How to Deal with a Garden-Variety Social Media Pest: Ask the Manners Doctor

The Manners Doctor, aka Camilla Randall, author of "Good Manners for Bad Times" and "Rx for the Modern Wedding", has agreed to visit this blog once a month to answer some of our questions about contemporary online etiquette.

Dear Manners Doctor,

I’m on social media because I use it to promote my gardening blog. But I'm thinking of deleting my accounts because a weird person has been attacking me with nasty accusations that have no basis in fact. 

Three or four times a day he’ll send me a Tweet saying. “You are so wrong about Gerbera daisies!”  and “Why do you hate Gerbera daisies?” and “What did Gerbera daisies ever do to you? Time to apologize, Karen!”

I tweeted back at this person, who calls himself "CadDeVil" asking him politely to stop harassing me. Then he sent a barrage of Tweets calling me a "snowflake" for getting angry when someone "disagreed" with me.

But you can't "disagree" with something that was never was said, can you?

You're Next, Karen!

Unfortunately, now he's found my Facebook page and keeps posting pictures of dead Gerbera daisies, saying “You’re next, Karen!”

Here’s the thing: I’ve never written one word about Gerbera daisies, and my name’s not Karen.

I don’t particularly like Gerberas, but I have never said that on my blog. I’m mostly all about miniature roses, especially the new hardy climbers. I’ve gone through my archives twice looking for something I might have said about daisies that could trigger this person’s anger.

All I could find is something I wrote in 2017: “Shasta daisies do not like to have wet feet. Make sure you plant them in well-drained soil.”

Shasta Daisies do not like wet feet

Do you think anybody might find that offensive? Should I apologize? I feel terrible if I’ve offended this person, but I honestly can’t find any evidence that I've ever written a word about Gerbera daisies.

I want to prove to him that I haven’t done what he accuses me of, but I don't want to offend him further. I'm losing sleep over this! 

Should I delete my social media accounts?

Not Karen in Kansas

Dear Not Karen,

Should you apologize? By all means. The Manners Doctor believes that apologies are the lubricant that keeps civilization running. She believes an apology can be the solution to nearly everything.   

The person who apologizes has the power to alleviate the suffering of the person demanding it. So by all means accept that power.

A nice apology also makes an escape much easier when you need to make a quick call to law enforcement. 

But did you do anything wrong? Absolutely not! 

Why would you delete social media accounts you need for your business? You just need that handy button that says "block." 

First, it's possible you're dealing with a person with mental health challenges, and unless you are a medical professional, any further communication would be practicing medicine without a license. 

However, in all probability, your social media has simply been invaded by a garden-variety pest known as the Internet Troll. So the block button is even more valuable.The only rule for dealing with a troll is "Do Not Feed." 

The Manners Doctor herself often has to deal with this invasive species.

Unfortunately, the word “Manners” can trigger angry responses from people who have none.

A troll is fed by attention, so you must eliminate it, entirely.

Back when the Manners Doctor was in school—when the earth’s crust was still cooling—if a person wanted to make an aggressive, bullying, childish bid for attention, they would often lower their trousers and bend over to show off their derrieres to the desired audience. I believe they learned this from chimpanzees.

It was called “mooning.”

Trolls in simpler times.

However, in this era, the same sort of people get attention by claiming to be offended.

The Manners Doctor rather prefers mooning. It may be crude, rude, and unattractive, but it's not as dishonest. 

You have allowed yourself to be manipulated by the troll's unjust accusations. We all feel an instinctive need to defend ourselves against injustice, so an unjust accusation is a simple way to hook their prey. 

But be aware the accusations have nothing to do with you. They are simply the "trousers" that Mr. DeVil has lowered. 

The Doctor would be very surprised to learn that "CadDeVil" had been emotionally wounded by any Tweets about gardening.

Here’s what you do: Go to one of Mr. DeVil's tweets and click on the little downward facing arrow in the upper right corner. A menu will drop down. You can choose to block or mute this person’s Tweets, and unfollow him, of course.

Then you go to Facebook and unfriend and block him as well. Also adjust your privacy settings to block anybody from posting on your page without your permission. And I suggest you remove your email address from public view.

You might want to do a quick Google search of the miscreant's online name with the word "troll." This will probably tell you that you are far from the only victim of this particular pest. 

After that, simply put him/her out of your mind.

Or if a fleeting thought of CadDeVil should appear, imagine he's desperately showing you a chimpanzee-like "moon" and act accordingly.

Very Truly Yours,

The Manners Doctor.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

"Delicious wit, wonderful eccentric characters, and a beguiling plot. Camilla Randall is a delight!"...Melodie Campbell, Canada's "Queen of Comedy"

It's a comedy-mystery about cyberbullying, the gangs of new media, and the ghost of Richard III. Plus a cat named Buckingham.

"This wonderfully satiric comedy is a joy to read. On the surface, it's a frothy romance cum suspense story about a whacky writer, Camilla, whose life is threatened by trolls and who topples from one hilarious disaster into the next. But underneath, it provides a perceptive insight into the mad world of modern publishing, the sub-culture of Internet lunatics and the mindset of cultists who can - and do - believe ten impossible things before breakfast. The reader is left with the question: how much of the story, perish the thought, might be true? Tremendous fun, wittily satiric and highly recommended."...Nigel J. Robinson

Available in ebook from:

All Amazons Kobo  Nook Smashwords  Googleplay Scribd 

Available in paper from:

AmazonUS AmazonUK  Barnes & Noble

Audiobook from Audible  and iTunes

Using Fiction to Process Real Life Trauma: How I Survived an Online Troll Attack

This week one of my readers suggested that I put more autobiographical material in my novels. She especially wanted to know more about the time I was stalked and terrorized by a gang of Amazon review trolls and Goodreads bullies.

The truth is, some scenes from So Much For Buckingham take a whole lot of material from my real experiences back in 2012. 

So I decided to post a scene here today.

I think writing this scene helped me process my own trauma and put it in perspective. By adding the cat for comic relief, it also helped me lighten my attitude to my own experience.

When I was under attack, I hadn't committed the cardinal sin Camilla has—responding to an online review. But I had witnessed the bullying of a teenager who had responded negatively to an online review and that meant I got on the full Goodreads bully treatment. (Goodreads later banned the ringleaders of that notorious gang.)

The obscene threats are taken verbatim from threats I saw or received via email, blog comment, and “review.” The bullies did indeed send me a photo of my house along with death threats, to escalate my fear. 

I only figured out later the photo they emailed me was simply taken from Google Maps. At the time I feared these people were right here on my property, photographing me. The Google image had been taken only months earlier and the photographer happened to get my garbage bins in the shot. The night I got the death threat, it was garbage night and the bins were at the curb just as they were in the photo.

The panic Camilla feels is what I felt. I knew I couldn’t get any help from law enforcement, since I had no proof these lunatics planned to carry out the threats—and it turned out they didn't. But I had no way of knowing that. So I was as terrified as if these murderer-wannabes were really outside my door.

photo of my house from Google Maps

I think online bullying has only got worse since then. But I don’t think it’s as prevalent in the online writing community as it was in the wild days of the "Kindle Goldrush."

Like Camilla, I have worked in bookstores, although I've never owned one, as Camilla does. She’s an author, like me, but she writes etiquette books, something I would fail at miserably.

I did not have Buckingham to save the day.

I did once have a tuxedo cat who banged my screen door the way Buckingham does in this scene, but alas, I didn’t have him to save me from the psycho review bullies during my night of terror.

In the following scene, Camilla is alone in her cottage, unable to contact her best friend Plantagenet, who has flown to England (Where he meets the ghost of Richard III, but that's another subplot.) 

Plus her publishers haven't returned her calls for weeks. So she feels alone in the world when she gets the death threat. She has been getting nasty "reviews" and comments from the self-styled "review police" after committing the gaffe of responding to a review, but this is the first time her life is threatened.

Later one of the trolls, "DickonthePig" is found murdered during a historical reenactment in the English Midlands, and Plantagenet is a suspect. But here Camilla doesn't know if these people are truly homicidal, or just obscenity-obsessed online crazies. 

This passage from So Much for Buckingham is from Part III The Kingdom of Perpetual Night

There were a dozen more one-star "reviews" on my Amazon book pages. Especially Good Manners for Bad Times.

These poisonous reviews were even more toxic and threatening than the last batch. Some accused me of criminal behavior and others of sexual deviance. Lots of them threatened me with rape. Some also threatened somebody named Hinckley Lutterworth.

I didn't even know anybody named Hinckley Lutterworth, although the name rang a distant bell.

I felt a burning in my gut as I skimmed the headers. Part of me wanted to click away and pretend it wasn't happening, but I knew I had to face the full catastrophe.

The most recent "review" had come in only a minute before.

"Jezbellzbooks" said "Dr. Manners is a BBA. Sumbudy shud teach HER sum manners. Maybe with a **** up her ***. Or get a gun. Just shoot that old bat. Put her out of our misery."

A gun. They wanted to kill me. Apparently the crime of responding to a ridiculous "review" was a capital offense to these people.

I refreshed the page and another one came up.

"Owain Glendower" said: "These bloody reviewers have completely lost the plot. As William Shakespeare said, 'Hell is empty and all the devils are here'. Looks like the work of You-Know-Who-You-Are-You-Sodding-Prats. The filth on Book Reviews dot Com is even worse. Utterly depraved. What's wrong with you people? Henry Tudor was one of the greatest kings Britain has ever seen."

Except for the weird reference to English history, that was the first "review" that had made any sense. It even gave me five stars.

I Googled Book Reviews dot Com and searched for my books.

What came up turned my stomach. There were many pages of obscene comments. "Author Should be Sodomized Sideways with a Garden Gnome" was repeated at least 50 times by different "reviewers" with monikers like "SmarterThanYouBitch", "Pottymouth" and "F***U2". Some had odd symbols instead of names. But they all called me a "badly behaving author" and threatened me with rape and torture. Hinckley Lutterworth got a number of threats too, although he didn't seem to get the "badly behaving author" accusations.

The only person who defended me was my Amazon friend "Owain Glendower," who appeared to be a civilized, non-psychopathic person. As a result, subsequent reviews attacked him, too.

DickonThePig, who seemed to be everywhere, said he knew where Owain lived and threatened to cut off his private parts with rusty garden shears. The one called "Alfred the Cake" threatened to blow him up with a fertilizer bomb, and "Libra Rising" thought Owain deserved garden gnome rape as well.

Gardening seemed to be a theme here.

There was also excessive verbiage about Richard III and Henry Tudor. What these people thought I had to do with medieval English monarchs I couldn't even guess.

With my publishers AWOL and Plantagenet refusing to return my phone calls, I had no idea what to do about any of this.

I took off to eat some dinner, but when I came back, there were plenty more toxic reviews. On Book Reviews dot Com, Owain Glendower and somebody called Jasper Tudor seemed to have got themselves into a "flame war" with DickonthePig, Libra Rising, and Alfred the Cake. It was horrific, but also pretty laughable. Luckily, they dropped any mention of me early in their Tudor-vs-Plantagenet battle in the comment thread, but they all threatened each other using obscenities that nearly seared my eyeballs.

Why did the Internet bring out such bad behavior in people?  

I started to feel panicky.

I checked my email. Plant would have to reply to my frantic messages sometime. 

Oh, good. I had one new email. From a U.K. address.

I started to feel relief. It had to be either Plant or somebody from the publishing company.

The relief didn’t last long.

"The rape train is coming. Your raped and mutilated corpse will be in tomorrow's Bay News. We will choke you with Hinckley Lutterworth's severed penis. Libra will rise."

There were two attachments, photos. When I enlarged the first I saw a 1930s California bungalow-style stucco cottage. Mine. The second was a picture of my bookstore.

I started to shake. Partly with fear and partly with rage. These rapist, misogynist monsters had been here. In my very own courtyard, taking photos of my house. They could be out there right now.

My first instinct was to call the police. But then I realized it was pointless. People made stupid threats on the Internet all the time these days. You could see them in the comments of every online news article. In fact, I remembered reading that the Supreme Court had recently ruled that making online threats was perfectly legal if the threatener didn't mean to carry them out.

How was I supposed to know if these crazed "book reviewers" really intended to rape and murder me?

And who on earth was Hinckley Lutterworth? And why didn't these people have lives?

The screen door banged.

And banged again.

If this was a prank, it was entirely too close to home. It was time to call the police, no matter what the Supreme Court said.

I reminded myself I needed to breathe. But I had to do it silently. I didn't want whoever was out there to know for sure that I was here.

This wasn't Internet bullying anymore. This was real life. I had rapist psychos banging on my front door.

It occurred to my rational brain that they must be very lightweight rapist psychos. I hadn't heard any footsteps. People always made noise crunching through the gravel in the courtyard.

But I wasn't taking any chances. I dialed 911.

The door banged again.

As the phone rang, I grabbed the empty wine bottle by the neck to use as a weapon.

"What is your emergency?" the operator said.

"Somebody keeps slamming my screen door," I whispered into the phone. "They've sent me a threatening email. I think it's a bunch of lunatics from Amazon. They know where I live. They sent a picture of my house. They want to rape and murder me, apparently. And mutilation will be involved."

"Amazon? The online store? Are you being physically threatened?" The woman's voice was businesslike, but soothing.

"Um…They said news about my corpse would be in tomorrow's Bay News. I guess they don't know it's a weekly." I worked hard to make my voice sound calm. I didn't want to sound like a paranoid crazy person. "They also threatened somebody named Hinckley Lutterworth, and I don't even know anybody by that name. Not that I can remember. They also said something like 'Libra will rise'. I have no idea what that's about. I'm a Scorpio."

"Can you see who is at the door, ma'am?  Do they have weapons?"

I could see nothing from the front window. Not even a shadow thrown by the bright security light that illuminated the path between the store and my cottage.

I drew up my courage, set down the phone, and unlocked the door.

"I have the police on the phone!" I shouted into the courtyard as I yanked on the doorknob.

But I saw no one. The person who had been banging the door had disappeared. Which made no sense. I still hadn't heard any footsteps on the gravel.

I picked up the phone again.

"I don't see anybody," I said. "But they could be hiding."

"Are these people threatening you now, ma'am?"

I let go of the door handle and looked in horror as the screen door moved away from me, seemingly on its own.

Then it banged again.

I looked down. There was my cat Buckingham, with his claws hooked in the screen, pulling back the door.

He unhooked his claw and gave me a look that said, "You can't be this stupid. Open the damn door."

"I, um, maybe it's not…" I felt my face flush. "I'm so sorry. It seems to be a false alarm. Sorry. It's only my cat. Don't bother the police."

"A unit has already been dispatched, ma'am."

I closed my phone and gave Buckingham a stern look.

"I'll let you in on one condition," I said to his smug little white-mustached face. "When the rapist reviewers come for me, you will use those claws on them."

***

Have you ever been the victim of online trolls? Did they send death threats? Did you call the police? Have you ever processed a trauma by fictionalizing it? 

So Much for Buckingham IS ON SALE AT ALL THE AMAZON STORES
Until September 30th

"Delicious wit, wonderful eccentric characters, and a beguiling plot. Camilla Randall is a delight!"...Melodie Campbell, Canada's "Queen of Comedy"

It's a comedy-mystery about cyberbullying, the gangs of new media, and the ghost of Richard III. Plus a cat named Buckingham.

"This wonderfully satiric comedy is a joy to read. On the surface, it's a frothy romance cum suspense story about a whacky writer, Camilla, whose life is threatened by trolls and who topples from one hilarious disaster into the next. But underneath, it provides a perceptive insight into the mad world of modern publishing, the sub-culture of Internet lunatics and the mindset of cultists who can - and do - believe ten impossible things before breakfast. The reader is left with the question: how much of the story, perish the thought, might be true? Tremendous fun, wittily satiric and highly recommended."...Nigel J. Robinson

Available in ebook from:

All Amazons Kobo  Nook Smashwords  Googleplay Scribd 

Available in paper from:

AmazonUS AmazonUK  Barnes & Noble

Audiobook from Audible  and iTunes

Googling Old Boyfriends

I don't have another poison episode this month, because I'm busy finishing up my latest Camilla Randall Mystery (#7) Googling Old Boyfriends. I'm sending it to my editor on Monday. 

It's scheduled to come out in December. Paperback in January. (And there will be a fun staged reading in Morro Bay with actress Mara Purl in February.)

And yes, there will be poisons involved.

~

Here's a taste:

“Okay, ’fess up.” Mickie McCormack startled me as she plunked a copy of Liane Moriarty’s Truly, Madly, Guilty on my counter at the bookshop.

“If you’re that distracted by the Internet you’re either looking at porn or you’re Googling old boyfriends.”

Mickie’s brown eyes twinkled at me from behind Ralph Lauren tortoise shell frames.

I felt my cheeks heat up.

“Um, I’m guilty of the latter, I’m afraid. I’ve just run into an old boyfriend and he’s invited me to dinner, but…”

The bell on the door jingled.

There he was. Captain Maverick Jesus Zukowski of the L.A.P.D. Six foot, three inches of tall, dark, and the-one-who-got-away. 

~

No cover yet. I'm working on some ideas to give to the designer. I'm thinking of something like this:

Of course Buckingham will have to make an appearance.

As long as Oona Foster isn't there. Then he'll hide out until she's gone.

And here's Buckingham on the cover of his own book, which is only 99c right now on Amazon! 

SO MUCH FOR BUCKINGHAM: Camilla mystery #5

This comic novel—which takes its title from the most famous Shakespearean quote that Shakespeare never wrote—explores how easy it is to perpetrate a character assassination whether by a great playwright or a gang of online trolls.

It's a laugh-out-loud mashup of romantic comedy, crime fiction, and satire: Dorothy Parker meets Dorothy L. Sayers. Perennially down-and-out socialite Camilla Randall--a.k.a. "The Manners Doctor"--is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but she always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way. Usually with more than a little help from her gay best friend, Plantagenet Smith.

In this hilarious episode she makes the mistake of responding to an online review of one of her etiquette guides and sets off a chain of events that leads to arson, attempted rape and murder. 

Sample reviews:
"Delicious wit, wonderful eccentric characters, and a beguiling plot. Camilla Randall is a delight!"...Melodie Campbell, "Canada's Queen of Comedy."

"Both a comedic romance and a crime suspense thriller, it presents the 'Perils of Pauline' adventures of a modern author, Camilla, whose mad-cap follies are hugely entertaining. But the novel has a serious undertone of social comment. Even the craziest of its zanies have their counterparts in the real world and the author faithfully depicts their grim, and often deadly, sub-cultures behind a veneer of knockabout wit. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys romance, and crime suspense, with a lethally satiric edge." Dr. John Yeoman.

"Anne Allen's ability to weave throughout her stories a current social commentary easily and throughout the story amazes me. She does this without jeopardizing her plot or her characters' development."...blogger Sherrey Meyer

So Much for Buckingham is available in ebook at all the Amazons,

Kobo, Nook Smashwords, iTunes, Inkterra, Google Play, 24Symbols and Scribd.

And in paperback it is available at

Amazon, Amazon UK , and Barnes and Noble

And there's an Audiobook! It's narrated by CS Perryess and Anne R. Allen is available from 

Audible and iTunes

Poisoning People for Fun and Profit—Part 2: Wolfsbane

Wolfsbane, aka Monkshood or Devil's Helmet (aconitum) is one of the more magical and romantic-sounding poisons. It carries connotations of witch's brews and wizardry. It often appears in fantasy novels and is rumored to turn people into werewolves. 

But it's very real. And very nasty. People can be poisoned by simply touching the leaves of the plant, since it can be absorbed through the skin, and strong enough tincture can cause almost instantaneous death. 

Wolfsbane is also known as Monkshood

The victims appear to die of suffocation, because it causes the heart and lungs to stop functioning. If the dosage hasn't been very high, a victim can be saved if they get treatment within the hour. Charcoal can decontaminate the intestinal tract, and Lidocaine or similar drugs will combat the heart arrhythmia. 

But without treatment, death usually happens within two to six hours. 

The initial signs are nausea and vomiting, followed by tingling and numbness in the face and burning in the abdomen.

 

Aconitum napellum

The numbness then spreads to the arms and legs, and the victim will feel dizzy and confused.

Death is caused by paralysis of the heart and lungs. The only post-mortem signs are the same as asphyxiation. 

The flowering plant is a lovely purple color and grows in moist, shady soil. Over 250 species of it are found all over the world. It belongs to the genus Ranunculaceae and is a cousin of the innocent buttercup.

Wolfsbane is related to the buttercup

Aconite has been used since ancient times, and early Greeks used it on their arrows to kill their enemies more quickly. (The word aconitum probably comes from "akon" the Greek word for "arrow".) In Greek mythology, Medea attempted to kill Theseus using aconite.

The emperor Claudius is said to have been poisoned by his wife, Agrippina, using aconite in a plate of mushrooms, and the Romans subsequently made it illegal to grow the plant.

Aconitum variega

In small doses it also has medicinal properties, and is used in Ayurvedic and Chinese traditional medicine.

The victim in my fifth Camilla book So Much for Buckingham is poisoned with wolfsbane, and because Plantagenet discovers the body—and he had been seen admiring wolfsbane flowers in the nearby garden earlier—he is arrested for the murder. 

Does it protect you from vampires? 

A docent warns him not to touch it, and hints that it might turn him into a werewolf. But much more mundane horrors are in store.

Wolfsbane is very common—and amazingly versatile—in werewolf mythology. Some stories say the plant can turn people into werewolves and others say it can prevent the transformation. In the Vampire Diaries, wolfsbane protects vampires from werewolves, and in the classic 1931 film Dracula, it's used to protect people from vampires.

Personally, I think I'd rather take my chances with the vampires.

SO MUCH FOR BUCKINGHAM: Camilla Mystery #5

This comic novel—which takes its title from the most famous Shakespearean quote that Shakespeare never wrote—explores how easy it is to perpetrate a character assassination whether by a great playwright or a gang of online trolls.

It's a laugh-out-loud mashup of romantic comedy, crime fiction, and satire: Dorothy Parker meets Dorothy L. Sayers. Perennially down-and-out socialite Camilla Randall--a.k.a. "The Manners Doctor"--is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but she always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way. Usually with more than a little help from her gay best friend, Plantagenet Smith. n this hilarious episode she makes the mistake of responding to an online review of one of her etiquette guides and sets off a chain of events that leads to arson, attempted rape and murder. 

Sample reviews:
"Delicious wit, wonderful eccentric characters, and a beguiling plot. Camilla Randall is a delight!"...Melodie Campbell, "Canada's Queen of Comedy."

"Both a comedic romance and a crime suspense thriller, it presents the 'Perils of Pauline' adventures of a modern author, Camilla, whose mad-cap follies are hugely entertaining. But the novel has a serious undertone of social comment. Even the craziest of its zanies have their counterparts in the real world and the author faithfully depicts their grim, and often deadly, sub-cultures behind a veneer of knockabout wit. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys romance, and crime suspense, with a lethally satiric edge." Dr. John Yeoman.

"Anne Allen's ability to weave throughout her stories a current social commentary easily and throughout the story amazes me. She does this without jeopardizing her plot or her characters' development."...book blogger Sherrey Meyer

So Much for Buckingham is available in ebook at all the Amazons,

Kobo, Nook Smashwords, iTunes, Inkterra, Google Play, and Scribd.

And in paperback you can find it at

Amazon, Amazon UK , and Barnes and Noble

Who Does Best as an Indie Author, Why Write Funny Mysteries and More!

Anne Talks with Debbie A. McClure

This is a conversation I had with Canadian author and motivational speaker Debbie A. McClure on her blog last summer It was really fun to talk with her. It's interesting to see how well (badly) I predicted what the next six months would be like. Ha!  

                                                       Debbie 

Debbie A. McClure

You combine comedy with mystery writing. That can't be easy, or is it? What is the easiest and/or most difficult aspect to writing this type of book?

Anne

Actually, what's hard for me is taking the comedy out of my writing. I find humor in everything. Always have. When I was about seven, I used to put on puppet shows in my backyard. Lots of carnage. Lots of laughs. I was a twisted kid. LOL.

When I try to write "heartfelt" and deeply emotional stuff, it falls flat. I like fast-paced stories that are fun, but leave you with something to think about later.

Mysteries were an obvious choice for me. I've been a mystery fan since I read my first Nancy Drew book, and since then I've read all the classics: pretty much everything by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, Josephine Tey, Chandler, Hammett, etc. I've written a few books that aren't standard whodunnits, but they always have a mystery element. I think I like the structure involved with the mystery genre.

My newest novel, So Much for Buckingham, is the 5th in my Camilla Randall series of comedy-mysteries. It deals with some major issues: cyberbullying and character assassination. I also delve into the mystery of whether Richard III really killed the princes in the Tower. (I don't think he did.) Camilla's best friend is accused of killing an historical re-enactor dressed as the Duke of Buckingham. The only witness is apparently the ghost of Richard III. I hope people will find it funny and thought provoking.

Book #4, No Place Like Home, deals with homelessness and "bag lady syndrome"—the fear many older women have of ending up homeless.

Because I write funny mysteries, I get to deal with these issues in an unsentimental, detached way that examines all sides and still provides a lot of entertainment.

Debbie

Many writers today struggle with how to fit into this new e-landscape we're seeing. What advice would you give to someone just starting out?

Anne         

Number one: let go of the idea that paper books are the only "real" publishing. Most authors now make the bulk of their money from ebooks.

Also, accept social media as a necessary evil and then find aspects you can enjoy. For me, it's blogging. Every author needs to find a place online where they can interact and make friends. That's where we find readers and mentors—and maybe an agent and publisher.

I'd also add this advice to new writers: don't believe everything you read online. Lots of the publishing advice on the internet is old, misguided, or just plain wrong. Always consider the source and read widely.

Debbie

Who has been your greatest life or business mentor, and why?

Anne 

I'm very lucky that I made friends with my California Central Coast neighbor  Catherine Ryan Hyde (author of Pay it Forward and Amazon superstar) early in my career. She has been an inspiration and mentor to me for the last two decades. She's an amazing human being. I am so blessed that she agreed to co-write a handbook for writers with me: How to be a Writer in the E-Age: A Self-Help Guide.

Her ups and downs over the last twenty years have shown me that there is no certainty in this business, and you need to keep in touch with your readers and stay true to your voice no matter what.

Debbie

 You and I are both representatives of the "Boomer" generation. What advantages would you say we have over our mother's and grandmother's generations?

Anne 

Oh, there are so many! Tech alone has totally changed the process. I started writing in the days of typewriter ribbons and carbons, and younger people don't realize how time consuming all that stuff was. No cut and paste. One typo and you had to start the page over with a carbon.

And now we have email queries. I still have some of those old nesting boxes we used to send out our manuscripts with postage for return. Expensive! Plus all that postage …

And of course there's the fact women have so much more freedom and respect than they did in the early and mid-20th century.

As an unmarried female, I'm not expected to live with other family members as their live-in servant, the way "old maids", divorcees, and widows did in my grandmother's day.

Even my mother had to fight hard for respect, even though she had an Ivy League PhD. in English literature. People accept me as an authority because of what I say, not my gender. That's such a huge thing that younger women take for granted.

Debbie 

Writing is far more difficult than most people understand. Was there anything in your past professions as an actress and/or stage director that helped prepare you for this role of writer?

Anne 

Acting and directing are great preparation for a novelist! As an actor, you learn you always need motivation for whatever action you take on stage. A novelist needs to remember that even the most minor characters need to have a goal and a purpose in every scene.

Anne as the evil queen in "Pippin"

As a director, I learned what short attention spans audiences have, and how to keep up the pace and never let up. The immediate feedback of rapt attention and laughter vs. coughing, rustling programs, and trips to the restroom lets a director know what works and what doesn't.

Debbie

What would you say has been the most difficult personal lesson for you to learn in life?

Anne

I used to be way too trusting and giving. When I was younger, I always assumed everybody had honest, altruistic motives the way I did. That was childish. I've had to learn that accepting people as they present themselves can lead to grief. Learning to recognize narcissists and sociopaths and avoid letting them dominate my life has been a huge (and tough) life lesson for me. 

But I've had so much fun killing them off in my novels! LOL. My novel The Gatsby Game was inspired by a narcissistic ex-lover whose death is still a real-life Hollywood mystery.

Also, I've had to accept that I have more highly tuned senses than most people, so I can easily get over-stimulated—which leads to health problems. So I can't push myself past my limits with things like NaNoWriMo, big conferences, or marathon book tours.

Learning that I'm a "highly sensitive person" has finally allowed me to learn to say no to overload and overwhelming situations.

(Update: Haha! I failed to follow my own advice and did the overload thing, big time--see my update below.)

Debbie

What do you see as the future for publishing and the new e-technology, and why?

Anne

Obviously the e-reader has changed the publishing industry in a major way, and the changes keep coming.

I'd like to believe the publishing industry won't go the way of the music business, where everything is expected to be free and people think artists shouldn't be paid. Definitely the new paradigm has led to a lower bottom line for most traditional authors.

It has also given rise to the self-publishing movement, which is great for a lot of authors, and I've even self-published some of my own books.

But the "Kindle gold rush" is over, and lots of amateur writers who hoped to make millions are giving up. Kindle Unlimited has cut into the self-publishing bottom line in a major way for a lot of us.

Most self-publishers need to spread a wide net on many retailers in many countries in order to continue to thrive

Things will never return to "business as usual" pre-Kindle days, but we also can't party like it's 2009. Self-publishing will continue to be a viable option, but only the savvy and hard-working will make a living at it.

I think bookstores will continue to exist, the way movie theatres do, in spite of Netflix, Hulu and other streaming sites. People like the whole experience of visiting a bookstore.

Debbie 

You've collaborated on two projects now, one with author Catherine Ryan Hyde, and one with NYT million-seller author, Ruth Harris. Can you tell us a little about them, and what you feel are the advantages of writers partnering?

Anne

I collaborate with Ruth on our blog, but we don't actually write together. Ruth writes her own posts once a month. I don't have much input into her posts, except to catch the occasional typo (which she does for me, too.) She always comes up with great topics. It's been a very friendly and smooth-running partnership. 

Anne R. Allen's Blog...with Ruth Harris

The book I co-authored with Amazon superstar Catherine Ryan Hyde, How To Be A Writer In The E-Age, came together very easily because it was a nonfiction book and we wrote alternate chapters. We were already good friends, so it was a great experience.

I've also worked with other novelists on boxed sets and anthologies, and we worked a lot on co-promotion. These were fantastic opportunities to network with other authors in my genre and meet new readers. I think authors should jump on any chance to collaborate with other authors in boxed sets and other co-promotions. It's a fantastic way to expand your readership.

Debbie

Blogging has become something more writers are discovering, but often struggle with how to create a "voice"or meaningful content. What recommendations would you give to writers just starting out on this blogging path?

Anne

Actually, I'm writing a book the subject. Because I've managed to build a very successful blog, averaging about 90,000 hits a month, with nearly 4000 subscribers, I think I am uniquely qualified to help new authors build a blog. (update: I'm referring to my other blog, Anne R. Allen's Blog with Ruth Harris here.) 

The most important thing to remember about blogs is that they are part of social media, and social media is, well, social. So authors need to interact and respond to comments, as well as visit and comment on other blogs.

A good way to find your voice is to pay attention to how you comment on other blogs. Use that voice on your own. Don't preach, brag, or condescend. Just chat. Treat people as if they're visitors in your living room.

Debbie 

What are your thoughts on the traditional vs self-publishing debate so prevalent in our industry right now?

Anne 

I don't think all authors are cut out to self-publish. It's very hard to make the big time if you're starting to self-publish right now and you've never been published before.

The days of breakout Amazon stars like Hugh Howey are pretty much over because Amazon's algorithms no longer favor indies, and Kindle Unlimited has drastically reduced royalties. It's also hard to get traction on other retailers like iTunes and GooglePlay if you're an indie.

Should everybody self-publish?

But self-publishing is fantastic for established midlist authors who are tired of the games Big Publishing plays, or who want to supplement their income with novellas and stories between "big books."

I would recommend that non-tech-savvy writers try for traditional publishing first, especially if they write literary fiction or children's lit—which sell better in brick and mortar stores.

I don't know of any literary writer who has an exclusively indie career that has taken off. I think that's because literary readers mostly depend on reviews in established print magazines.

And children's books (except for YA) don't sell as well in e-books as adult genre fiction does.

But it is true that writers going the traditional route need to be much more wary than in earlier times. They need to find agents or small presses that understand the new paradigm and will allow them to self-publish between books, and won't offer odious contracts that tie up work for your lifetime plus 70 years.

I've been with a series of small presses, some of which were better than others, but they always gave me my rights back with no problem. I also learned a lot and got great editing.

Now I have some books with a small press and some are self-published. That works for me.

I think most authors will do well if they self-publish at some point, but I don't think it's a good first step for all genres, unless you're really a savvy marketer with a lot of books in the hopper ready to go.

Romance, mystery, and thriller writers may be an exception. I think they can do well self-publishing right out of the gate, especially if they write fast and have a lot of titles. I know a number who do.

Debbie

What is it about writing mysteries, especially those with, ahem, older female protagonists that draws you in and holds you?

Anne

I love writing stories that mix mystery and romantic comedy, especially when the protagonists are older people. In No Place Like Home, 60-yr old former billionaire Doria Windsor, reconnects with her homeless high school sweetheart. That was so much fun to write.

And how often do you read romantic stories about older people? It's fun to do something different.

Debbie

What's next for you, Anne?

Anne 

 So Much For Buckingham launched July 8th and is now available in paperback and ebook.

After that, I'm working on a series of short books for new authors on subjects like blogging, building a platform, writing that first chapter, etc. I'm calling them "two-hour courses" –simple, "just the facts ma'am" type information you might have to plow through a lot of big books or blog archives to get. Plus, I put my own humorous spin on things.

I'll also be starting my next Camilla book, which has the working title, The Knight of Cups. (Update: yes, I know this title is taken now. Sigh.) 

Updates from Anne: 

The best laid plans go kerflooey when you have to deal with personal challenges.  Ever since I gave this interview in July, I've been tied up with medical and technical issues beyond my control. Ironic that I said I was going to say "no" to stress-inducing situations just befor all the stress hit. Haha!

First I lost the ability to walk due to a terrible attack of gout. Then in October, my writing blog got hacked and we've been going through 12-hour a day tech hell ever since. 

That's one of the reasons I started this blog. I have no idea if I'll lose that blog at any minute. Hackers are constantly trying to break in and steal the content and redirect our links. Success has its downside! That's why I like this quiet little blog where I can talk about my books and repost interviews and guest posts.

But my writing has suffered big time. I've hardly started on the short ebooks, and the WIP is now called the Queen of Staves because of that new film called The Knight of Cups (what were the odds? I thought it was kind of original.)

...Anne

Debbie A. McClure is the author of two paranormal romance mystery novels, In The Spirit Of Love, and In The Spirit Of Forgiveness, and the upcoming historical fiction novels, The King's Consort and Forsaking All Others . 

With a background in sales and marketing, as a motivational speaker she talks about following your passion in life and making life changes that matter. 

Debbie motivates and engages her audiences by advising them to "Step Up and Step In" to their lives, their business, and their relationships, take ownership of decisions, and pursue their dreams with solid intent. Too often we allow others to "should" on us, influencing our direction, our thoughts about who we are, and what we're capable of.

For more about Debbie, check out her website.