Happy Halloween.

So, as hubby carves the pumpkins into Jack o’ Lanterns, I’m upstairs in my office sipping another fresh cup of coffee, and loving life.

I came to an epiphany today. With all of the talk on the loops and blogs about self doubt, numbers, print runs, reviews, digging deep for that character, and just all around keeping yourself motivated it occurred to me, any and all neurosis I have suffered to this point is 100% self induced. I have stressed over things in which I have absolutely no control.

Here is what I do have control of: What I write. Period.

This brings me to the end result of a book. The readers. How do we as authors reach out and touch them?

One avenue is the internet.

When we begin this internet adventure we hope to build a reader base.
While I can blog, and blog hop, while I can give advice on loops, attend RWA meetings and conferences and give workshops, in many ways I’m preaching to the choir. Not that the choir doesn’t read and buy books, but the choir is a small concentrated portion of all readers. It seems to me viral marketing takes up entirely too much time. I mean think about it. Of the author blogs you visit, how many of them do you actually buy their books?

So here’s the question: Do I stop haunting the internet? Or could my time be better spent, say writing the best book I can and allowing my publisher to do what publishers are supposed to do?

In answer to the first question: no. Why? Because I happen to like people. I like to visit certain blogs and loops, it’s like visiting friends, and for that reason alone, I won’t stop.

The answer to the second question is, yes. I can spend time I would use on the net to better hone my stories. And so I will. It is what I have control over. I’ll reach readers more effectively with a great story about lasting characters. I’ll stop worrying about numbers. They will be what they will be. My internet net will no longer cast further then it is now, in fact, I will draw it in some.

Will I still do signings and events? Of course, it’s my social nature. But my time will be very carefully measured.

I feel so much like I have the weight of the world aka: worry, off my shoulders.

What do you do when you feel like you’re about ready to explode from frustration or worry? Do you do what a friend of mine does? She goes off to self medicate. If so what do you do to self medicate?

PS, the final Scent-u-ous question will be posted Friday.

K*

Can you explain how an Internal Investigation works? What would trigger IA and what happens when a cop is ‘on the radar’?

Internal Affairs is supposed to be how a police department polices itself. IA investigates complaints against police officers. These complaints can come from outside of the department (citizen) or from within (supervisor, fellow officer). The assumption should always be innocent until proven guilty but the opposite is often applied.

When IA receives a complaint, it is their job to establish whether or not the complaint is valid and if there is any wrong doing on the part of the officer in question. Did the officer violate the law or perhaps violate a departmental order?

Like any other investigation, witnesses will need to be contacted and interviewed as well as the officer involved. Normally, you want to talk to everyone else before confronting the officer, so that you have an idea of the direction you are going to take with them. Interviewing everyone else first may establish up front that there is no crime or violation. In my opinion, a good IA investigator will give the officer notice that he is being investigated well before he is interviewed. However, if the complaint is major and could involve criminal prosecution, it would be better to hold off until prepared to interview the officer.

Where the suspicion of criminal activity exists, the officer is normally advised of his rights prior to any questioning. In many departments, although you have the right to silence, the officer is advised that if he exercises that right, he will be terminated. It is a condition of his employment to cooperate in such investigations. The officer will normally have his association representative and his attorney present at the interview. The rep is there to protect the officer’s rights as specified in the contract agreement between the Police Officer’s Association and the city. The attorney is there to protect the officer’s civil rights in the event of criminal action.

The IA investigator always sets the tone of the interview and it is apparent early on which direction it is going to go. I have been in IA’s where it was very relaxed and the investigator had already established my innocence and I have been in those where it was clear from the get go, a witch hunt was under way. Either way, you gotta ride it out.

When an officer is on their radar, IA will be relentless about going after them for even the most minor of infractions. No one I know wearing a badge is perfect and mistakes are going to be made. With the normal guy/gal, they are verbally corrected with a supervisor and sometimes even documented on a Sergeant’s log. If IA is after a guy they’ll take that Sergeant’s log and turn it into a formal departmental complaint. If IA is after a guy, they will advise all supervisor’s that any infractions witnessed or reported regarding the officer be documented and forwarded to IA for review. To be under that microscope is a very uncomfortable place to live.

The bottom line is that if they truly want you, they will find a way to eventually get you. I have seen it done to officer’s and have personally lived through the experience. I have seen good officer’s careers ruined by these guys as well as bad officers get cut from the herd. Unfortunately, some IA investigators love what they do or see IA as an opportunity to make their bones and get promoted. “See, I’m not afraid to go after a fellow officer.” Some are so good at it, they even get hand selected to handle special or sensitive cases involving supervisors. The rank and file for the most part understands the need for this unit but has little respect for the cops that work it, especially those that specifically apply for it.

Have you ever been under the microscope? How did you handle it?

Thank you, Officer Friendly!
Remember if you have a question please email me @ Karin@KarinTabke.com

EMPOWERING CHARACTERS’ EMOTIONS

INSTRUCTOR: Margie Lawson, M.S.
November 1-30, 2006
Cutoff date to receive registration and payment: October 30.
Workshop Registraiton: $25.00 U.S.D. www.writersonlineclasses.com

Empowering Characters’ Emotions:

If you want to enhance characters’ emotions, learn the nuances of body language and edit for emotion, this is the workshop for you. The following topics will be addressed:

The full range of nonverbal communication: Kinesics, Haptics, Proxemics, Facial expressions, Paralanguage . . .
Proprioceptive stimuli, Involuntary physical responses
Ideomotoric shifts
Mirroring, Communication Accommodation
Levels of intimacy, Love signals
Nonverbal gender differences
Emotional authenticity
Backloading
In-trancing the Reader
The EDITS System
Basic, complex, empowered, and super empowered passages
Backstory management
Writing fresh . . .
Projecting Emotion for a Non-POV character
Carrying a Nonverbal Image Forward
Objective Constructs

INSTRUCTOR BIO:
Margie Lawson holds a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology with a two-year concentration beyond her master’s degree, specializing in psychiatric counseling and nonverbal communication. Her resume includes college professor, clinical trainer, sex therapist, Director of an Impotence Clinic, hypnotherapist and keynote speaker.

Margie merges her two worlds, psychology and writing, by analyzing writing craft as well as the psyche of the writer. She developed new psychologically-anchored editing systems and techniques which hook the reader viscerally. A frequent speaker at writing conferences, Margie also presents 1) Empowering Characters’ Emotions, 2) Deep Editing: Rhetorical Devices, The EDITS System and More, and 3) Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors in high-energy one and two-day workshops to writing organizations nationally.

To register for the November course, go to www.WritersOnlineClasses.com OR email info@WritersOnlineClasses.com

WritersOnlineClasses.com accepts personal checks or money orders (US FUNDS ONLY!).
Please make checks payable to:
Mary O’Gara -and mail to-
1208 San Pedro NE, #188
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Electronic Payments accepted via Paypal.
After logging on to paypal, Email electronic payments to:
Paypal@WritersOnlineClasses.com

Lectures from Margie’s courses are also available as Lecture Packets through PayPal. Check her web site for more information, www.MargieLawson.com or, e-mail margie@margielawson.com

Justin Knupp of Stonecreek Media, (my most awesomest web designer) is giving an
online class on what you need to know about websites. You need to register
by Oct. 25 at Low Country Writers.

If you’re thinking of starting a website, I recommend it.
Here’s the blurb from the Low Country site:
**
*November 2006 — From Beginners to Bestsellers – What You Need to Know About
Websites
Presented by: Justin Knupp
Dates: 3 Week Workshop — Tues – Mon, November 7 – 28
Registration Deadline: October 25, 2006*

Course description:
Most people agree a website is a must for an author—often the single best
promotional tool. What many have a harder time figuring out is how to design
the most effective site. Whether you want to do it yourself or hire someone,
some basic knowledge on design, marketing and technology is necessary. When
you’re busy writing books, it’s easy to put your website on the back burner,
but your readers and potential readers could be looking for you online
today. This class will cover topics such as domain names, hosting, elements
of good graphic design, various web design software, website tips and common
mistakes. If you already have a website, there are plenty of tips to pick up
to make yours even more effective. Throughout the course, you’ll have the
opportunity to prepare the content for your website, so whether you build
your own or hire a professional designer, you’ll be ready to get online. At
the end of the class, you’ll have a completed site outline detailing site
concept, pages, content and graphical presentation. This document will be
perfect as a reference point for building your site yourself or to take to a
professional web designer.

Instructor bio:
Justin Knupp of Stonecreek Media, husband of author, Amy Knupp

I can’t recommend this company high enough.

K*

haha, how is that for a play on words?

Okay, so that good news I’ve been eluding to came Monday. I sold two historicals to Pocket. Whoo hoo! I would have mentioned it sooner, but we’ve been hammering out details all week long. I think we’re good to go. I’m looking at 2008 release dates. And the other good news is, I don’t have to write under a nome de plume. When I asked my agent about it she said, “No, we are building YOUR NAME.” Okay, got it.

Now as far as a call goes, I’d like some info from you all. While my tbr pile is more like a tbr Leaning Tower of Pisa, I’m not all together sure I want to waste my time of some of those books.

So, I’m calling out for recommendations. I want to read great books!!!!!! So what have you read that I will love?

ciao and thanks in advance,

K*

Dear Officer Friendly,
How does it work if say a police department in county A has a warrant for a bad guy who they know is living in county B? Do they just go in or is there some type of protocol to be followed? Thanks.

Good question. It all depends upon the nature of the warrant. If this regards a high profile case, the issuing agency will usually want to serve the warrant themselves. Protocol and common sense suggests advising the host department where the warrant is being served, that you are doing so in their town. This way, in the event of things going wrong and John Q. Public dialing 911, at least the host department knows what is going on.

Early one weekday morning, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agency, which will remain anonymous, came into our town to serve a federal warrant. They got into a shootout and the 911 board lit up with phone calls. Unfortunately, they didn’t advise us they were serving the warrant which lead to a couple of tense moments with cops and feds pointing guns at each other.

With regards to lesser warrants, the issuing agency will normally send a teletype to the host agency, advising them that they hold an outstanding warrant for the bad guy living in their town and asking that host agency to serve the warrant.

Dear Officer:

Why is it always said (on the TV programs, I guess) that motive is the
LEAST important ?

Motive is always important to a case, especially when it gets to court and the D.A. is trying to show the jury why the defendant would want to have committed the crime. Evidence and eye witnesses are always going to be the strongest parts of the case but a jury needs to understand the why of the crime. “Gee, he seems like a nice enough guy. I can’t believe he would do such a thing. Why, would he want to do such a horrible thing?” He did it for money. He did it for love. He did it out of jealousy. “Ah, now I see. The dirty rat!”

I received a question this week regarding Internal Affairs investigations. Due to what will be a lengthy answer, I’m going to save that question for next week, so, don’t forget to tune in…

Last week I talked a little about Hollywoodisms that bug me on TV shows and in the movies. What have you seen TV/movie cops do that you know is a Hollywoodism and bugs you?

At 3:30 this am I turned in the revised version of SKIN to my editor. For the past three weeks I have been on a roll, staying up late, plugging away. I like it, I love it, I want some more of it! I don’t know what it is about the manic crunch of the process but it works for me. If I were given 3 months to do revisions, I’d do them in the last three weeks. My editor must know this about me. I love to slam, to work on a tight deadline, to feel the pressure.
For me the pressure of writing is as good as it gets. The pressure of promoting the book is hell for me. Hate it!

So, this week I will spend catching up on chapters for my CP’s, doing some tedious promo stuff, catch up on my reading, and taking it easy. Monday? I begin my novella for the Pocket anthology I’m in with Allison Brennan and Rocki St. Claire. I’ll have it written and polished by the end of the year.
I have several other books slotted to write and will know more later this week as to their timeline. I will of course share that news as soon as I can.

So, I’m enjoying a big-ass chocolate chip cookie and a triple venti latte at the moment, and thinking I might treat myself to some really good take out tonight.
I’m also going to rummage through my TBR pile, and curl up with a good read tonight.

Out of curiosity, what works for y’all? Do you like to take it slow and steady, or go balls to the walls? How do you deal with self-imposed deadlines or deadlines from your agent or editor? And when your story is in the can, what do you do for yourself to celebrate?

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Officer Friendly’s informative and entertaining take on law enforcement.

Ciao for now, ladies and gents.
K*

GOOD GIRL and Cosmo hit the stands!!!
I’ll post a copy of the cover as soon as I can hijack one!

K*

What color is Bubba?

I’ll be back next week en force once I get my revisions off to Lauren. I also hope to have some exciting news to share.
In the meantime, have a safe weekend.

K*

Due to a large volume of questions this week (Officer Friendly is getting quite popular) I’m pulling the first set of three that came in. The balance of questions will be answered next week. And there is still room on next week’s blog for additional questions, so please don’t be shy.

So here we go:

Dear Officer Friendly,
How does a police officer become a detective?

In most departments, an officer must have been on the job for a certain length of time, pass a written examine and an oral board. In some of the larger city departments many are promoted to detective for a particular piece of work or body of work.

Okay, Officer Friendly, what does choir practice mean?

A ‘Choir Practice’ is nothing more than a gathering, almost immediately after a shift. It normally involves just the cops who worked the shift but could include outsides, predominantly females from outside. Alcohol is a staple at these gatherings. Food is optional. It doesn’t matter what time the shift ended, meaning Day shift would go early evening, Swings sometime after midnight, and Mids first thing in the morning. A choir practice can be held at someone’s home, in a park, at a bar, in an empty parking lot, a covered garage structure or any other damn place. Behavior is usually rowdy, loud and raucous. It’s a way to blow off steam, usually after a rough shift. Many a morning did Mrs. Friendly wake at 0830 to find a bunch of drunk cops partying in her backyard and pool. Ahh, those were the days…

Dear Officer Friendly,
Does an officer have to report the discharge of his weapon and what would be the procedure in the following situations:

a) Accidentally going off – i.e. didn’t mean to fire the weapon.

An officer should always report the discharge of their weapon and most departments will have a departmental order requiring them to do so. However, if the discharge occurred off duty and no one knew of it… Any on duty discharge would be reported to the Watch Commander. An investigation into the “accidental” discharge would result as well as any disciplinary action warranted.

b) Discharge of weapon on purpose but not shooting anything – e.g. a warning shot fired

For the record, police officers do not fire warning shots, this is a Hollywoodism. Again, any on duty discharge should be reported as described in answer A. i.e. Dispatching a wounded animal requires the approval of a Sgt. or Watch Commander. For a deer, which is not property, usually no report. Dispatching a dog, which could be someone’s property, the cop will probably have to write a short report to cover the incident.

c) Discharge of weapon resulting in the wounding or death of a suspect

Most definitely would be reported. The involved officer’s gun would be taken as evidence. They would get a mandatory three days off with pay. They would be offered but not forced to get counseling. The D.A. would run its own investigation into the shooting as would the department. The officer involved would be read his rights and thoroughly interviewed. The D.A. wants to make sure no laws were broken by the officer and the department wants to make sure none of their General Orders were violated.

d) Discharge of weapon resulting in the wounding or death of a bystander
See answer to question C.

If you have any questions pertaining to these questions or the answers, comment away.
Ciao,

K*