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For all its emphasis on the religious, the South is a very superstitious place. When I was pregnant with my son (living in Alabama at the time) I had people dangling strings over my stomach to tell the gender of my child, and received dire warnings that I should give my cats away because, “They’ll suck the life right outta that baby!”

I didn’t dare laugh at them.

But some superstitious have gotten ingrained in me. You should see my behavior when salt is spilled. Don’t make me walk under a ladder. I shuddered recently when my son broke his hand mirror he uses to put his contacts in. I make the sign of a cross when a black cat crosses my path (and I’m Presbyterian.) I’ll back into a car and get sopping wet to keep from having an umbrella open indoors.

This makes no sense. It’s completely irrational. But it’s become second nature to me. I won’t mess around with getting hexed!

So, in a small way, the superstitions are controlling my behavior in rather ridiculous ways (throwing salt over my left shoulder, crossing myself, avoiding construction areas.)

I’ve been playing around for a while with having a superstitious person in my books. They’re vulnerable to manipulation, I think. And they behave in unpredictable ways, which can be interesting.

I started thinking about all the irrational things that people do. When I write, I think I focus only on the believable. In fact, sometimes I’ll hear stories on the news and think, “Well, there’s no way I can write that as part of my book. My editor would say it’s completely unrealistic. Truth is stranger than fiction.”

But what about the odd things that people do? The phobias they have that prevent them from flying or from having a pet, or from being around people?

What about even eccentric habits that have gotten ingrained in people and which they’re loath to stray from? The person who always eats his supper while watching Wheel of Fortune. Comfortable habit? Or something more?

What about their past experiences that make them behave in an irrational, but understandable way—their reluctance to become intimate with anyone—taken to the extreme.

Or… their superstitions.

I think it would be interesting to play around with pushing characters in directions they don’t want to travel in. Make them take that plane ride. Tip them over the edge into pyromania from their little candle-burning habit. Turn their clutter into hoarding. Make their superstitions affect their daily behavior…or make them completely wrapped up in their daily horoscope. What kind of conflict could this cause, both internal and external?

I shop like a woman on a mission. I walk in, usually clutching the postcard or coupon that has been mailed to me. Must get navy slacks! I find the navy slacks. I sometimes don’t even try them on, just hold them up. Looks like they’ll fit! I buy them, race out the door, and I’m free! Free with navy slacks!

Except—they’re dry clean only.

I don’t even think about dry clean only. Not in my world. Not with muddy children and a husband who works for a dot-com corporation. They don’t need dry clean only clothes.

I don’t need dry clean only clothes.

The sad process is always the same. Since I never change it, the outcome never changes. I decide that the clothing manufacturer is in cahoots with a dry cleaning syndicate. I put the clothes in the washer on the gentle cycle.

And they die a horrible death.

I can’t handle “complicated” for books, either right now. It’s terrible to admit this— but I just don’t have the time, no matter how much I’d like to.

Right now I’m reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—take II. The first time it had to be returned to the library before I was able to finish it. I decided to buy the book for my second attempt.

It’s a complicated book. There are many family members listed. I felt like I needed a family tree. The plot has different lines and elements. It’s a rich book, though—complex and unique.

I wish I had more time to devote to it!

I write machine-washable, dryer-friendly books. Go ahead and give them a try—you can pick them up, put them down, pause for a week then pick it up again…you shouldn’t be too confused.

• I don’t write similar-sounding character names.
• I don’t have more than six suspects. I don’t have more than two victims.
• I frequently tag a character that’s been off-stage for a while when they come back on: Jim, Karen’s husband, sauntered up to the group…
• There is no forensic stuff that you feel you need to go to med school to grasp.

The reason I’ve adopted the way I write is because I’m reading in spurts. I’ll start reading, then a household emergency comes up. I’ve read several mysteries that have unveiled a killer and I had to flip to the beginning to figure out who they were. Not cool. I’m writing books for busy people like me.

We need both kinds of books…the dry clean only and the machine washable. Life goes through cycles. I’ve had Bleak House periods and beach book periods. I’m having a great time with Larsson’s book, even though it’s taking me a huge amount of time to digest it.

How much time are you spending reading? Do you gravitate toward quicker reads? A little of both? Which do you tend to write and why?

And now—it’s Thursday morning! You know what that means… food!

This morning I’m serving up garlic cheese grits at the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. For those of you curious as to what the heck grits are, all will be explained at the Kitchen. :)

I know y’all think I spend more time at the grocery store than any other place…and you’d be right. I just can’t seem to organize my food menus enough to keep from going to the store every other day.

So I was there yesterday, in a tearing hurry. The school bus was depositing my 3^rd grader in 30 minutes but we were out of yogurt and napkins.

The cart, naturally, was $65.00 full by the time I got to the cash register. I’d realized all the things that I was out of while I walked through the store. On top of that, I was hungry, which is a huge no-no when grocery shopping.

So, still in the wild frenzy, I race up to the checkout and start pulling out cans of cream of something soup. Then, who should come up behind me but a lady with only a few items.

My personal rule is that people with only a handful of items go in front of me. All the time. It results in good karma the next time I go to the store for only sugar. But…the school bus. And my frenzy. And she might be one of those people who pays with dimes and quarters. And…

So I started off pretending I didn’t see her and unloaded my cart. By this time the customer in front of me was finished paying.

I couldn’t stand it. It was my personal rule! I quickly stopped the cashier before she started scanning my things and asked, “Would you like to go ahead?”

Fortunately, this lady apparently had nothing else in life to get to because she said, “Well aren’t you sweet! No, hon, you go right ahead.”

Hot diggity dog!

As for the writing?

I have a personal rule—I go with editorial suggestions. It’s a policy that has served me well. Once it gets into an editor’s hands, I truly think of the book as a collaboration and not my baby anymore.

I was asked to incorporate a particular idea into a book. And I did. I wrote it in and wove it into my story.

Except I thought there might be a problem with one aspect of the addition.

As I continued writing, I saw the problem grow.

I decided to continue writing the idea. Following editorial direction is my personal rule! It results in good karma. I’m easy to work with. I like to do a Good Job.

Sure enough…there ended up being a problem.

Fortunately, after the issue was realized by the editor, I had a great idea for getting out of the problem and still incorporate a part of the original idea.

Following both personal rules served me well. The lady beamed at me for asking if she wanted to go first—I played nice and still got home in time. I followed editorial direction, was a team player, and was able to tweak the problem area later.

Do you have certain rules or principles that guide you each day? Do you stubbornly stay the course like me? Do your personal rules ever lead you astray, or do they work out in the end?

I’m one of those people who has a really tough time writing settings if I’m not looking at the setting I’m writing.

This is why I acted like an insane tourist in Memphis and took hundreds of pictures of…everything. Who knows what might be needed for a future book? I believe I frightened the good people of the Peabody hotel.

I’m also a fan of snapping pics of abandoned houses, old barns, and decrepit rural downtowns. They tell a story. And may host a few ghosts.

Daylight Noir: Raymond Chandler’s Imagined City by Catherine Corman was a full of Los Angeles locales that told stories. And that likely had a ghost or two wandering around.

Corman, in the book’s introduction, explains that Chandler created a world in Los Angeles that’s full of falsehoods:

Only Marlowe is thoroughly genuine. He is incorruptible, searching for the truth in a city of well-guarded secrets…his solitude is writ large on the surrounding environment.

I first discovered the book on Lesa’s Book Critiques blog. To me, it’s a great tool for capturing a mood. The author of the book has cleverly included quotes from Raymond Chandler’s novels on each page. The black and white photos, the sharp angles of the buildings and the shadows they create are very evocative…to me it lends a lonely, deserted feel to each picture.

There’s also a certain seediness to some of the locations, which I enjoyed:one photo showed a set of cement stairs leading to an old door with a cracked-paint threshold. You can easily imagine some dark characters holed up inside.

Even my small-town settings aren’t all cheer and light. As Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple pointed out, evil can reside anywhere—even in villages. Keeping a book like this on my shelf can help me create an ominous mood.

Daylight Noir: Raymond Chandler’s Imagined City by Catherine Corman. Charta, ©2009. ISBN 9788881587247 (paperback), 128p.

Today I’m over at the Ink Spot for my recurring gig with fellow Midnight Ink authors.

My topic du jour is “Public Speaking.” Hope you’ll pop over and say hi.