) Usually, it's the "ie" vs "ei" words that get me—thank goodness for autocorrect! I'm a good speller, but my fingers don't always listen when I'm typing fast.

I feel SEEN, Rosalie. I can never spell lieutenant, and I use it quite frequently in my Court of Mystery series. I usually end up copying it from Google and just pasting it into the story as I type. Thank you for making me feel like I’m not alone. Tell us, what are three things that are always on your writing desk or around your writing space?

Well, considering I am typing this with a cat on my lap, I will have to say one is a cat. He typically ignores me until I am really into what I am writing, then he'll come and plop himself on my keyboard. On the keyboard! So, while he is often in my writing space (and personal space), he isn't exactly conducive to finishing the manuscript…

I always have something to drink nearby, like water or a juice (grapefruit or coffee bean), and necessary for the hot beverages is my mug warmer. Best purchase ever! Otherwise, I'd constantly be reheating my coffee and not finishing it until dinnertime.

I’m going to ignore the bucket of chocolates for the sake of my self-esteem and say my last thing is not a tangible one: I work best with background noise, and usually have the TV on, but not to something I can't not watch. Pre-COVID, I used to work in coffee shops a lot for the same reason—it's like part of my brain needs to be distracted so the other part can focus. So, one of my things is…noise!

I applaud you for being productive around distractions. I lose focus too easily when there’s noise. I’m intrigued by this mug warmer you’ve mentioned…is it your favorite, can’t-live-without writing tool or do you have a writing program that you swear by?

I use a free app called Word Tracker to track my word count progress, and considering how many deadlines I have, it's no surprise I refer to it daily. I use it like a challenge to see if I can beat the daily goal and keep my eye on the end goal at the same time. It is pretty basic but has a line graph and keeps the percentage of completion for me.

For promotion and marketing, I love Canva and will spend hours creating graphics, some of which are never seen.

Oh, Rosalie, don’t get me started on Canva! Hands down, the most life-changing application I’ve used in my author career. I absolutely love it and encourage all authors to check it out. It’s such an amazing tool for creating professional-looking promotional materials.

And now, for our final question: You stumble across a dead body. What book character are you alerting first? Why?

I'd probably text Auntie Akamai from my first book, Death Under the Sea. She's clever, has lots of connections in the community, and is fearless! Plus, her parrot Paulie is great comic relief with his foul mouth. (Or should I be corny and say "fowl" mouth?) Auntie Akamai and Paulie are back in Death on a Cliff, coming this August!

Please, always be corny, Rosalie. The world needs more puns! And thank you so much for being on Noteworthy today. It’s been a delight to have you and learn more about your writing world. Welcome Home to Murder is available now!

Welcome Home to Murder: Tessa Treslow never wanted a small town life. As soon as she graduated high school, she happily escaped her tiny town to join the U.S. Army, leaving New Oslo, Idaho, population 852, firmly behind her. Twenty years later, the hometown hero is finally ready to come back—even if she has just a visit with loved ones in mind while her family is hoping to convince her to stay for good.   

With her fawn boxer dog, Vince, in tow, Tessa falls into the unsettlingly familiar small town life, helping out in her family's general store and her feisty Aunt Edna's auto body shop. But her peaceful homecoming is suddenly shattered when the dead body of a crooked con man turns up in her aunt's shop, and the police have some serious questions for the family. To make matters worse, the sheriff in charge just happens to be Tessa's ex-boyfriend... and things did not end well between them all those years ago. When it comes out that the con man was trying to get his hands on the family business, Tessa knows they're in trouble. 

With her family in danger of being dragged away in handcuffs, Tessa becomes a woman on a mission to find the con man's killer. Between a slew of suspects, a meandering moose, and a handsome newcomer with his eye on Tessa, she has her work cut out for her. But when the killer changes tactics—putting everything her family holds dear in jeopardy—Tessa begins to realize what home really means to her. Can she be the hero for her hometown once again... before it's too late?

Noters, have you ever had a project go in a completely different direction, much like Rosalie’s first draft of Welcome Home to Murder? Let us know in the comments!