“New” book coming from Lee Killough

Killough-DoppelgangerGambit2Books We Love will shortly be publishing a new…well almost new…e-book by Lee Killough.  Years ago I wrote three science fiction books featuring a pair of detectives…Janna Brill and “Mama” Maxwell. Strange name for him but it popped into my head as I was looking for a name for him and Mama he became and stayed. She’s the tough by the book detective; he’s the unconventional and intuitive partner. Not very original now but back in the 70’s when I wrote The Doppelganger Gambit it seemed a novel twist. I was re-publishing my old print titles as e-books to give them a second life and reading these three books, the characters and plots still seemed sound. So, I thought…update the tech a bit (because what seemed futurist in the seventies pre PCs and cell phones and tablets was soooo stone age) and we’re good to go. Right.

Somewhere I read the statement: What man makes, remakes man. As I worked out the tech, building on what we have right now, and applying that to the story, I discovered how true that statement was. New tech didn’t just affect criminal investigation, it changed the whole society they’re in. So an “update” turned into a two-year job where I ended up writing virtually a new book. Same characters, same crime, same bad guy, and even similar sequence of events, but much different scenery along the way, if you will. I’m hoping readers will enjoy it. But we’ll just have to see.

Cons I’m attending this year

I’ve signed up for several cons this year.
May 3-5 Demicon in Des Moines
May 24- 26 ConQuesT in Kansas City
June 28- 30 Soonercon in Midwest City (by OK City)
October 4-6 FenCon in Dallas…looong drive to Dallas from here but my sister Kris is going with me. Our first road trip together ever. Should be fun!

I Love Three Things About Fall

I Love Three Things About Fall.
• The gold and orange of the trees.
• Arranging my tabletop haunted Halloween village.
• Reading ghost stories by the fire.
Actually I love reading (and writing) ghost stories all year. But fall is especially fitting because the darkness gathers earlier. The cool air stills to apprehension. The fog rises to cloak the world in mystery, again.
With my collections of ghost story books from assorted states and abroad, I have plenty of ghost stories to read. Yet, I’m always looking for more—fiction or non-fiction. Today I found a wonderful fiction tome in the public library:
THE WEIRD: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer and published by Tor.
Intrigued, I snatched it up and carried it home. It’s a collection of weird stories from the nineteenth, twentieth, and early twenty-first century, and it’s filled with the genre’s great authors—Bierce, du Maurier, Bradbury, Oates, and King.
In the ‘Foreweird’ Michael Moorcock explains that “There are no established rules for the weird tale, which is . . . the attraction, if the story an author wants to tell can’t readily be told in an established form.” In other words, there is no set definition for the weird genre. All the better to imagine . . . the strange and dark. . .
I’m familiar with a few of the stories in the book, but most are new to me. I’m looking forward to some good reading.
I’ll also be reading a favorite of mine this fall: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING THE PARANORMAL NOVEL from publisher Dragon Moon. It’s for writers of weird fiction. I count it as a favorite not just because I contributed, but because there is useful information in it. I always learn something about the weird when I dive in to read this paranormal writing guide. I emerge inspired.
Stacking these books on the floor, I settle into my chair to savor reading about the eerie and unreal, to enjoy writing the weird and uncanny, from the safety of my fireside, and within sight of my haunted Halloween village.
So . . . Dear Readers join me in reading this fall and if you will, keep an eye open for my new weird tale: ‘The Spirited Chessboard’ soon available at Amazon and Smashwords.
Linda Madl
October 2012

Building Your Story (How To)

Saturday, June 23rd, 2012

Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library

Building Your Story

Come join Lee Killough, Linda Madl, and Sheri L. McGathy for a “how to” morning of World Building, Character Development, and a bit of Show vs Tell. Lee will give you the foundation for crafting your world while Linda will discuss the how to’s of character development. Sheri will explain the differences of showing verses telling in your work. Finally, you’ll get a chance to put it all together.

Then, Saturday afternoon, Lee, Linda, and Sheri will present readings from their various works, and discussion various writing techniques from The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Novels.

Appearance – Writing about Bumps in the Night and Other Frights

Writing about Bumps in the Night and Other Frights

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 at 1:30pm

Gardner Neighborhood Library

137 E Shawnee Street

Gardner, KS 66030

In the spirit of Halloween fun, Kansas authors Lee Killough, Linda Madl, and Sheri L. McGathy discuss their fascination with the supernatural creatures, fantasy beings, and ghosts that inspired their writing. The authors will read from their works and answer questions about their writing and the things that give us all goose bumps.

Lee Killough is published in sci-fi and is known for her supernatural and urban fantasy mysteries. Linda Madl is published in historical romance and short stories, including several ghost stories. Sheri L. McGathy is published mainly in fantasy and has earned several awards for her work.