I drive to NOLA on Sunday. I'm so excited I can barely sit still! Research, crawfish, Fort Macomb, oysters, Oak Alley, shrimp loafs, oh boy oh boy oh boy. It is a shame my lady friend will be unable after all to make the trip, but I'll bring her back a muffuletta on ice.
Two developments. First, the critique group made me realize I had to bust Amy and her uniformed compadre in The Rothschild Jewels. Since I did not do due diligence in my research, I had it in my head that it would sound GREAT to call Amy "Lieutenant." And I needed Amy and Kowalski to be of equal rank.
So four mouse clicks later I have a print out of the rank structure in the New Orleans Police Department.
Near the bottom of the pyramid is five flavors of "Officer." "Detective" was just above them but without a listed salary range (the only category on the chart that did not provide that info). Then came corporals or sergeants and captains and such.
So, Amy remains a plainclothes detective for NOPD, but her uniformed partner of equal rank now is an Officer 3." She still gets to say "Permission denied, Officer."
The writing critique group I sit with has been a help. But the practical reality of how the group works means The Rothschild Jewels may not see print until 2017!
Instead, Volume 6 -- tentatively The Wedding Fatality -- is under Sue's careful examination for continuity as well as splelling.
I'm concerned that there may be parts of the story that don't make sense because their explanations were given in The Rothschild Jewels or The Wrong Twin -- and they are still a bunch of paper stuffed in shoe boxes on the closet floor.
So, when you read The Wedding Fatality this fall, some minor things might confuse you. Trust me, all will be revealed. Eventually.
Two developments. First, the critique group made me realize I had to bust Amy and her uniformed compadre in The Rothschild Jewels. Since I did not do due diligence in my research, I had it in my head that it would sound GREAT to call Amy "Lieutenant." And I needed Amy and Kowalski to be of equal rank.
So four mouse clicks later I have a print out of the rank structure in the New Orleans Police Department.
Near the bottom of the pyramid is five flavors of "Officer." "Detective" was just above them but without a listed salary range (the only category on the chart that did not provide that info). Then came corporals or sergeants and captains and such.
So, Amy remains a plainclothes detective for NOPD, but her uniformed partner of equal rank now is an Officer 3." She still gets to say "Permission denied, Officer."
The writing critique group I sit with has been a help. But the practical reality of how the group works means The Rothschild Jewels may not see print until 2017!
Instead, Volume 6 -- tentatively The Wedding Fatality -- is under Sue's careful examination for continuity as well as splelling.
I'm concerned that there may be parts of the story that don't make sense because their explanations were given in The Rothschild Jewels or The Wrong Twin -- and they are still a bunch of paper stuffed in shoe boxes on the closet floor.
So, when you read The Wedding Fatality this fall, some minor things might confuse you. Trust me, all will be revealed. Eventually.