Dick Francis Is Gone

I was going to post something about Valentine's Day, but then I heard the news that one of my favorite mystery writers had died. I first read a Dick Francis' mystery many years ago from the high school library. I immediately searched for more of them. As soon as one came out, I had to read it.

I never tired of his characters, many of whom were ex-jockeys like himself. They had an admirable sang froid manner of dealing with whatever life handed out and rising above the evil and/or pain. Here's a link to an article about Dick Francis:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/7236708/Dick-Francis-dies-aged-89.html

I note that his son, Felix, plans to carry on writing novels. It will be interesting to see how well he does without his Dad's collaboration. Felix has some very large shoes to fill, figuratively speaking. Having been a jockey, I doubt if Dick Francis had very large feet. He may have been small physically, but his stature in the mystery community was great.

Though I never met Dick Francis, I'll miss him.

BE PREPARED By Morgan Mandel

As I rushed to get ready for work,I was glad I listened to the weather forecast last night - rain and lots of it was predicted. I already had a rain coat, umbrella, cap, and extra plastic cover for my computer case ready. My grubby, ugly gym shoes were also ready instead of the nice, clean white ones.

It turned out it wasn't raining as much as I thought it would, except under the trees where the accumulated water spouted out.

The catch is the heavy rain hasn't started yet. Remnants of the hurricane are predicted to hit Illinois. At least I'll be protected on the trip home.

When you're a writer, you also need to be prepared. Producing a grammatically correct, unique and spellbinding manuscript is not enough. You need to be ready for the future. That means starting another one right away and working extra hard to get it done.

Why? Because if a publisher or agent likes your manuscript, the next question will probably be, "What else to you have?"

If you have another one or two ready, especially if they're part of a series, you may be lucky enough to clinch a multi-book contract.

So, your book is finished. Don't just sit back, relax and congratulate yourself. Get back on the treadmill and do another.

Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com
http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com
http://morgansmultimedia.blogspot.com

LAST ONE OUT IS A ROTTEN EGG By Morgan Mandel

Being last out isn't fun.

My husband used to be the last one out the door in the morning. His work hours changed. Now I'm it and I hate it.

There are all sorts of things I need to do before leaving. I have to make sure all the lights are off. I need to check the stove and other appliances and make sure Rascal is put in her room. Lastly, I need to lock the door behind me. So being last one out, though a minor inconvenience, is irritating.

I don't like being the last one out of the train either. What if the door closes while I'm trying to leave or just before? It's never happened yet, but I still get uneasy.

I don't like being the last one out of an elevator either because sometimes the doors want to close right before or while I'm trying to get out.

So, being last out is no fun.

Same thing with books. I had a title all picked out for my debut mystery. I was going to call it Dead Wrong, but that name was already taken. It took me a while, but I figured out a new title and settled on Two Wrongs, which I like. Still, I wasn't happy at the time.

Then there's popular trends in books. I could go with what's hot now. Maybe I will, but I'm not sure. It could be the trends will change by the time my book is published and I'll be last out or maybe not.

Anyway, I'll just write what I want and take a chance. Whether it's first or last out, I'll deal with it like I always do.

Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com

SOCIAL NETWORKS by Morgan Mandel

These flowers have nothing to do with the blog subject, but they're pretty enough to share.

Thanks to Blogger, I've got some neat widgets here you can link to and take you to some great social networks. You may even find me on some of them. BOOK PLACE and SIXTY AND SAVVY at http://bookplace.ning.com and http://sixtyandsavvy.ning.com are my own networks, but I belong to many others on ning. The array is endless and addictive.

I spend endless hours also at MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, Shelfari, Youtube, Goodreads. I gave up on Second Life because it was too confusing for me. You'll find some of my links further down in the left column. There are quite a few. When in doubt, if you type morganmandel in the address, you usually can find me.

Does it help market my books, TWO WRONGS and GIRL OF MY DREAMS? I can't tell for sure now, but I do know I'm making lots of friends without leaving home!

Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com

TWO WRONGS BY MORGAN MANDEL IS #6 IN THE 2006 PREDITORS And EDITORS POLL!

I'm happy to announce that my mystery, TWO WRONGS by Morgan Mandel, finished #6 in the 2006 Preditors And Editors Poll. I was very happy and surprised with the results. Now I have also have a cool graphic added to my website showing I ended up in the top 10.
To check out my newly revamped website, you can go to www.morganmandel.com

The link to the P And E poll results is http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/perpoll.htm


Thanks to everyone who voted for my book. I appreciate your support.

All the best,
Morgan Mandel