Author Hank Phillippi Ryan

Hank Phillippi Ryan will be a featured guest at Love Is Murder. Her new book THE OTHER WOMAN will be published by Forge Books in 2012.

Joanna Ccampbell Slan-I guess the big question is why? Hank, you were/are already an award-winning reporter. A huge success. So why did you decide you wanted to add being an author to your list of accomplishments?

Hank Phillippi Ryan-Well, thank you. Your question made me stop and think-because it wasn't so much "author" I was going for...as I just had this terrific idea for a story. You know how when you have a good idea, you just know it? And I got a strange spam in my email one day, and it crossed my mind-maybe it's a secret message. And I just-stopped in my tracks. It was such a perfect plot for a mystery novel, and I just-knew it. And from that moment I was obsessed with writing the story of whether there could be secret messages in computer spam, and how that would work, and who would do it...and why. And that became PRIME TIME!

JCS-The original draft of PRIME TIME was not the same as the draft that eventually got published. Would you share with us what happened? What changes you made? I know that your agent (or was it the editor) didn't know if you could revise your book, but you did. How hard was that? Most folks get stuck in a mental rut and can't make changes in tone, but you did. How?

HPR-So interesting. The initial draft of PRIME TIME-well, you have to remember, I had no idea what I was doing. I've been writing television news stories and investigative reporting for more than 30 years, so I figured a story is a story, how hard can it be? Which was, of course, absurd.

Anyway, the first draft of PRIME TIME was lighter, funnier, and the main character Charlotte McNally was a little-ditzy and self-centered. It was chick lit, no question, and I finished it just as the chick lit genre was crashing.

I got the nicest rejection from an editor-who said, essentially, she loved the whole thing-except for the tone. And she told my agent she'd be interested in reading it if I could make it less "chick lit" and more "women's fiction mystery."

Well, after so long in TV, I've had editors say: Can you make it more investigative? Or more feature-y? Or shorter? Or longer? Can you do it like-a SONG? (Okay, kidding.) But the idea of re-editing for tone was not outrageous to me. I saw the editor's point. And it was a fascinating thought.

My agent said, "I don't think you can do it." (She was my agent at the time. I now have a different agent.) I'll never know if she was telling the truth, or trying to challenge me. But I had no doubt I could do it. I just thought of the story in a different way-and went through every line and scene, thinking: What would make my characters have more depth? Be more thoughtful? Stronger? Be more connected to the real world and real conflicts? What would make people care?

I went through the whole thing wearing that filter. And so interesting-the result was EXACTLY the same plot. Exactly. But it just had a different feel.

Get the right editor-and it can change your life.

You can read the rest of Joanna's interview with Hank at http://JoannaSlan.blogspot.com and visit Hank Phillippi Ryan at her website, www.hankphillippiryan.com

Joanna Campbell Slan is the author of the Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series. Next summer will mark the debut of her new historical mystery series featuring Jane Eyre as an amateur detective. DEATH OF A SCHOOLGIRL: THE JANE EYRE CHRONICLES will be released July 2012 from Berkley. Visit Joanna at www.JoannaSlan.com

by Julie Hyzy

Celebrities are cool. So cool that most of us mere mortals are rarely allowed access to them. So cool that we usually only get to know them through carefully doled out sound-bites.

Every so often, however, we regular folk get the opportunity to rub elbows with celebrities in the mystery world. I'm talking about the award-winning, bestselling authors whose books keep us up far too late into the night, frantically turning pages to find out what happens next. Our rock stars.

One of the coolest guests of honor attending Love Is Murder this year is the incomparable Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Hank is a bona fide celebrity. Think I'm kidding? Not only does she write critically acclaimed, award-winning novels and short stories, she's an Emmy award-winning (twenty-seven, I think, at last count), Edward R. Murrow award-winning (twelve) investigative reporter for a major network in Boston.

With that in mind, I thought it only fitting to deliver the kind of hard-hitting, in-depth story about Hank that Hank herself is known for.

So... you want the TRUTH about Hank? I'll tell you the truth about Hank.

Yep, I'm ready to spill.

Secret #1-Just about two years ago, I was invited to North Carolina with Hank and another author, Karen E. Olson. We were the "Triple Threat." Hank, Karen, and I spent an extended weekend together. And I'm here to tell you, unequivocally, that Hank really does look that fabulous all the time. Whether we got up early or stayed out late, every minute of every day Hank was dressed to impress with that impeccable wardrobe, perfect hair... and don't even get me started on the shoes!

Secret #2-A huge surprise to me was that Hank brims with optimism. You'd think that someone whose job entails uncovering conspiracies and exposing wrongdoings would be a little more cynical, possibly jaded, maybe even irritable. Not Hank. I told you she looks fabulous all the time. She is fabulous all the time.

And last,

Secret #3-What you see is what you get. Hank isn't one of those celebrities who exudes warmth because it's good for her image. She really is warm. She's down-to-earth, self-deprecating, generous with compliments, and truly delightful to be around. I spent a weekend with her and the time absolutely flew. Hank is a treasure, the real deal.

Maybe you already know those secrets about Hank Phillippi Ryan. And if by some chance you don't, I guarantee that by the end of the Love Is Murder, you will. She may be a cool celebrity, but she's also wonderful friend.

Unpublished authors of fiction: here's your opportunity to get your short story published in our 2012 LIM Program Guide!

THE RULES

1. Only those authors who have never published fiction in any medium are eligible.

2. The story must be in the crime, suspense, thriller, or horror genres.

3. Maximum word count-5,000 words.  No minimum.

4. Manuscript must be double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, page numbered, with cover sheet that includes your name and contact information (especially e-mail).

5. Put the TITLE at the top of page 1 or in the header (after the cover sheet) but do not put the author's name or contact info on any page except the cover page so that judges do not know who wrote the stories until judging is finished.
6. Mail three copies of the manuscript to:

Susan Gibberman

Love is Murder Short Story Submissions

Schaumburg Township District Library

130 S. Roselle Road

Schaumburg, IL  60193

Deadline: entries must be postmarked no later than October 15, 2011.

Winner will be announced in November 2011. Good luck!-and remember, "You can't win if you don't enter!"

Lucky 13?

Though much of Western folklore sees the number 13 as unlucky, Chinese folklore takes the opposite view. Chinese superstitions about numbers tie into how number words are pronounced. If a number word sounds like something positive, the number is lucky; if negative, it's unlucky. The number 4, for example, sounds like the word for death in Mandarin Chinese; therefore, number 4 is horrendously unlucky. Thirteen, however, is considered lucky because it sounds like "definitely living"-an indisputably good thing!

Thirteen is also lucky in Jewish mystical thought. According to gematria, which assigns a number to every Hebrew letter, the words echad ("one"), de'aga ("care") and ahavta ("love") all add up to the number 13. All these positive things are associated with God; the Shema, the most sacred prayer in Judaism, affirms that "God is One."

In Kabbalah, which dates from the Middle Ages, the number 13 indicates our ability to rise above the 12 signs of the Zodiac (12 + 1 = 13), and not be bound by the influences of the cosmos. Spelling of the words that add up to thirteen also plays a role. Echad, for example, is spelled aleph-chet-dalet-three letters that encompass the entire sefirot, mystical attributes representing creation. Aleph corresponds to the highest sefirah, Keter. Chet, with a numerical value of eight, represents the eight sefirot below Keter (Chachmah, Binah, Chesed, Gevurah, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod and Yesod). The letter dalet represents Malchut, the lowest sefirah. Connecting all these dots, 13 in Kabbalah represents the oneness of God and the essential unity of human existence with the Divine.

Quest for the Crystal Skull  

by David Ciambrone

Virginia Davies-Clark encounters some killers and an old crystal skull with something important in it.

The Dreamer Gambit  

by Kathryn Flatt

Troubled detective helps a singer in trouble for mentioning a dead man's name on TV.

Are you an author attending LIM 2012? Then take advantage of a terrific opportunity to advertise your work to more than 500 readers of our newsletter, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang!

Option 1 ($10 per title/newsletter issue): Book title and name.

Clyde's First Murder by I. M. A. Writer;   

one issue = $10; all six issues = $60

Option 2 ($15 per title/newsletter issue): Book title, name, and brief description or series information (15 words max).

Clyde's First Murder by I. M. A. Writer 

All Clyde wanted was a vacation by the sea. What he got instead was murder!

OR

Clyde's First Murder by I. M. A. Writer

Third in the "Men and Murder" series

OR

Clyde's First Murder by I. M. A. Writer
Award-winning short story from the anthology  "Men and Murder" by WhoKnows Press

One issue = $15; all six issues = $90   

Authors can advertise their books in one or more newsletters, up through the final issue in January, 2012. To participate in Author Spotlight, send the information requested above to Diane Piron-Gelman at wordnrd@gelmanmanor.com. Payment can be made on our website via PayPal, or authors can send a check or money order to: LIM, c/o Terri Stone, 1009 Iroquois Ave., Naperville, IL  60563. Advertising for all issues must be received by the first of the month.