Of Mice and Toyotas

The car saga continues, and has completely usurped my inspirational piece on the Pennwriters conference, which I still intend to post eventually.

So...After walking home from the repair shop a second time, I realized I’d left my cell phone in my car, which was last seen being towed to the repair shop, and since the repair shop usually calls me on my cell phone to let me know the car is ready…

I thought I should go and retrieve my phone. As it turned out, that is exactly what happened—the repair shop had called the cell phone in my car to let me know I could come and get the car—and I didn’t get the message.

So when I stopped by the following day to pick up my cell phone, the mechanic said, “I’m sorry, but we’ve taken it as far as we can, and we can’t find the problem. It appears to be in your computer, and we aren’t equipped to do computer work here.”

He said he’d spent six hours the day before trying to trace the problem and was unable to do so. He told me he would refund my $263 since the problem had not been corrected, and recommended that I take the car to the Toyota dealership, as it appeared the car’s own computer was sending the car signals to misfire and stop without warning.

I called the dealership for an appointment and was able to get in right away. My ex then kindly followed me across town, as I stalled out three times and nearly a fourth, but the good news was now the computer had new information to provide to the dealership, since I had inadvertently wiped out the malfunction information by replacing the battery.

The car was doing the exact same thing it had the week before. It also cooperated by doing it for the people at the dealership when they moved the car into the service bay.

The dealership called four hours later to say that the computer had to be replaced, but it was covered under an extended warranty. A search on the internet comes up with the information that Toyota knows these ECM’s (computers) are defective, but refuses to recall them, instead accepting them on this “extended warranty” basis when they come in for repair. Technical Service Bulletin in reference to 2005-2007 Toyota Corolla & Matrix ECMs, TSB EG042-07, was issued September 20th 2007. They say not enough people have reported problems to warrant a recall.

Could it be possible those people aren’t around any more to report the problem? Think about it—what might have happened had I been moving down the highway at 60 mph (as has happened to many people already) and my car shut off without warning? I was fortunate enough to be in a residential neighborhood and the worst thing that happened to me was I was in my PJs at the time.

So that was the good news, sort of. But then came the bad news. The dealership lady tells me the car has “other issues.” She said it appears that “rodents may have chewed on your engine wire harness assembly and caused the short which shorted out the computer.”** And while she has been gracious enough to “squeak me in” under this extended warranty, if I do not get the wire harness assembly repaired, and the computer goes bad again, it won’t be covered under warranty and I will have to pay for a new computer, which runs at least $1000. (her price quote, not mine)

However, for only $355, I can forestall this potential problem.

I said, “Thank you, but I don’t want you to do any more work right now. I will take your information back to my mechanics and if they agree with you I will be back.” Because I know my mechanics looked that car over and over trying to find the problem, and it was deemed mechanically sound.

“Please, ma’am,” the woman says, “You don’t want anybody but certified Toyota technicians working on your car. If anyone else works on that harness, the warranty will be invalidated.”

“I understand that,” I said. “But I have been going to my guys for twenty years. I just want to consult with them first. I have my annual inspection scheduled for Wednesday. I’ll ask them to look at it and I’ll get back to you if they agree with your assessment.”

“I’m just trying to save you some money down the road,” she insisted, then invoked the fear factor. Something along the lines of God forbid it should happen again and you didn’t get it taken care of here and now.

To which I said, “I appreciate that, but I don’t think the car is going to give out in another week (at least I would hope it wouldn’t, considering they just put a new computer in it), and I need to check with my guys. They’re the ones who sent me to you in the first place, so if they think I should come back, they will have no trouble telling me so.”

“Well.” A disgruntled pause. “Then you’ll have to pay the diagnostic fee of $69.90.”

“I understand that.” Unlike my regular guy, who spent six hours looking for the problem the day before, and didn’t charge me a penny for it, from the dealership I expected no less. “I’ll be by to pick up the car on Monday.”

I then hopped on the internet to see what an engine wire harness assembly is, because it sounded kind of scary the way she was talking. Turns out it’s the hose and cable system that connects everything in the engine. See picture above.

To replace it, one place listed a price of 558.35. Another listed a price of 645.00. Or, the genuine Toyota model for $1156,58.

Since it’s all connected, I’m not sure how one would “repair” it, short of duct tape. Something I will definitely have to ask my mechanics.

When I find out, I will let you know. In the meantime, if you know anybody who owns a 2005-2007 Toyota Corolla, please let them know of this potential ECM computer problem in their cars, and that their car could suddenly shut off without warning.

Thank you and God Bless.

**I do live in the country, but I have three cats. I seriously doubt they are going to let any rodents close enough to my car to feast on the wiring, and I doubt my mechanic would have let that pass unremarked upon, but we will see...

Update, February 2014 (almost five years later)....My car runs just fine, with no problems at all.

How to Write a Kick-Ass Query Letter

Over the weekend, I attended the Pennwriters conference and had an awesome time attending workshops, meeting new people, and re-connecting with writer friends. One of the workshops I attended was called The Career Novelist, presented by Paige Wheeler, co-founder of Folio Literary Management, LLC. As part of her workshop, she included a handout on How To Write a Kick-Ass Query letter, which she has kindly given me permission to share here with you.

How to Write a Kick-Ass Query Letter

By Paige Wheeler, Folio Literary Management

JUST THE STATS, MA’AM

Write What You Know/Know What You Write:

The first step to writing a terrific query letter is to know what it is you’re writing. Are you writing fiction or nonfiction? If you’re writing fiction, what genre and/or subgenre (historical romance; cozy mystery; epic fantasy).

Size Does Matter:

How long is your manuscript? If you are writing fiction, you have probably finished the manuscript and you’re now looking for an agent (or editor), so you know the approximate length (word count) of your material. You should have checked the industry standards of various genres--cozy mysteries, for example, between 60,000 and 85,000 words; thrillers are closer to 100,000 words; contemporary romances (not category) are 95,000 – 100,000; fantasy novels are 90,000 – 140,000.

Complete or Not Complete, That is the Question:

Have you finished your manuscript? Most agents/editors only want to see material if it has been completed. There are some instances in which this is not the case, but it’s generally accepted that you should only query if your material is complete.

What I Like About You:

Now is the time to wow us with your fantastic credentials. Have you published with major publishers in 10 languages and sold over 10 million copies? That’s what we want to know! Okay, maybe you haven’t had such luck. However, have you sold at all? Won any contests? Earned your MFA in Creative Writing? Studied with a major author? Member of any professional organizations? (RWA, MWA, Sisters in Crime, etc.)

Name, Date and Serial Number, Please:

Okay, maybe we don’t need your serial number, but please, PLEASE be sure to give us your details. We need your name, address, phone number and email address. Also, please don’t forget to date your letter. If your material has been in our office for a while, we need to know, so we look to the date on the cover letter.

It’s Like, You Know:

Like or As. Similes. Comparisons. A helpful tool is to compare your work to others of a similar nature. Of course I’m sure yours is much better, but humor that New York Times bestselling author and compare her book to yours.

What’s it All About, Alfie?

Don’t let the agent/editor guess the story line. Put it down in a couple of sentences. This should be a short paragraph that summarizes the whole book. If you have your elevator pitch, this is where you put it. If you don’t know what an elevator pitch is, ask someone. You should be able to boil your story down to just a few lines. However, with those few lines, you need to capture the agent/editor’s attention. So make sure you mention what makes the story SPECIAL.

Let it Flow, Let it Flow, Let it Flow:

Now you need to combine all of these elements together into a cohesive, coherent one page pitch. Pay attention to spelling and grammar. Make sure the letter “reads well” and doesn’t sound disjointed and fragmented. This is where the agent/editor will be checking out your writing style.

CHERRY ON TOP

3-2-1 Contact:

First, do your homework. Find out how each agent likes to be contacted—some prefer email queries while others loathe them. Then STICK TO THEIR REQUESTED WAY OF CONTACT. Don’t forget a SASE and/or email address. If you love overseas, you can be forgiven the SASE and we will email you, but some agencies still require an international postal coupon. Some agents get picky if you misspell their name, so make sure you get it right.

Paige Wheeler is a founding partner of Folio Literary Management, LLC. Prior to forming Folio Literary Management, Ms. Wheeler founded Creative Media Agency (CMA) in 1997 and served as its President for nine years until she merged the company into Folio in 2006.

Paige has been reading queries for over 15 years, looking for all types of fiction and nonfiction. Her specific interests are listed below:

Fiction: All commercial fiction and upscale (think book club) fiction, as well as women’s fiction, romance (all types), mystery, thrillers, psychological suspense, and some young adult.

Nonfiction: I’m looking for both narrative nonfiction and prescriptive nonfiction. I’m looking for books where the author has a huge platform and something new to say in a particular area. Some of the areas that I like are lifestyle, relationship, business (!), pop culture, popular/trendy reference projects and women’s issues.

Guest Author, Margaret Tanner

Today's guest is Margaret Tanner (whose website was designed by the incomparable Rae Monet, like mine), fellow Rose and author of several historical romances. Margaret lives in Australia, so I am posting this the evening before I usually do--because while I'm getting ready to shut down for the night, her day is just beginning. Margaret was voted the 2008 Australian Author of the Year by aussieauthors.com, and the novel we are featuring here today finished in the top 30 in the 2007 Preditors and Editors Poll. She also has a brand new story out now, called The Trouble With Playboys, from The Wild Rose Press. Welcome, Margaret, and enjoy your day.

Q: Who are you?

A: I am an author who loves delving into the pages of history as I carry out research for my historical romance novels. I take pride in being historically correct. No history book is too old or tattered for me to trawl through. I have tramped through cemeteries, spent hours in museums. I visited an old jail once and went into the little stone cell, and although it was a hot day, inside the cell it was bone chillingly cold. I wanted to know what it was like to be incarcerated in such a place, as the heroine in my novel, Devil’s Ridge, was thrown in jail for a crime she did not commit.

I would like to think I have suffered form my craft, but I haven’t, except for a few blisters and sneezing fits.

I am a member of the Romance Writers of Australia, the Melbourne Romance Writers Group (MRWG) and EPIC.

Q: What type of stories do you like to write and why?

A. Historical Romance, as I love delving into the pages of history.

Q: When do you write ?

A. I can write anytime, as long as I am on my own. I hate writing when people are around me, I think because I need silence.

Q: When can you read? Where?

A.. I read anywhere, anytime.

Q: How did you come up with your title and main characters’ names?

A. I am not sure, they just seem to come to me and announce their presence. I do get a lot of my ideas when I am lying in bed at night. The darkness seems to help by creativity. I have always had a good imagination.

Q: How long did you write seriously before your first book was published?

A. Several years of serious writing, joining writing groups, entering competitions. Revising. I guess you could say I have been writing most of my life. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write, but I started out with short stories and poetry, before progressing to novels.

Q: Why do you write?

A. I write because I love it. It’s a compulsion, just can’t not write. It would be easier to hack off my leg, (only joking about the leg).

Thank you, Margaret, for taking the time to be here today. To sum up, here's a blurb for
DEVIL’S RIDGE from Whiskey Creek Press.

By the time Ross Calvert discovers Harry Martin is in fact Harriet Martin she has fallen in love with him. Realizing she has failed in her final effort to protect her shell-shocked brother, she puts a desperate proposition to Ross. Marry her and she will give him an heir.

Ross accepts. However, he is tormented by the betrayal of his former fiancée Virginia. On his honeymoon he meets her again and is still infatuated. With the army recalling him to the Western Front in 1917, he faces a terrible dilemma, taste Virginia’s passion before he heads to the trenches of France, or keep his marriage vows to Harry.

With the spectre of war hanging over them, there are even bigger obstacles for Ross and Harry. Ross returns to the trenches, and a man seeking wealth at any cost, endangers Harry’s life in a way she had never imagined possible.

Sunday's Inspirational Quote

God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers. ~Rudyard Kipling

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there and for a good laugh, check out this video on Why Babies Need Mothers.

Enjoy!

How To Create Memorable Characters

Today's guest speaker is once again the multi-talented Kathy Cottrell, editor extraordinare at The Wild Rose Press, (Kathy is the senior editor for our Last Rose of Summer line), author of two novels as Kat Henry Doran, and creator of beautiful custom-made tote bags. Check them out on her newly re-designed website, created by the incomparable Rae Monet, who also created my website.

Today, Kathy has kindly offered to share with us her thoughts on creating memorable characters. I apologize for all the underlining, as I can't seem to get rid of it despite many tries, and it doesn't show up in her original document. But when I transfer it here...

Oh, well. The information is just as invaluable underlined as not underlined. And now it won't let me add Kat's book cover to this post, so I will post this, and if it shows up, fine, if not...I tried!

First, we should think about the heroes and heroines we already know and love, then determine what is it about them that makes us return to the TV screen each week to get our fix of Brenda Lee Johnson on “The Closer”, Charlie Crews on “Life”; Adrian Monk on “Monk”, or read [again] our tattered copies of Kathleen Woodiwiss, Harry Potter, or Eve Dallas and Roarke.

Some of Ms. Woodiwiss' characters date back to the 70's and 80's, yet are unforgettable:
1. ASHES IN THE WIND is set in New Orleans at the close of the American Civil War. The hero, army surgeon Cole Latimer, feels indebted to a young waif “Al” after the boy saves him from drowning and offers him a job in the army hospital. It is months before Cole realizes “Al” is really Alaina, a gentle born Southern woman, hiding in broad daylight from Union soldiers because she has been falsely accused of treason after she transported letters to the family of a dead Confederate soldier.

2. SHANNA wears the hot sultry influence of the Caribbean Islands like a cloak, and moves from England, to the Indies, climaxing in pre-Revolutionary War American colonies. The heroine, Shanna, in order to meet her father's dictate that she marry, finds a man in an English jail who is bound for the hanging tree. She has him cleaned up before they marry; he agrees to the proposal only because she promises of one night of marital bliss. Just as bliss is about to commence, she coshes him over the head and flees back home. Of course the hero escapes and follows her to the Caribbean as an indentured servant. Of course he's looking for “bliss” while she's looking for peace and quiet. Another hoot of a story.

How do we intrigue the reader into coming back for more either by turning the next page or buying our next book? Donald Maas, in HOW TO WRITE THE BREAK-OUT NOVEL, suggests throwing one or both of them into the deep end of a strange pool, and be sure to hide a few boulders beneath the surface to keep them on their toes. Nothing was more fun than reading Eve Dallas try to cope with Roarke's immense wealth and numerous “toys”. In her futuristic crime series “In Death” series, Nora Roberts created a world where red meat and coffee are but fond memories of most people. Not so for Roarke who woos Eve, the street smart homicide detective, with a perfectly grilled steak, then a bag of Brazilian roasted beans.

We owe it to our readers to make our characters unique, but at all times believable. Brenda Lee Johnson, called The Closer because of her skills in closing investigations by convincing suspects to confess, is a transplanted Georgia peach, lured to the Los Angeles Police Department by a former lover/current Deputy Chief of the LAPD with promises he never intended to keep. While riding herd on a group of renegade homicide detectives, she builds her wardrobe at the local Volunteers of America store, never leaves a room without an over-sized handbag hanging off one shoulder; has a passion for anything chocolate; and every other phrase out of her mouth is, “Thank yewww, thank yewww very much.”

Going into the fourth season [I think], each of these secondary characters is a story in and of themselves. Lt. Provenza, who never dates women over 30, well . . . 40—if he's been drinking, has forgotten more than most cops will ever learn, and would sooner die in the line of duty than retire to prevent his first ex-wife from getting her marital share of his pension. Lt Flynn, a late 40's Lothario with a toothpick stuck in the corner his mouth, takes indolence to new heights. Ten years sober, thanks to Alcoholic Anonymous, Flynn harbors a grudging respect for Chief Johnson, but would choke twice and die before admitting it. Detective Julio Sanchez with the dark, haunted eyes, is the “go-to” guy when it comes to the barrio and gang cultures. He's also about as homophobic as they come. Bald Lt Tao is a wizard with computers; and Brenda's aide, the uptight Sgt. Gabriel, and a hunk if there ever was one, has eyes that would burn the soles off a woman's shoes. He's bright, savvy, intelligent and devoted to her.

As evidenced above, by the late Ms. Woodwiss' leading characters and the detectives who comprise Priority Homicide, one way to build memorable characters is to make them vastly different from each other. This takes some planning. I use a tool which I call the Character Interview. This is a multi-page document, a former RWA chapter mate brought back from the New Jersey Romance Writers conference many years ago. Over the years it has undergone many revisions but the concept remains the same. In long hand, I interview my lead characters. Before I can do that however, I have to know at least one basic thing about them.

In CAPTAIN MARVELOUS, I wanted a heroine with a brain and balls to match. The one thing I knew: she would do anything to achieve her career goal of becoming a physician and will let nothing and no one stop her. That's all I needed to interview Annie Wolfe. Why does she want to be a doctor? Why will she never marry and have children? I asked her to tell me about her family of origin; where did she grow up; did they have money, live from paycheck to paycheck, or did they eat out of dumpsters? Then I asked her to tell me about her family of the heart. Who are her friends, heroes, enemies? I need to know how she relaxes, what turns her on, and off, in terms of favorite foods, music, and clothes. What kind of car does she drive; how does she drive—is she a speed demon or careful and cautious?

I decided the hero had to be the exact opposite of Annie: staid, rigid and always in control—no matter what, a single parent with a desire for more children, someone who always follows the rules. Captain Ronen Marvelic, a New York State Trooper with a steel rod up his spine, was born. After being banished from the cultural hub of Western New York, he arrives in the bowels of the earth on the Northern border of the Catskill Mountains. No Man's Land is a place where a man takes a woman to the local drive-in for a Rambo marathon on their first date--or to the town dump to shoot rats. On his first day in town, Ronen encounters a woman who lives in the apartment across the hall, a long-legged, softball playing smart mouth named Annie Wolfe, aka Wolfgirl, for her abilities at short stop. He thrives on opera; Annie considers it all a bunch of fat ladies singing their brains out. He loathes sports of any kind; she has life-sized posters of baseball players and golfers papering her apartment. Ronen is assigned to investigate the murders of six women; Annie is coerced into helping him by developing victim profiles. Throw in a landlady who's a throw-back to the 60's, a decrepit town doctor with an amazing resemblance to my own father, and a 17 year old college bound teenager and the fun begins.

Don't forget to give your characters a few warts. After all, defects of character are what make this world go 'round. Annie Wolfe [CAPTAIN MARVELOUS] believes her only value is in becoming a doctor. While Ronen Marvelic [CAPTAIN MARVELOUS] has his career path carefully laid out, he disdains any woman who doesn't want a husband and children. Maggie McGuire [TRY JUST ONCE MORE] spent years living at the bottom of a scotch bottle and doesn't know how to pick out a good piece of fruit? Why would anyone think she's capable of picking out a good man? Eve Dallas [____ IN DEATH series] identifies herself by her job, and uses a prickly pear exterior to hide an inferiority complex as big as Montana. Mike Brandt [TRY JUST ONCE MORE] escaped a loveless marriage with only the clothes on his back, a cat, and a mountain of regret thanks to an ex-wife who cared more about titles and dollar signs. He's not about to hook up with some dame who carries herself like the Queen of Sheba and has more secrets than Homeland Security.

And that's how I create my characters.

A Tisket, a Tasket, Put Romance in Your Basket

I'm extending my day in the A Tisket, A Tasket promotion, because I found out that the person who was supposed to post the day before me didn't, and so blog followers of this particular Easter Egg scavenger hunt may have lost the thread and need an extra day or two to find it again. I also wanted to post another picture of Lucy :)

To enter my drawing for a $10 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press, just tell me the top three titles you would like to buy and why. I loved the answers people gave yesterday, and since so many people said they had trouble whittling it down to just three titles--if you want to enter again with another three titles, by all means do so! I'll announce the winner here on Thursday evening.

And thanks to everyone who mentioned wanting to buy Jake's Return. I didn't expect that! I appreciate your support and encouragement.

Today's official A Tisket, A Tasket blog post will be at Emma Lai Writes Blogspot, so be sure to go there next!

Sunday's Inspirational Quote

Let us examine our capacities and gifts, and then put them to the best use we may.... We can...put them absolutely in God's hand, and look to him for the direction of our life energy. God can do great things with our lives, if we but give them to Him in sincerity. ~Anna Robertson Brown Lindsay (1864–1948), author and the first woman to earn a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania.

I'll have to continue this blog post tomorrow morning. All the thoughts I had about it this morning before church have scattered. Now it's almost three-thirty and the day has gotten away from me.

Until then, think about what your gifts may be, and how you can best put them to use...