Happy Friday, friends. It’s no secret authors mostly lead a solitary life. Although with the help of critique partners, editors, agents, and, of course, readers, bonds are formed. My guest today has often shared her specialized expertise with the writing community, myself included. How great to learn others have helped her along the way. Karma? Please welcome Suspense Author Sheila Lowe as she shares her journey. ~ Donnell
A Little Help from my Friends
By: Sheila Lowe
Author Sheila Lowe
If it hadn’t been for my original critique group, who became well-loved friends, I probably would never have gotten a publishing deal with a major house. First, they made me a far better writer. And second, the guy with PhDs in more than one heady discipline made it his mission to learn everything about the business of writing and publishing and marketing. Thanks to him, we all got published by a small startup house, which led to a starred review in Publishers Weekly for my first mystery novel, Poison Pen. They called it “a dynamite debut.” Luckily for me, a senior editor at Penguin’s Obsidian imprint read the review and offered a contract for the first four books in the series. That was in 2007.
As I was writing book four, my wonderful editor left to get married and I got ‘orphaned,’ which means her replacement didn’t offer to renew my contract. Again, a little help from my friends saved me. I ‘happened to’ attend a book signing (are there really coincidences?), and ran into the publishers of Suspense Magazine, who I had met before. Turns out they were starting to publish books and were interested in mine. I got the rights back to the series and we rebranded them with new covers. Over the next several years, Suspense published five more of my books. And that brings us up to early 2021. The publishers, Shannon and John Raab, had become friends who I loved working with, but at this stage in my life, I felt ready to take the reins of my career and “go wide” (i.e., selling on platforms besides Amazon, such as Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Kobo).
I had recently joined an author pod and made a new friend who helped me jump off that cliff from the comfort of a traditional publisher into independent publishing. Although I had self-published several books on handwriting psychology, the fiction world was literally a different story. Victoria, having successfully published her mystery-writer husband’s books, knew the ropes. She did a tremendous amount of work as once again my forensic handwriting series was rebranded, as well as the two books in my new Beyond the Veil paranormal series. In a tour de force that covered around 10 weeks, I re-edited nine established books, plus a new one, Dead Letters, which was released in August 2021.
I am so grateful to those people who, over the past fifteen years, have made it easier for me to get my books out into the world. Readers seem to like Claudia Rose, who, in the spirit of “write what you know,” performs the same kind of work I do, which involves two areas of handwriting analysis:
1) Forensic document examination. I provide a professional opinion when the authenticity of a signature or other handwriting is challenged. In other words, if you believe the signature on your dad’s will might have been forged, your attorney would call someone like me (or Claudia) for help.
2) Personality assessment. Yes, your handwriting really does reveal a lot about who you are. Your social skills, thought patterns, organizational ability, sex drive and more—it’s all there in the way you write. And yes, I know that many schools stopped teaching kids how to write around 2009 when the Common Core Curriculum removed the requirement. But the happy news is, 26 states have put the requirement back, and several more have legislation pending. Current research confirms that handwriting is really good for a child’s brain, so they shouldn’t be deprived of this lifelong skill.
You may be surprised to learn that Claudia Rose doesn’t solve murders or other mysteries with her skills. Sometimes, as in Written in Blood, a forgery case propels her into the story. Other times, she gleans information about the personality of a suspect or other important person. In Dead Letters, for example, Claudia finds the journal of the archaeologist who has disappeared with her niece. His handwriting tells my protagonist much of what she needs to know about his character, and the red flags she sees give her chills. Here’s the synopsis of the book:
About the Book: Claudia is thrilled for her niece Monica when her dream to join an archaeological dig in Egypt comes true. But the dream turns into a nightmare for her family when Monica goes missing after a weekend getaway with Colin Vine. An archaeologist whose shady past has spilled in to the present, Colin draws an unwitting Monica into the seedy illicit antiquities trade.
While Monica’s dad, Pete, is champing at the bit to get on the next plane to find her, he’s been arrested on a charge of homicide at his college reunion, and is in jail, awaiting arraignment. That leaves it up to Claudia to fly to Egypt and follow Monica’s trail.
The search, which begins in Luxor and the Valley of the Queens, turns into an international hunt that takes Claudia to Gibraltar, where she stumbles on a corpse and her life is threatened. Working with police on some handwriting they’ve found, she uncovers terrifying evidence that Monica may have been kidnapped by terrorists. The next stop is England, where Claudia must find her niece before she is used as a pawn in a deadly game.
About the Author: Sheila Lowe is the award-winning author of six books about handwriting psychology and ten suspense fiction. President of the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation and Ethics Chair of the Scientific Association of Forensic Examiners, she has taught Introduction to Handwriting Examination at the University of California Riverside campus in the Crime Scene Investigation certificate program. Working with a software company, she produced the Handwriting Analyzer software, which has been used by businesses and individuals around the world since 1997.
Sheila writes stories of psychological suspense that put ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. Originally from the UK, she has lived in Southern California for most of her life. Her books are not cozies, but she does have a cat.
http://linktr.ee/sheilaloweauthor
I am so intrigued by your description of Dead Letters! Off to buy. Thanks for joining me today, Sheila!
Sheila,
Great post. I’m lucky that we’re friends. I loved DEAD LETTERS and I’m looking forward to reading the others in the series.
Great, interesting post. Looking forward to Dead Letters.
What a terrific post! Dead Letters sounds fascinating.
Where would the writer community be without our friends? I’m so grateful for all the support and encouragement Donnell has given me over the years. And I was thrilled when Sheila agreed to help as I developed a new character for my fourth Sydney book. A character who went on to star in his own series. Thank you again, Sheila, for walking me through the process of handwriting analysis. Your help was invaluable! Good luck as you launch into the indie world with an already amazing career.
Sheila, this is an interesting post, and thanks so much for sharing your publishing story with us. I find it fascinating the serendipity that connects us with others who help. Love this story! Thanks to you and Donnell!
Thanks for the terrific post. Like you, I am so deeply grateful for my kind and generous friends in the CO Writing community. Without them I definitely would still be struggling to get published. I have learned so much from them!!!
Wonderful post, Shiela, and so true!
I’m looking forward to reading Dead Letters. It sounds interesting.
Thanks so much, everyone! We all prop each other up.
I agree with your take on writing friends. I don’t know what I’d do without mine.
Just bought the book. Looking forward to reading it right after I finish the book I’m reading now.
Thanks so much, everyone! And thanks especially to those of you who bought Dead Letters. If you like it, please consider posting a brief review. The friends we have make it all worthwhile.
Thank you, Margaret. Serendipity is key!