Cut It Out!

Dear Kids and all Readers,

Years ago, I started collecting cookie cutters.

I now have cans and bags of them for every season as well as some evoking the seashore, the farm, fruits and vegetables, and miscellaneous activities and objects.

Long before I had grandchildren, I envisioned making cut-out cookies with them someday to create fun, delicious, and memorable events; hence, the collection. Now that I have grandkids, I usually pack a fraction of my collection in my suitcase when I travel east just in case anyone is in the mood to bake. It never takes any persuasion!

Last month was no exception. For my grandson’s fourth birthday, I gifted him with three cookie cutters that I knew he would love: a train, a truck, and a sports car. He proudly “drove” them around the top to the coffee table! The next day, the sugar cookie dough was made and chilled. Then, he, my nine-year-old granddaughter, and I created some sweet magic. The little guy had fun learning how to position the cutters just right to optimize the dough between roll outs. Then, with his big sister’s help, he pressed down on each cutter and removed the excess dough to form the perfect cookie vehicle.

After a brief trip to the basement to take shelter during a tornado warning (!), we returned to the kitchen to sprinkle their creations with multicolored sugar, bake the treats, and devour them.

As a writer, I look for inspiration everywhere. It was natural, then, for me to think about the pros and cons of cookie cutters. They are excellent tools for crafting fun, delicious treats that can leave fond memories in the hearts of the bakers. But foisting cookie-cutter characters upon my readers is unacceptable! Why? Because readers should expect and writers should deliver characters that are deliciously three dimensional. Flat, predictable, cookie-cutter characters are boring and hard to relate to.

Readers, here is what to look for in well-formed book characters. And Teachers and Writers, here is how to bring your characters to life to support sizzling fiction. Ask yourselves my Baker’s Dozen Character Questions:

  1. What do the characters look like? What do they wear? Are they individuals or conformists? Is there adequate description so you can visualize them in a setting?
  2. What do their facial expressions and body language say about their joys and inner turmoil?
  3. How would you describe their personalities? Are more layers added as the book/series progresses?
  4. What do they say and think? Do their thoughts, words, or conversations sparkle, reveal deeper personality traits, and square with their motives and actions?
  5. What makes them tick? Do they have unique mannerisms, habits, hobbies, quirks, and/or witticisms that make them interesting–for better or for worse–while avoiding stereotypes?
  6. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Do they sometimes blur the lines between good and evil? These make them humble, sometimes stumble, maybe questionable or admirable, relatable human beings.
  7. What are their flaws, needs, and wants? These can further their relatability and help explain their motives, expectations, and actions.
  8. How do they treat others? This can give insights into their values, morals, and humanity.
  9. Do they make us feel what they are feeling so we can take deep dives into their motives and actions and our own?
  10. What are their backstories? These add context, interest, relatability, and understanding.
  11. Do they grow and evolve over the course of the story or series? This plumps dimensionality.
  12. Do they have strong, meaningful relationships with friends, enemies, family, pets, newcomers, and/or the community? These help us see into their hearts and souls.
  13. Do they serve a purpose in the story? Do they have an important role in furthering the plot? If not, jettison the clutter like so many burnt cookie crumbs!

I hope you find my characters in the Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries fully fleshed out and memorable, not flat! I try to make them 3-D and distinct in every book.

If you would like to add any ideas to the above Baker’s Dozen Character Questions, please email me at kidsauthor@sherrilljoseph.com. Please put “Cut It Out” in the subject line.

If you would like to learn more about how to avoid cookie-cutter characters as a reader, teacher, or writer at any skills level, check out K.M. Weiland’s book, Creating Character Arcs.

So, get a clue. Cookie cutters have their place, especially in the kitchen. They help us create delicious treats. But never expect them or use them to populate a book!

(Photo and ad credits: By the author. Here is a fraction of my cookie cutter collection. I do not share my grandchildren’s faces on social media, but in an image in the first ad, you can see a bit of the two making cut-out cookies last month using my grandson’s vehicle cutters and lots of colored sugar!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mentor: In Memoriam

Hello, Kids and All Readers,

Jacqueline Bouvier. Inveterate Reader–from childhood. Inquiring Photographer. Jackie Kennedy. Jackie O–a disrespectful nickname, I feel. Wife. Mother. First Lady. White House Restorer. America’s Queen. Influencer. Survivor. Writer. Editor. Grandmother.

These are a few of her names, titles, and roles. But to me, she was Mentor.

I met my mentor-to-be in my living room via television on January 20, 1961. I was eight years old. Her husband, the dashing JFK, had just been inaugurated as the thirty-fifth president of the United States. That day, at age 31, Mrs. Kennedy became the third youngest first lady in US history.

On the spot, youngster I was mesmerized by her elegance, sophistication, and beauty. But what truly tickled me was that an infant (JFK, Jr.) would be living in the White House for the first time since the turn of the century! Many in my family were abuzz over it. I remember secretly wanting to go to Washington, DC, to play with the two-month-old baby and his big sister, Caroline, age 3. In fact, I wanted to become their bigger sister! I decided that Mrs. Kennedy would be a wonderful “second” mom for me while I was visiting them. I did not realize yet how far away their house was from mine in California!

That day in 1961 began my lifelong admiration for Jacqueline Kennedy. As I grew, I watched her grow into her role as our stunning, intelligent, yet shy First Lady, who spoke four languages fluently, plus some German, Polish, and Greek. She was a proud Francophile and American who attended Vassar College and graduated from George Washington University with a degree in French literature. Her uppermost goal as First Lady was to raise her children as privately as possible for their well being. While living in a fish bowl called the White House! Can you imagine? But she managed it gracefully, working diligently to keep Caroline and John, Jr. away from the cameras whenever possible while spearheading the restoration of the president’s home, and Lafayette Park across the street. She petitioned her husband and Congress to send government funds to Egypt to help save the monuments at Abu Simbel, and brought Nobel laureates, the arts, and good taste to the White House. Years later, she saved New York’s Grand Central Station from the wrecking ball. Being very private herself, she declined nearly all requests for interviews for the rest of her life. If she were living today, she would not be sharing about herself on social media!

Shortly before my eleventh birthday in 1963, I tearfully watched a composed Mrs. Kennedy lead the president’s funeral procession, the world, and me through the dappled-gray windswept November streets of Washington with the horse-drawn caisson carrying the president’s flag-draped coffin, clacking over the avenue, to the beat of military drums. Then, she led us up the hill into Arlington National Cemetery to the cadence of bagpipes. I had never witnessed such courage, class, and fortitude as she nobly demonstrated during that epochal event. My mentor stood erect the entire awful, four-day weekend, which is seared into my memory forever. My heart still aches over it. After the funeral, Mrs. Kennedy returned to the White House, removed her black mourning veil, and individually thanked seventy-two heads of state for coming. Then, she quietly climbed the stairs to the living quarters and supervised a birthday party for her son, who turned three that same day his assassinated father was buried. Our First Lady was only thirty-four years old. She gave me goosebumps. But she taught me resilience, the need for continuity and dignity amidst chaos, and noblesse oblige.

Her bouffant hair styles and tasteful clothing choices continued to influence fashion worldwide long after she left the White House. In junior high, I took sewing classes for many reasons, one being to make those cute shift dresses she popularized. I had a closet full of them well into my teens and still favor that classic style. And in high school, I took French because Jackie Kennedy spoke it, befitting our mutual ancestry. I wore pearls and huge black sunglasses to imitate her style. In college, I majored in literature because she taught me the importance of its artistic, cultural, and historical scopes. After my daughter went off to college, I took horseback riding lessons because Jackie was an accomplished equestrienne. And she taught me to help preserve historic architecture and to write thank-you notes.

In my early thirties, about the same age Jackie Kennedy was when she became First Lady, I found myself a single mother. I looked to my mentor for support. She did not disappoint. I remembered two things she said when asked how she coped with raising her children without her husband present. First, she said she had resolved to continue “doing that which was right in front of her.” What was right in front of her? Her children. So, my attention became glued to my daughter. I quickly learned, as Jackie must have, that caring for children puts steel into your backbone, kindness into your heart, and priorities in the proper order. Second, Jackie Kennedy also famously said, “If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much.” Right! My course was set. I would walk in my mentor’s footsteps and try not to bungle raising my daughter. (If I do say so myself, my precious girl is a remarkable person, wife, mother, friend, and caring, professional woman. I think Jackie would be proud of her and me!)

Regrettably, I never had the privilege of meeting Jackie Kennedy in person but have made it my mission since childhood to learn all I can about her. Sheila Lowe, a writer friend and professional handwriting analyst, recently shared with me what Jackie’s signature reveals: My mentor was “elegant and warm, but basically a loner who showed little of her true self.” Well, I certainly mirror the loner aspect and will continue to strive for her elegance and warmth. Still waters do run deep for us both. And frankly, I would like nothing better than to kick my social media presence to the curb.

I think of Jacqueline Kennedy often but especially in May–not only because of Mother’s Day, but because the anniversary of her death is May 19. She has been gone from us physically since 1994. Yet, I continue to seek her in spirit and gallop to catch up. If I had not come to know her, I would not be the person I am today. How fortunate for me that her and my time on Earth overlapped! I know that I chose my mentor well.

Mrs. Kennedy, you wore many hats–in all senses of the term. And you left us the pillbox chapeau, your kind, articulate daughter, and a legacy far greater than you know.  Avec tous mes remerciements!

Dear kids and all readers, who is your mentor? What accounts for your choice? What have you learned from her or him?

To read more about the storied life of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, please click HERE. You will be taken to a webpage of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at <https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-jacqueline-b-kennedy>.

(All photos are from Wiki Commons and are in the public domain.)

 

Picture This!

Hello, Kids and All Readers,

Between working on Book 7 and all its related tasks, I’m keeping a decades-long promise to myself. Call it Spring Cleaning, Common Sense, or my Gift to my Descendants.

By choice, I became the repository of 150 years of family photos. You probably know where this is going. Three huge plastic tubs of my family’s pictorial history have been calling to me for almost fifty years. About ten years ago, I sorted them into year groups. Brava to me for that foresight because finally, I’m preparing the photos to scan onto flash drives.

My main reason is so my daughter doesn’t have to do it someday when I’m not around to provide the necessary backstories, identifications, and relationships. The other reason is that I can’t stand stuff and clutter! It’s time.

I didn’t realize the emotions this project would engender: Who was my great-grandmother and namesake, Annie Lavinia Sherrill Lanyon, really? I wish I had known her. Ah, those were the good old days when I was a kid! I had just met Nancy Drew, her chums, and their mysteries. I miss my relatives who are long gone. I wish we could all gather around the Thanksgiving table once again, and my grandmother would wrap me in one of her squishy hugs one more time. How can I have a daughter who’s in her forties now?  Wasn’t she just born a few days ago? And I even have grandchildren! (I’m not complaining.) And so on. And so forth. The big message that washes over me each time I return to the project is that time flies like the wind.

So, get a clue, dear Readers. It’s important to let those you love know it. Often. And ask them lots of questions while you can. Don’t take anyone for granted. And live in the moment! You’ll thank yourself someday. So might your descendants.

(All photos are the sole property of my family and me for our use only. Thank you.)

Literary Pretenders

Dear Readers,

For better or for worse, we live in an age of identity and accountability. How often have you started to log into a site only to hear or read, “Let’s be sure it’s really you”? Next, you receive a text or email with the magic code to enter and confirm you are you.

Despite these important safeguards, scammers, phishers, hackers, and cyberspies bombard us daily. Seniors are especially vulnerable. But so is any taxpayer. We work hard not to be those threat actors’ next victims.

So, with such real-life headaches and heartaches dished out by pretenders, why do we love to delve into crime and mystery books with more nefarious characters? To answer that question, let’s investigate three pretender types. The first, every crime fiction reader knows: The Impostor.

An impostor (the preferred American dictionary spelling) is a person who pretends to be someone else with the intent to deceive others, especially for fraudulent gain. They are grist for the crime or mystery story mill. Some famous tragic or humorous literary impostors can be found in these selected works: Patricia Highsmith’s successful The Talented Mr. Ripley series, L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz (the man behind the curtain), Peter Cameron’s Andorra, Nella Larson’s Passing (biracial mix-up), and many Shakespearean works, such as Twelfth Night (Viola), Measure for Measure (The Duke), and Othello (Iago). GoodReads has many more impostor-themed books to add to your TBR pile.

Literary impostors span centuries. They allow writers, readers, and moviegoers to explore themes of power, identity, and social roles. These impostors raise important questions about who we are, how we got that way, and where we wish to go. Through them, we might vicariously and safely experience a radical, inexpensive makeover and start a new life. Literary impostors, who send caution packing, can be compelling.

Another literary pretender is the doppelganger. The German word means “double goer” or “double walker.” This mysterious literary character can be an apparition or an evil double, clone, or dead ringer of a living person who is not related to that person but has the same facial features. There have been millions of actual doppelganger sightings worldwide over the centuries, giving rise to many equating them with evil omens. We remain fascinated by daring doppelgangers, as evidenced by such selected works as Anthony Hope’s The Prisoner of Zenda, Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Double, Vladimir Nabokov’s Despair, Daphne du Maurier’s The Scapegoat, Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, Robert L. Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Edgar Allan Poe’s “William Wilson.”

Doppelgangers have long enthralled writers, readers, and moviegoers because they provide fodder for intricate comic or tragic plots of mistaken identities. And the plots thicken when relatives or friends wrongly swear that a character is someone they most certainly know—but do not! These dangerous doubles can also help reveal a character’s dark or bright side. Those who have seen or wish to meet their doppelgangers or twins may especially relish this subgenre of pretenders.

We cannot omit the avenger. Unlike impostors and doppelgangers, avengers can be quasi or complete do-gooders, perhaps part of the “superhero” set. Avengers are characters often disguised (like impostors) or morphed into stronger versions of themselves. Their goal is to punish or inflict harm in return for an injury or wrong done to themselves or others. They draw swords or lightsabers, shields, and blood in the name of good, not evil. Avengers appear in these selected works: Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, Faye-Lynn Wu’s Mulan: The Legend of the Woman Warrior, Howard Pyle’s Robin Hood, Johnston McCulley’s Zorro series, Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Black Panther, Luke Skywalker, etc., etc., etc. (Most have film adaptations.)

Sometimes—but not always—avengers pursue the rich and the greedy. These pretenders might earn or be granted carte blanche permissions that readers or audiences tend to expect and applaud. No wonder fantasy, comics, and pulp literature are replete with avengers and that Hollywood continues calling. Cha-ching! These characters can be powerful, brave role models to help us become our best selves and transform the world into landscapes of peace and justice for all. Avengers make us smile, cheer, and unite when they vanquish the evil forces. Soon, we forgive and forget any vicious acts they committed in the name of their just causes.

For centuries, impostors, doppelgangers, and avengers have appeared in classic crime and mystery literature. But we still might want to remove these pretenders’ masks, check their IDs, and reveal them as criminals for indictment or heroes for laudation. Crime and mystery writers, readers, and film aficionados do just that. The genre seems to preordain it. So please keep the security line moving!

(Graphics credits:  The book covers within my ad and the Zorro image are from creativecommons.org and are in the public domain. The free graveyard image is from Valeria Boltneva on pexels.com.)

“Hoist the Jolly Roger!”

Ahoy, Kids and All Readers!

Yes, I’m still talking like a pirate. And for a good cause: The four detectives and I are busy writing the first draft of The Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton. And we’re having a jolly good time of it, too! Prepare for tales of cutthroat pirates, treasure galore, and pirate culture within a present-day mystery, releasing this fall.

This brings me to the flag–the Jolly Roger–hoisted aloft on some pirate ships toward the end of The Golden Age of Maritime Piracy. This flag still strikes fear into hearts, minds, and souls on sea and land. I incorporated some of its fascinating historical details you’ll want to read into the mystery.

During a lesson guided by the kids’ tutor, Bruce Wilding, the four detectives worked cooperatively to glean much information about the Jolly Roger. Here are highlights from their enthralling presentations:

LEXI–“We think of the Jolly Roger in connection with pirates. Even though The Golden Age of Piracy started around 1650, the Jolly Roger didn’t appear on pirate ships’ masts until around 1700. Vexillologists—scientists who study the history, symbolism, and usage of flags—aren’t certain where the flag’s name Jolly Roger came from. But there are several theories. It could have come from two French words joli rouge [jo-LEE-ROOJ], meaning ‘pretty red.’ The red color could have referred to earlier pirates’ red flags, also called ‘bloody’ flags, flown to warn their victims. Red meant ‘no quarter given’—no mercy for captured enemies. Another theory is that it might have come from the English word Roger, slang for a dishonest person, scoundrel, vagabond, or the devil! And Jolly could have meant that pirates saw themselves as happy-go-lucky. Over time, pirate flags in all colors became known as Jolly Rogers.”

MOKI–“From 1700 to 1730, the Jolly Roger was visible on most pirates’ ships. By then, the flags had a black field with various elements like a white skull and crossbones. Sometimes, images of red hearts, birds, daggers, hourglasses, and blood drops were included. But there wasn’t one standardized Jolly Roger for all ships. Pirate captains usually designed their own to send messages to make their enemies tremble. So, the white and colorful symbols on the black flags could be different. The skull and crossbones remained popular because those on land and sea recognized them as symbols of death.” In the story, Moki goes on to discuss six famous pirates’ unique Jolly Rogers.

RANI–“The flags were decorative, symbolizing ships’ captains and crews. Overall, the flags served important purposes. Pirates flew the Jolly Roger as their first weapon against their enemies. The frightening images flapping in the strong winds on the high seas or as ships entered ports seemed to scream, ‘Beware! We’re coming to get you and your treasures. There’s no hope. Throw down your weapons and surrender!’ A Jolly Roger was like a giant sign spelling out a pirate captain’s name and reputation. That alone could make merchants and other pirates give up without a battle. Not having to fight saved the conquering pirates time, effort, resources, their lives, and a large stockpile of treasure from previous plunders while adding what they just captured.” Rani continues by talking about the risks the pirates incurred by flying the Jolly Roger and the tricks they pulled with the flag.

LANNY–“The Jolly Roger has endured for over 300 years and is now associated with rebellion, adventure, and lawlessness. We see the flag on some clothing, wherever pirates are represented, in movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, and literature like Robert Louis Stevenson’s book Treasure Island. Various countries’ military branches have used it like some British naval submarines during World Wars I and II when returning home from successful missions. In the United States, some naval air squadrons still use the skull and crossbones insignia on their fighter aircraft, and the squadrons are called ‘The Jolly Rogers.’ The only U.S. naval ship authorized to fly the Jolly Roger is the USS Kidd, and the crew is known as the ‘Pirates of the Pacific.’ And some of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team’s uniforms still have Jolly Rogers on the sleeves. It isn’t illegal in the United States to fly the Jolly Roger on a personal boat, ship, or building. But you might have to deal with scared people misreading your intentions. The Jolly Roger seems to be in our culture to stay!”

So, go smartly there, all Readers, and get a clue! Do you hoist the Jolly Roger? If so, did you design your own? I hope you are looking forward to the release of Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton. As always, thank you for your ongoing support.

(Photo Credits, left to right: Harris Rigorad, Masha Mirra, Nati, and Mateusz Dach on pexels.com)

 

Were Pirates of Yore Literate?

Hello, Kids and all Readers,

You may be wondering why I’m writing about pirates. Perhaps you’re asking, “Who cares if pirates of yore could read and write?”

I do! And I hope you will, too. Here’s why:

As I write Book 7, Macadamia Street: Hidden Skeleton, in my Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series, I find that pirates are running rampant across its pages!

My new mystery with a twist of pirate history is set in Penzance, Cornwall. Many of my paternal ancestors were Cornish. I’ve traveled there only once–but not to Penzance. As a result, I’ve had to do extensive research to make my story authentic, interesting, and factual. The English town has a searing, centuries-old history of Barbary pirate raids, plundering, and kidnappings of men, women, and children to support the White slave trade in northern Africa.

My Macadamia Street mystery is centered on a present-day grisly, pirate-related discovery in a country manor house called Crow’s Nest Grange. Beginning in 1723, it became home to the earls of Stowesbury. Now that the tenth and last earl has died without an heir, the Stowesbury line is extinct. The earl has left the estate to his solicitors, Mr. and Mrs. Lamb. While beginning some restorations on their new, extensive property, the Lambs find what could be evidence of a pirate captain’s ship’s log from the early 1700s! That fictional pirate captain was One-Eyed Jack.

Enter the Botanic Hill detectives. They notice the writing on the two tiny paper scraps, possibly from Jack’s ship’s log, shows mostly illustrations but few words. Does that mean Captain One-Eyed Jack couldn’t read or write? The answer is important as it could help unravel more discoveries, questions, intrigue, and mysteries that crop up as the sleuths’ investigation progresses.

And that’s how I became interested in pirates’ literacy!

As you might suspect, some pirates of yore could read while others could not. According to author Rebecca Simon, “literacy rose during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in England and the North American colonies . . . thanks to the rapid expansion of print on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Since many pirates at that time started their dubious careers as educated, experienced sailors, then privateers–commissioned as legal agents of the British crown to plunder ships at sea–there is reason to believe many pirates were literate. Knowing how to read and write were essential skills onboard ship to keep careful records of weather conditions, navigation, crew members, treasure inventories, supplies, voyages, etc.

In addition, reading and writing were seen as major forms of entertainment then (and, hopefully, still are). Pirates frequented taverns and coffeehouses filled with printed matter to read for fun and enlightenment. And pirates surely liked entertainment!

But missing are nearly all pirate captains’ ships’ logs! Why? The captains themselves may have destroyed them to hide their crimes. Or those who captured and hanged pirates may have wanted to blot out the heinous deeds of the outlaws of the high seas. Sadly, there exists little proof of how literate pirates of yore were.

So, get a clue, readers. I hope you will devise interesting questions that require research. Unexpected mysteries and answers may bubble to the surface. Aargh!

(Photo Credits, left to right: Anthony, Pixabay, Cameron Rainey, and Zeyneb Allshova on pexels.com)