The Pesky Sticking Power of Ideas

 

Last week, I relaunched Grounds for Suspicion in its original form - sort of. Many years ago, I'd set up an online shop for mystery-themed gifts that I thought were cool - stuff I'd buy - and hoped it would take off.

 It didn't. 

I had lots of ideas, more than I would ever be able to implement, but little business savvy. I really wanted to create my vision and let it sell itself. 

It didn't.

At some time in the nineties, I visited New York City for a long weekend with friends, caught a show, at some food at restaurants I'd researched in my highlighted Frommer's guide, and discovered Murder Ink - a bookstore on the Upper West Side. This gem was my happy place - full of all the books I loved to read - mysteries, thrillers, gothic romance. I remember the store as being narrow and connected to a separate bookstore next door (children's books?) with a gate that could close one off from the other. The checkout counter was shared I believe.

Years later, as I made my way through grad school, I seized upon the idea of writing crime fiction, rather than writing my thesis about it. My faculty advisor was less than thrilled, but he allowed me to give it a try. My first novel, Third Thursday, was set in a murder mystery bookstore in historic Orlando that was connected to a cafe next door. I called it Grounds for Suspicion. In my mind, this was my version of that New York mystery bookstore, just connected to a coffee shop. Coffee and mysteries - best combo ever. That novel will never be published. I consider it my "learning book." But Grounds for Suspicion - my dream mystery bookshop with coffee and snacks, hub of book clubs, writers, and neighborhood fixture lingered in my mind long after my futile agent queries, my first Bouchercons and Malice Domestics, and all the later visits to other mystery bookstores across the country. 

I bought the domain way back then and tried to launch my online mystery gift shop. I had help with the site (thanks B) and help with my logo (thanks R) and as I said, endless ideas for stuff I wish I'd seen in the book rooms at all the conventions. 

It did not take off as I'd hoped. I shuttered my tiny shop, moved out of Florida, started a new career, even went back to grad school again and wrote another novel. Years passed. Last fall, I attended Bouchercon in Nashville. If you have never been and you are a mystery fan - GO. Seriously, go. You become part of a community of writers and readers who love this genre. These are your people, your tribe.

Still, the bookroom had no merch. Loads of books. No merch. I wore my "Unreliable Narrator" shirt and podcasted about the con and sat on my first panel (about cozy mysteries) and then I came home to find my hours cut and my professional future uncertain.

I chose to approach my reduced circumstances as an opportunity to write again, to rethink all that I've wanted to do, but never had the time. Then came Hurricane Helene. I started to feel that sense of community that I'd imagined in Third Thursday as neighbors came together to make sure that people had what they needed. I made a pint of visiting local small businesses, including our own little bookstore on Main Street and pretty much every coffee shop in the county. I started to get ideas again - for the WIP, for local cross promotions that might drive traffic to the businesses I now consider part of my community, for all the cool merch that I wish would all be found in one spot.

So, I set up the website again, stumbling along without my experts, and started pulling together a collection of everything I'd want as a writer, a reader, and a fan of mystery stories. I still have no business savvy, so instead of opening my own store - I provide links to other merchants' stores. I don't have to source and stock and ship - I just point customers toward existing shops doing awesome stuff. Many of the them so niche that they are not likely to be found easily, but they are - I feel - part of my community.

I don't know if anything will come from this. But once an idea gets stuck, starts to germinate and grow, following the path seems the only sane thing to do. So I gather fun games and puzzles, sassy bags, snarky t-shirts, and whatever else I think mystery fans would LOVE and I make it easy to find where they can buy them for a small commission from the seller.

I hope to cover the costs of hosting and operating the site and I hope to finish my third novel and that someone will want to publish it and I hope that I can find a new job or a means to support myself in these uncertain times. But hope is not much good without effort, without action. I'll commit to the new book and I'll continue to gather fun things for the virtual store, but I need my community - my tribe - to share GroundsforSuspicion.com to those who think it's as awesome as I do. To spread the word to bookstores and conferences and writing groups and makers/vendors.

Reading a good book is my refuge. Sharing a good book or bookish gift is my joy. Let it be yours too.

What fun (non-book) stuff do you look for in your favorite book shop?

What's your favorite mystery book store and where is it?

Favorite mystery series or sleuth?

Fragility, Futility, and the Lifesaving Power of Community

 

This is not a post about Helene, but I'm going to start there. Bear with me. The morning following the storm, my neighbors and I began to peek out, wary of the still gusty winds among the massive tree trunks and limbs on the roads, cars, and houses of the neighborhood. We had power briefly that morning, but once we lost it, it was gone for a long while. My whole-house generator kicked on, making a racket in the now-quiet collection of homes clustered near the top of Long John Mountain. I'd never had one before - not through my years in storm-riddled Florida, not in snowy Maryland. With it, I had the ability to help - not with a chainsaw like the posse of neighbors who made their way up the mountain, clearing the road with giant saws, rakes, and loppers, pulling limbs and logs to the shoulders before passing through with their pickup trucks. We were all in the street, checking on each other, surveying damage, providing aid where we could. For us, that was providing hot meals to those who could use it. Another neighbor brought in non-potable water from his business so we could flush toilets, because no power means no pump house at the bottom of the mountain. No showers, no laundry, no dishwasher. I met more neighbors in those first few days than I had in the 18 months I'd been here.

Just prior to the storm, my employer cut my hours, essentially making me part time when classes were scheduled and on my own when they were not. I chose to think of the additional time as an opportunity to focus more attention on writing. I'd just returned from Bouchercon - the World Mystery Convention, I was podcasting about writing life in North Carolina, and I had ideas to chase down. And then my podcasting partner stepped away to pursue her own projects. I added affiliate links for cool stuff I loved that I thought other readers, writers, and listeners would love too - nothing happened. I tried to build an audience for the podcast on my own - nothing changed. I powered through lessons to learn new skills to help me organize, create ads and market my efforts, drive traffic to my sites and my books - nothing came of it. And it was costing me every month, what now began to feel like a futile attempt to get my feet under me in a flood of change and ruin.

I made the decision to shutter Secrets and Lies at the beginning of the year. I was paying for recording, for hosting, and for promotion and not making any headway, and since I no longer had my former salary to liferaft it, it seemed ridiculous to keep going. I'm sad that I never quite got the podcast where I wanted it, but I learned a lot and I enjoyed it, so it was worthwhile.

So as I wade into the full on hellscape that has been January with one jawdropping headline after another, I remember my community who stepped up for each other through times of crisis. Carly at Claywood who fed people for free and provided workspace for those without power or internet after the storm. They endured prolonged construction essentially cutting them off from their customers and lost a team member unexpectedly and now it's our turn to step up and help. Make this a special occasion and celebrate at Claywood with a soul-soothing glass of dry reisling and some mushroom agnolotti.

Stop in The Joy of Books and pick up a local writer's work or a good whodunit to pass the time away from screens. I just acquired As the Crow Dies by Kenneth Butcher (could you have a better writer name?) and I'm excited to tackle an Asheville mystery. Bookstores and libraries are havens and deserve our support. And the peace they provide is unmatched, unless you happen to have gotten a gift for the spa at the Omni Grove Park Inn, in which case, the spa will take that matchup. Otherwise, though - bookstores all day.

Stop in at Three Chopt and check out the charming spot while noshing on a sandwich and chatting with the owner. Drop by Whit's for the Hendersonville Gem (a sundae with frozen custard, hot fudge, caramel, and toasted pecans - omg) because they donated a portion to local first responders, and because it's ridiculously good. Grab breakfast at Pop's diner or a slice at K's NY Pizza and SoFlo Food or lunch at the Purple Onion in Saluda. Find these local treasures and help others find them too. They are our neighbors and they need us now.

It seems like everyone has something in common - a school we attended, a place we lived or visited, a book we loved. Community is what we make it, so for those of you who are stepping up to provide a struggling writer a review or visiting a local business that needs our support, or sharing about your good experiences, or just plain being kind, know that it is appreciated, needed, and that those of us on the receiving end will happily pay it forward.

As for me, I am looking forward too. I have two new nonfiction books out on Amazon, and I'm writing the second Gina Morrison mystery. The Kindle version of Ten Dysfunctions is on sale for $.99 and I hope to hear back about some new story submissions in the coming weeks. 

May you have good coffee and good stories!

💕📚 Carolyn