What’s New in 2024?
Welcome to the News and Updates page at Lynne Danley, Wordsmith.
Hello, Word Lovers!
Greetings from Lynne Danley, Wordsmith and our mascot, Jonas the Thriller Killer! My granddaughter Rebecca made him for me and I love him. We’re so glad you’re here! A heartfelt thanks for visiting my website and joining us as we imagine our world through words.
A Happy St. Patrick’s Day and a Glorious Green Spring to you!!!!
Check out this snippet of what we have in store for you in the coming weeks.
Thunderhead Rising News and Updates
Exciting news!
I have submitted the finished, final rewrite of my novel, Thunderhead Rising, the first of the Peter Calder Suspense Thriller series, to literary agents.
The final draft went out to beta readers and critiquers during November and December. First, I incorporated the changes they suggested that worked for me and the story. Then I revised my query letter, synopsis, pitch, comps and other submission materials that might be requested.
On Valentine’s Day, 2024 I sent out the first of my new submissions. I even wore my red sweater and hearts-and-flowers earrings for the occasion.
As Peter Calder would say, I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed that agents and acquisition editors will like the new version and find Thunderhead Rising a good fit for their list.
The New Version?
Last summer, I worked with a writing mentor, Barbara Kyle, who told me I’d written a suspense thriller with a mystery element rather than the mystery thriller I’d been pitching. Given that, I realized I needed to change the pace, what was revealed and when, and the way the main plot and subplots wove together. I didn’t kill a lot of darlings, but I did move a lot of them into a future novels file. And I cut the length by over 17,000 words — something the novel badly needed.
Meet My Mentor
Barbara Kyle, the author of the Thornleigh Saga series of Tudor-era historical novels, has also written several novels of suspense, including The Man from Spirit Creek, and a just-released murder mystery, The Deadly Trade. I very much enjoyed her writing craft book, Page Turner. Barbara also does private mentoring and conducts virtual classes for writers. So I asked for her help with making Thunderhead Rising a page turner, too.
If you’d like to know more about Barbara and the services she offers writers, please visit her website at https://www.barbarakyle.com.
While working with Barbara, I gained a lot of insight about what was working well and what needed some tweaking here and there. But the biggest takeaway was a genuine surprise. I’d written Thunderhead Rising as a mystery thriller. “But you’ve written a thriller,” said Barbara. To paraphrase her, she said that murders happen in thrillers all the time, and she believes Thunderhead Rising is a suspense thriller with a murder element rather than a mystery.
The more I thought about it, the more I knew she was right. This was a game changer. So I brought the storylines together more seamlessly to create more high-octane suspense. But the integrity of the story remains, and the changes are working well. Thank you, Barbara!
Back to the Sequel
While the mystery version was out on submission, I began work on the second book in the series. To be sure, it was fun to see my characters taking shape before my eyes and find the story coming together. When I realized I needed to do major rewrites on Thunderhead Rising, I put the sequel aside until this important task was completed.
Now that Thunderhead Rising is back on submission, I can return to the sequel. I can’t wait! I have so many ideas that have been percolating in my brain over the last few months. And I’ll be taking an online course from thriller writer Harlan Coben as I work on the first draft.
Did You Know?
Do you know the difference between crime fiction, a mystery and a thriller? Check out my blog on Crime Fiction here.
And since I’ve been doing critique and beta reader swaps with some wonderful writers whose work I really enjoyed reading and getting feedback from, I decided to write a two-part blog on beta readers, editors and critiquers. The blogs have turned out to be very popular. You can read Part 1, Beta Readers, here. And check out my new, just-released Part 2 blog, Editors and Critiquers, here.
(Insider tip: If you subscribe to this website, you’ll be the first to know when new blogs come out.)
News You Can Use
Recent and Upcoming Blogs
My newest, two-part Write Right! blog, discusses Beta Readers, Editors and Critiquers. Please check them out and let me know what you think. And if you’d like to share any experiences you’ve had with or as a beta reader, editor and/or critiquer, please send them my way. Thank you!
In March, Oregon Author will be taking readers to the wonderful, fun and supercool world of McMenamins, a chain of restaurant and brew pubs across Oregon and Washington. Each is unique, and there’s nothing quite like them. We can’t think of a better time to visit than St. Patrick’s Day, the McMenamin brothers’ favorite.
And check out the Oregon Author blog on beautiful Trillium Lake. So many people have asked me about the lake on the Lynne Danley, Wordsmith homepage that I was inspired to grab my husband and take a little road trip east of Portland to share Trillium Lake with everyone. We made a bonus stop on the trip, too! In a recent blog on Marionberries, I share my recipe for Marionberry Pie, including my favorite pastry recipe.
Write Right! has some new and upcoming blogs, too. That’s Annoying! How to avoid irritants that make readers want to scream is showcasing Dialogue and Character Names. Character Blunders will discuss annoyances readers waxed eloquent about when writers mishandle characters.
Or course, I’d be delighted to know what you think! So give me your thoughts in the Comments block.
What I’m Reading Now
Lately, I’ve been re-reading some of my favorite writing craft how-tos. Once again, the second novel in my Peter Calder Suspense Thriller Series is underway, and I always find these books inspirational. Additionally, they remind me of things I’ve forgotten or shoved to the back of my mind. The books I’m revisiting now include Jodie Renner‘s books on fiction writing and writing suspense, Stephen King‘s always wonderful On Writing, and Mastering Suspense, Structure and Plot by Jane Cleland.
Recently, Lucinda Halpern, owner-agent of Lucinda Literary Agency, released a new book. It’s called Get Signed: Find an Agent, Land a Book Deal, and Become a Published Author. Excited, I became a member of Lucinda’s “Get Signed team” and pre-ordered the book so I could get it on its first day of life. I’d finished it by the second day and highly recommend it to writers who are attempting to navigate the rough waters of the traditional publishing world. It’s full of fun, novel and useful tips and tricks for acquiring an agent, and it demystifies some of the puzzling and inaccurate information swirling around social media about agents and trad publishing.
This month, I’m re-reading my comps (recent books that have important marketable similarities with Thunderhead Rising). And I’m reading some new potential comps, too. Next up: novels by Robert Crais, Nicci French and Mary Kubica.
Finally, spring is here! We have rain in the forecast. But it’s Portland, so….
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May the Words Be with You.