The weather is finally turning fall-ish here in Northern Arizona. I’ve even slept one night under the down comforter. The dogs are foraging through the dropped leaves like puppies on their evening forest walks, while I have my hands stuffed in my coat sleeves.

But the hummingbirds haven’t migrated south to Mexico yet, and neither have the Monarch butterflies, so I know we’re in the midst of Indian summer, not full blown fall.
​
So, before I leave the book writing posts, and start thinking about Halloween topics, I’d like you to meet the last two important characters in Crescent Moon Crossing, my novel-in-progress

Meet Rumor Vargas - Protagonist

If you read my first book, Song of the Ancients, you will remember Rumor Vargas as Samantha Danroe’s business partner at their antique clothing store in Sedona, AZ.  
 
Rumor was that friend who would drag you to parties and events, while you grumbled all the way. The one who would make you dress in costume, even if costumes weren’t specified on the invitation. We all have one of those friends, right? Who is yours? My current one is Barbie G.

Renaissance Festival full attire despite the 100-degree temps. Ritual without a robe and long black dress? Are you kidding? Our latest costume opportunity was my favorite: Phoenix Symphony performing Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I sat scrunched into the seat next to Barbie’s hoop skirted-theme dress and petticoats—and loved every minute of it.
 
So, Rumor was that kind of friend in my first book. But after her pal Samantha took off for London at the end of that book, with no intention of returning to Arizona, they sold off their store and Rumor moved south to Bisbee, another quirky Arizona town near the Mexico border.
 
In Crescent Moon Crossing, Rumor has again demonstrated her entrepreneurial acumen by opening an antiques store in Bisbee, specializing in folk art, occult pieces and yes, vintage clothing.
 
She has also earned her private pilot license and travels during the summer, acquiring antiques from around the world. If you’ve ever been to Bisbee, by the way, you know how well this eclectic store would fit in in there in real life!
 
Rumor, now 32, is American but has her Mexican father's olive skin, dark hair and eyebrows.  She is bi-lingual and often volunteers at a local refugee shelter called Hope House. By the end of the book, she also decides to advocate in court for illegals fighting to come in the United States and stay here legally.
 
Rumor's friend Abby has been murdered, and Rumor is a partial witness. She wants to help the sheriff find the murderer, and also clear her half-brother, who is a suspect.

Alberto used to be a coyote—a human trafficker for a Mexican cartel. Due to a regrettable act in his past, he owes a debt to the Cartel, which he is still paying back, now by smuggling other contraband into the states. He’s in over his head, and desperately wants out from under the Cartel’s thumb, but he’s worried they will harm his uncle and nephew if he refuses to work anymore for them.
 
In the book, we learn about human smuggling into the United States from Mexico and Central America—a hot political topic at the moment.

During one smuggling trip across the Arizona desert, Alberto’s group encounters what is known as a “Cherry Tree” or “Rape Tree.” Often these trees are strewn with women’s garments as a warning to stay out of a certain Cartel’s traffic territory. These trees are seen on major smuggling routes between Arizona and Mexico.
 
A coyote will make $3,000 to $4,000 a head on Mexican illegals and up to $10,000 for Central American fares. He will bring a few to a dozen people per trip, and may make a trip a month or more.
 
But these rape tree warnings are more likely left by Cartel members, like Alberto, marking their drug smuggling routes. That’s where the big business comes in. An official estimated that cartels send a stunning $60 billion worth of drugs into the U.S. every year. Mexico’s former Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna dropped that number at a conference in Juarez a couple of years ago.
 
Will a border wall stem that drug flow? I don’t know. Statistics show that most of the drug smuggling happens other places, like the actual legal border checkpoints. So it feels like the wall will kill off the normal migration routes of local wildlife, rather than kill off the drug trade. There’s just So. Much. Money.
 
The Cartel tie-in does make for some great conflict in the book. First, Rumor is estranged from her father’s side of the family, and vehemently against Alberto’s involvement with the Cartel. Her father isn’t happy about it either, but he’s supporting Alberto’s efforts to get out from under his employer’s hold, and he’s cut ties with Rumor for fear that she will turn her brother over to ICE if he visits the states.
 
Since Sheriff Jones’ wife was killed by a junkie, he also has some wound-related reasons to be suspect Rumor’s brother in this murder investigation. This sets up some interesting conflict for Coop. Can he be unbiased in his murder investigation with Alberto, a drug trafficker, as one of his suspects?
 
I’m approaching 65,000 words, and my goal is to have the rough draft finished before November 1. I would so love to have this one in the can, and begin National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) with a NEW novel to write. Keep your fingers crossed!

#Amwriting  

I’ve been writing a suspense novel, tentatively titled Crescent Moon Crossing, for nearly two years now.  That’s a big chunk of time to devote to a single project, but my first novel, Song of the Ancients, took just as long.  They’re both set in Arizona--Ancients involved the Sedona vortexes, and Crescent Moon Crossing takes place near the Mexico border around Ft.  Huachuca and Bisbee.

I enjoy writing stories set in Arizona. The landscape has such variation, and the cultural mix is diverse. If you want to write paranormal, there’s a lot of spiritual lore and beliefs to draw on to make the world you create believable. If you’re interested in cowboys, horses, desert or ranch life, you’re definitely in the heart of things here. Or, you can go a completely different direction, and include border issues, drug smuggling and Cartel danger. That’s what I did for Crescent Moon Crossing.

Book Teaser:

Staff Sgt. Jace Merrick has two short-term goals: Join Army Intelligence, and kill his wife.

When his bleeding-heart spouse, Abby, begins volunteering at Hope House, a group that leaves supplies in the Arizona desert for illegals crossing the  border, he hatches a plan to make her murder look like a coyote smuggling operation gone wrong.
But someone beats him to it. Someone who has a grudge against Jace Merrick.
You met these two villains in my last two previous blogs.
Now it’s time to meet the good guys.  

Meet main character, Sheriff Cooper (“Coop”) Jones
Coop is a widower with a young daughter, Sadie (you’ll also meet her in the book). His wife was killed by a junkie in a home invasion while Coop was with the Miami police force.
 
After he buries his wife, Coop decides to get as far away from Miami as possible. 
 
He is now the acting Sheriff of Cochise County, AZ, through a circuitous set of events.  The police chief he worked for in Florida met the Maricopa County Sheriff at a national conference, and recommended Coop for a job in Arizona if anything came open. When the Sheriff of Cochise County was killed in a traffic accident, Coop got the call.
 
He’s had only been in Arizona a few months when he has to investigate the murder of a woman, Abby Merrick, in a remote stretch of desert outside Sierra Vista.
 
It looks like she may have stumbled on some Mexican Cartel members smuggling drugs or human cargo across the border. He initially suspects a young Hispanic man who has Cartel ties, and also happens to be the younger brother of Rumor Vargas, a well-respected antiques dealer and business owner in nearby Bisbee.
 
On the other hand, Abby’s Army husband, Jace, also has a pretty strong motive to kill his wife. He’s in the middle of a long-term affair with a lanky blond Lieutenant with a highly connected daddy.
But the more Coop digs into Abby’s death, the more things don’t quite add up for either of these suspects.
Someone else has a grudge against Sgt. Jace Merrick. A life and death grudge. 

​Coop is fast becoming a favorite character of mine. When I first started writing him, I put the Sheriff’s personality characteristics through the Myer Briggs personality tests (as part of a writing class I was taking). He came back as an INTJ (Introverted-Intuitive-Thinking-Judging), an interesting character type. Kind of a loner.
 
To outsiders, INTJs may see to project an aura of “definiteness” and self-confidence. Sometimes mistaken for arrogance by the less decisive, its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise—and INTJs can have several—they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don’t know. 
​
My choice of actor to play Coop (hey, I can dream), is soon-to-be-Walker Texas Ranger Jared Padalecki. He's leaving a 15-season stint as youngest brother Sam Winchester in Supernatural.  If I had to guess, I'm thinking he's an INTJ in real life. 

Another favorite is Luke Grimes. He plays youngest son Kayce  on the outstanding TV western, Yellowstone.

​Whatever they happen to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause, and both perfectionism and purposeful disregard for authority may come into play.
 
These personality traits should make an interesting sheriff, don’t you think? If you’ve ever watched the Western crime suspense series Longmire on Netflix, you’ve already met an INTJ lawman, and he’s a doozy of an example. 

​Longmire features Sheriff Walt Longmire (Aussie actor Robert Taylor), who grapples with a hazy past, complicated moral decisions, and the bad guys of modern Wyoming. 
             
Like Cooper Jones, Sheriff Longmire is also recently widowed. Both characters are men in psychic repair. They bury their pain behind a brave face and meticulous thinking. And both men have a deep understanding and respect for their environment and its indigenous people.

I hope you will come to like Sheriff Coop Jones as much as I’ve enjoyed writing him.

 Meanwhile, as I’m working feverishly to this book, take a look at Longmire and Yellowstone, and let me know what you think of their true-to-life western actors.

My writing week took a strange turn this week.

I’ve been plotting to have my bad guy murder two women camping in the Cochise Stronghold Campground near Tombstone. The first woman I patterned after someone I don’t much care for (there are so many perks to being a novelist!) She’s bossy, so the bad guy decided to kill her first. He slit her throat when she visited the latrine before bed and then pushed her into the self-composting toilet.

 My husband suggested strangling the second girl and stuffing her in the “bear box” at their campsite, but I wasn’t sure she’d fit without cutting her up. Those boxes are kinda small, and I didn’t want my killer to have the deal with a hacksaw and all that blood. (My son said the hacksaw would work better than a chainsaw—more precise and less messy.) But still, who travels with a hacksaw?  So I countered with rubbing her body with the morning breakfast’s bacon grease, and leaving her out as a treat for the bears.
​
Ultimately, I decided the whole “two young women camping alone” scene was cliché, and scrapped all 3,000-plus words. But, damn! It was fun to write. And I’m keeping the scene…who knows, maybe you’ll read it as a short story when I submit it to some horror magazine.   

While we’re on the subject of bad guys, I’d like to introduce you to our first novel suspect, the victim’s husband, Army Staff Sergeant Jace Merrick. It remains to be seen whether Jace is pure evil, but he is definitely a narcissist and a sociopath with no conscience.

He enlisted in the Army during college, after losing is scholarship (it was his professor’s fault, of course), and was infantry, 11-Bravo. He’s a smart guy and has done well. Now his military career is taking a satisfying leap forward with his transfer to Ft. Huachuca, AZ, for Intelligence training.

That is, until his wife, Abby, threatens to report his long-running affair to his commanding officer. Unfortunately, his lover is a female officer, also at the Fort. If he doesn’t break off the fraternization, they could both be court-marshalled. He’s not going to let Abby use his affair against him. In fact, he’s plotting how to get rid of her and make it look like a Cartel human smuggling operation gone wrong.  

In researching sociopaths, one of the things I found interesting is that they see nothing at all wrong with their way of living in the world. Every decision a sociopath makes is based on “how does it affect me.” They are noted for their shallowness of emotion, and the hollow and transient nature of any affectionate feeling they may claim to have carries a certain breathtaking callousness.

They have no trace of empathy and no genuine interest in bonding emotionally with a mate. Once the surface charm is scraped off (and often there is a thick overlying layer of charm—sociopaths are very good at their game), their marriages are loveless, one-sided, and almost always short-term.

As the book evolves, Jace will refuse to acknowledge any blame or even responsibility for the decisions he makes, or for the outcomes of his decisions.   The American Psychiatric Association actually has a term for this, “consistent irresponsibility,” and it’s a cornerstone of the antisocial personality diagnosis.

I thought it would be difficult to write a sociopathic personality, but, as it turns out, I am dealing with one in my real life right now, so it was easy to find examples to pattern the behavior.

There’s a good chance you may have a conscienceless sociopath in your life as well. According to the book, The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout, PhD, sociopaths make up about four percent of the population.

Often they are attractive, intelligent and extremely successful. But because they truly have no conscience, self-awareness is impossible, and the rest of us just shake our heads and mutter,”Whaat? How can you possibly think that…act like that…do that to someone?”

If you have a close relationship with a sociopath, with a person who truly has no conscience, all my research says not to put out the effort to try and change him or her. Instead, walk away—and take your loved ones with you.

In the end, just as the sociopath has no genuine relationships with other people, he has only a very tenuous one with himself.

Stop by next time and meet another suspect, Rumor’s brother Alberto. He’s a Cartel coyote and drug smuggler, but much more of a good/bad mix than Jace. I think you’ll like him, and he’ll teach us some about smuggling people and contraband across the Mexican border into the States.
Until then, good reading.

Just like the rest of us, novel characters has wounds in their past, hidden scars they carry with them wherever they go.

Our pasts are filled with experiences, both good and bad, which teach us who to trust, what to believe in, and what to avoid. The painful experiences—the wounds—influence us so deeply that we will do almost anything to avoid feeling such pain again. That past trauma is likely to affect our future behavior as well.
​
As writers, how do we create characters who feel realistic? By mirroring real life as much as possible. That includes developing a backstory for each character that lets us understand him/her on the deepest level. Knowing who and what influences a characters gives us insight to what they fear, desire and need most of all. Sometimes even if the character doesn’t know himself.

Bradley Cooper in American Sniper. He's the image in my head when I visualize my killer (sorry, Bradley). 

Emotional wounds are more than just painful memories. Inside each wound is a seed of doubt. Was it my fault? Could I have prevented the outcome? Was there something else I could have done? It’s human nature to second-guess decisions that result in a bad outcome, to rationalize tragedies, and to try to make sense of them. Many times we blame ourselves for what happened, even when events were out of our control.

Because of this internalization, a lie is born.

When a person is wounded, he wraps himself in emotional armor to keep his feelings safe. Flaws develop, working under the rationalization of protecting himself from getting hurt further. Oftentimes, instead of keeping the person safe, these flaws limit him, preventing him from building healthy relationships, or putting a filter of distrust on all he sees.

Do you know anyone like this?
​
This year I’ve had my novel antagonist under the microscope, examining his backstory “wounds” and focusing all his hurt and pain into a single moment in his past that explains his motivation (and rationalization) to kill. 

​This excerpt from my upcoming novel, Crescent Moon Crossing, shows the killer’s motivation: 

The man in the driver’s seat removed his baseball cap and rubbed his sweaty head with a bandana. He hated this monochrome desert landscape and its searing temperatures. It reminded him of Iraq. Made him feel exposed and twitchy. The glare brought back his blinding headaches, and the nightmares too. The ones that jerked him awake in a cold sweat, reaching for his rifle. 

But he had a job to do.

When Jace came out, the man put down his black coffee and raised binoculars to his eyes.  He watched Jace unlock his metallic blue Mustang. The bastard was whistling as he slid behind the wheel. That smug face, seemingly right in front of him, thanks to the magnified lens, made his breath catch and stomach acid bubble up and burn his throat.

e squeezed the binoculars until his fingers ached. Breathing hard, he imagined his hands around Jace's neck, squeezing, squeezing, until that cocky smile disappeared, replaced by terror.

Chances were Jace wouldn't remember him. He’d lost weight and was dressed as a civilian in a dark ball cap and a Black Sabbath t-shirt. But his old squad leader hadn’t changed a bit. Still slim, buff and full of himself. Still the lady’s man.

He shut his eyes as his nostrils filled with the old-penny scent of blood. The car, the heat, the sleazy motel faded away. Instead, he imagined what those last hours must have been like, while his wife was on the operating table, her belly clamped open, blood filling the cavity faster than the nurses could suction it out. He imagined the tiny body of Baby Emily, still attached, while the surgeon worked frantically to get her out and save her mother. He imagined the still form disappearing, its face submerged in blood.
“No. No. No.” He trembled as terror seared his guts and the flashback engulfed him. His arms, of their own volition, reached out to touch his wife, to help lift his baby daughter’s head above the blood, to clean out her nose and throat and force her to breathe.

The rumbling of Jace’s turbo-charged Mustang brought his thoughts back to the motel. He relaxed his cramped hands from the binoculars and massaged his chest. Just my luck to have a heart attack in this dusty, shit hole parking lot. His face was wet and tears had soaked the neck of his tee shirt. 

Anger boiled away his tears, as he thought about Jace Merrick, the self-involved asshole who made him miss his wife’s delivery. She lost her life and he lost his career. But Jace? Nothing. A night in the stockade for starting a bar fight, that’s all.

Soon after Barb and Em’s death, they told him he’d suffered a psychotic break during a night patrol. He was convinced people were trying to kill him.

“Of course they are, you jackass,” Jace had said. “We’re in the middle of a war zone.” He slapped him on the helmet and sent him back out on patrol the next night.

So he continued his normal duties and buried it all. Or tried to. But who wants a sniper with the shakes? He looked down at his trembling hands in disgust.

“All Sarge’s fault,” he mumbled, cursing his platoon leader in his mind with all the dirty words he could think of. “All your fault.”

He knew he was sick. The over-exposure to violent deaths had infected him like a toxin. His shakes got worse, and his CO noticed. Told him he had no choice but to remove him from active duty.

 He snuck into the CO’s office and read the medical discharge. “His sense of reality is fragile in the extreme,” it read. “For his own sake, and for the safety of his squad mates, he needs rest and in-patient psychiatric care.”

He disagreed. What he really needed was revenge.
 
I think his backstory will help make this killer tragic and relatable, and he’ll also have a redeemable moment at the end of the book.
Thank you for reading!

I just finished taking a writing class with author Simon Wood. Actually, I’ve taken two from him so far, with a third one scheduled in October.

This one was on writing point of view, and the direction he gave was so heartening to me. In the past, I have heard agents say to limit the number of POV characters in your novel.  They suggest no more than two points of view, for example, the male and female leads in a romance novel.

But I can name any number of novels written from the viewpoint of multiple characters.

So I did some more checking. Turns out there are as many opinions as there are plotlines. 

Jane Cleland, in Mastering Suspense Structure and Plot (I highly recommend, by the way), points out the mysteries and suspense often use the multiple perspective structure, allowing both the hero and the villain their say, and sometimes, the victims, too.

​Here’s an example from Robert B. Parker’s Night Passage. You’ll see that each chapter is told from one character’s POV:

• Chapter 1: Jesse Stone, the protagonist
• Chapter 2: Tom Carson, a victim
• Chapter 3: Jesse Stone
• Chapter 4: Hasty Hathaway, the antagonist
• Chapter 5: Jesse Stone
• Chapter 6: Jo-Jo Genest, the villain
• Chapter 7: Jesse Stone
• Chapter 8: Carole Genest, a victim
• Chapter 9: Jesse Stone
• Chapter 10: Jo-Jo Genest
• Chapter 11: Jesse Stone

Night Passage continues to follow this pattern, changing perspective chapter by chapter, with minor characters having their voices dominate fewer chapters than major characters, and no character presented more than Jesse.
 
I’m following a similar pattern with my book, giving POV perspectives of the protagonist (Sheriff Cooper Jones), as well as the female lead (Rumor Vargas) and the three murder suspects. I’m introducing the POVs in an alternating order, with the Sheriff, rotating between the others.
 
Despite the multiple perspectives, the story still follows a chronological structure. This technique allows the reader to observe how various characters think, to witness cause and effect, and to feel the rippling tension of growing suspense as deadly events are set in motion.
 
Before you jump in, though, consider some of the ways the multiple POV tactic can go wrong. 

• Readers may lose interest in your plot if they discover who the villain is before the protagonist figures it out.
• It’s easy to reveal too much, too soon.
• If you switch perspectives too often or too quickly, you may interrupt the narrative flow.

Multiple POV is not for the faint of heart. It’s hard work and requires a lot of planning. Here are a few rules to follow when working with multiple POV:
 
#1.  Make sure you have a good reason to be writing multiple points of view. That reason should come from the story itself. Ask yourself the question: ‘Why does this story need to be told from multiple points of view?’
 
The answer could be that there is more than one ‘main’ character whose perspective is vital to the story, or that the scope of the story or world is large and using only one perspective would be limiting. Two excellent examples for the need for multiple POVs are Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. For very different reasons, too.
 
Decide what’s driving your plot. You have two main options with multiple POVs and plot. One, you can write about a single set of events from different perspectives. Or two, you can use several sets of events that move from place to place and character to character without a lot of overlap.
 
#2. Give each POV character a clear and distinct voice. You must develop each individual voice so that all the perspectives presented are clearly distinct from one another. The livelier and more individual the better. Everything about a character—from their dialogue, speech patterns and actions, to their internal thoughts and motivations—can be used to develop their unique voice as a POV narrator. For fun, try distinguishing each character by using a different dominant sense they use the most.
 
#3. Create complete character arcs for each POV character.  This includes identifying goals, stakes, and pitfalls, and how those move the story forward. THIS, by the way, is usually my motivation for making a character have his/her own POV: They have their own subplot woven into the main story, and that subplot needs a voice.
 
#4. How many POV characters? Unless you are George R.R. Martin (or maybe even if you are), too many POV characters can overwhelm or confuse readers.  Some experts and writing coaches say no more than 3 to 5 POV characters is a safe bet. That way, you can develop each character fully, and tie their subplot story lines together succinctly.
 
#5. First Person vs Third Person. You have three main options when writing a novel from multiple points of view.
 
Option #1 is to use first-person POV for each character. Each character receives its own narrative. But, and a big BUT. If you do this, you must create a distinct voice for each character. As a reader, I should know who’s speaking with blatant clues (i.e. this is Tom speaking). You will need to channel each character when writing in first person, regardless of how many POVs you have. First person is close-up and personal.
 
Option #2 is to use third –person POV for each character. This option is subtle; you can glide from following one character to another. You’re limited to only what that character knows and experiences, but your narrator voice doesn’t need to shift as it does in first person. I still recommend using chapter or scene breaks to switch between characters, to avoid a jarring transition.
 
Option #3 is to use a mix of first and third-person POV. For example, have one main character in first person and shift to third person for supporting characters. Keep in mind, it’s not always easy to transition from first to third and back again throughout the novel. It can feel like whiplash for your reader, especially if your scene breaks aren’t well delineated. I recommend you switch to a different POV at the end of a chapter (not scene).
 
In Harlan Coben’s Gone For Good, all the scenes featuring the protagonist POV are in first person, while all the other POV characters are in third-person for their scene. The first-person narrative brings the reader closer to the protagonist because it’s intimate storytelling, while the third-person narrative perspective keeps the reader at arm’s length from the other characters.
 
#6. Stick to a one-chapter-per-POV approach as much as possible. When you’re writing multiple points of view, you need a way to clearly transition between perspectives. The most common method is shown in the Robert Parker Night Passage example at the beginning of this article. Writing one chapter from one character’s perspective, the next from a different character’s perspective, and so on. A scene break may be more appropriate if the chapter continues in the same moment or includes something where a chapter break might be too harsh a transition. Regardless of the reason, if you do switch POV characters without ending a chapter, there needs to be a clear scene break or marker to distinguish between the two perspectives.
 
When starting a new POV chapter, you must orient your reader as quickly as possible so they know whose perspective they’ve switched to. You can do this by titling each chapter with the POV character’s name, although I am not a fan of this approach. I’d prefer to make it clear, preferably in the first chapter, whose head we are now in.
 
#7. Choose carefully which POV you write each scene from. This may be clear in some parts of your story, but less easy to decide in others. If several of your POV characters are present in the same scene, ask yourself these questions to narrow down your decision:

• Which character has the most at stake in this scene?
• Through which character’s perspective will the scene have the most impact?
• What do I want to convey with this scene, and which character will help me do it best?

Try to avoid retelling the same scene from different perspectives (unless this is a special device you’re using to reveal important new information). Even then, tread lightly. You know, ground hog day stories grate on many readers.
 
#8. Consider choosing one “main” POV character. Here one character receives more screen time (i.e. more POV scenes) than the other POV characters, and his story and character arc is the overall focus of the novel. (See the Jesse Stone example earlier). Simon Wood even gave us a formula in our class, depending on how many POVs you use, but the basic rule of thumb is to give your protagonist roughly half of the POV scenes.
 
#9.  Examine the Action
Take a look at what you know about this story. Where is the plot going to take the characters? What’s going to happen? Which characters are going to be present at the most important events?
With a little ingenuity, it’s amazing how much action you can successfully convey to readers without needing a POV character to be right on there on the scene. But it’s best to examine the overall needs of the story’s plot before choosing POV characters.

#10. Examine the Climactic Moment
With the obvious practical considerations out of the way, take a moment to consider which POVs really matter to your story—on a thematic level.

How do you know? Look at your climatic moment. Which characters are involved in this final confrontation that definitively decides your conflict one way or another? These are (or should be) the characters who are most inherent to the story’s thematic arc. These are the most important characters in your story. These are your best and most obvious choices for POVs that will meaningfully contribute throughout the story.

This does not, of course, mean all the characters present at the climactic moment should be given POVs. But if they’re not present at the Climax, you have to question if they’re really important enough to get POVs earlier in the story. 
 
Knowing other characters’ roles in the climax will also help you determine how their POVs should be structured—or if they should be given a POV at all. The climax is where every piece of your story will prove itself either part of a cohesive whole, or a random, ill-conceived loose end.
 
Knowing how your story’s conflict ends will give you a huge clue into the right choice for just about any POV question you need to resolve.
 
Writer friends, tell me your opinions! Have you written stories with multiple POVs? How do you determine which POVs deserve to be included in your story? Tell me in the comments!
 
Until next week, happy writing!

​ “Your heart is slamming against your rib cage, your fingertips are moist and you turn another page. The antagonist is setting a trap. You wish you could do something to prevent the protagonist from walking into it, but you can’t. You’re helpless, totally at the mercy of the writer. All you can do is turn the page.”

That’s how Simon Wood (The One That Got Away), one of my favorite suspense writers, describes what he’s going for when he writes his novels.

Do you read suspense? Mystery? Or do you prefer thrillers?

First, let’s understand the difference between the three genres.

The key difference between mystery and suspense is perspective. Both genres deal with a crisis event to hook the reader and keep the story going. But the storytelling approach is completely different.

Let’s say the crisis is the assassination of the president of the United States. 
In a mystery, the president would die in the first chapter, and the rest of the book would focus on the government agents finding the killer and bringing him to justice. Mystery is all about the puzzle.

New York Times bestselling author David Morrell (Brotherhood of the Rose and Rambo) says, “One crucial distinction is that traditional mysteries appeal primarily to the mind and emphasize the logical solution to a puzzle.”

Here are some of my favorite mysteries:

Louise Penny - How the Light Gets In (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series)

Alan Bradley - The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Agatha Christie – And Then There Were None


Going back to the president’s assassination example, in a suspense story, instead of the actual assassination in the first chapter, an intercepted communique or a bungled weapons drop would take place, alerting the White House of an imminent threat. This time, the government agents would be charged with protecting the president while tracking down the would-be assassin. The story would climax at the point where the assassination attempt is thwarted.

Suspense creates drama before the crisis event and builds slowly. Tension builds gradually, we’re waiting for the next bad thing to happen, expecting the shoe to drop.

Often, the reader may know the danger is coming before the protagonist, so we go through the agony of waiting.

Suspense also allows the writer some freedoms not afforded the mystery writer. Writers can employ multiple point-of-view characters.

They can present the bad guy and his motivations, giving the reader insight into his character.

​ This allows the writer to actively pit his antagonist and protagonist against each other while the reader watches.

Think about Hannibal Lector, Thomas Harris’s character in Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs. 

Think about Hannibal Lector, Thomas Harris’s character in Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs. 

From torturing animals to killing people in gruesome ways and eating them, we come to know his character intimately. This is a villain who sends shivers down your spine. 

In a mystery, the author will never write from the bad guy’s point of view. The writer must purposely keep the bad guy’s identity hidden to maintain the mystery. The puzzle is the important thing for the mystery reader. 

​For the suspense read, it’s all about the mood. Alfred Hitchcock was a master of creating a mood of foreboding in his films

Stephen King often uses mood to foretell that something terrible will happen to his characters. He does this through internal monologue and increasingly difficult situations.

Read The Stand for a classic example of these techniques.

​In one of my favorite suspense novels, Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon), the main character is investigating a mysterious book that’s being hunted, leaving shattered lives in its wake.

Or, the suspense can be sheer creepiness.

​Try You by Caroline Kepnes.

You'll never look at dating the same again.

​Occasionally the author manages to create a sense of foreboding as well as challenging the reader with a puzzle. 

In Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu must solve a cryptex in order to find out why someone may have killed Sophie’s grandfather and is trying to kill them. Time pressure and physical danger play a role as well, but the reader’s prime focus is understanding the riddle. 

The Da Vinci Code also crosses into our third genre with its non-stop action: Thriller.

Where mysteries represent the most cerebral of the three major suspense genres, and suspense builds slowly, thrillers are out-of-control wildfires.  There is usually the threat of some catastrophe affecting whole communities, cities, countries, even the planet. The threat need not be total devastation—but the effect of the action must be profound. And the hero is under constant attack as he or she tries to prove the perpetrator’s guilt and/or stop the next atrocity. 

​Many times the antagonist appears at the beginning, and we know what he’s going to do.
Think of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. At the beginning of each story, the reader knows who 007 is up against and what deadly plan he has to stop. Playing with their suspense cards on the table, thrillers create tension by inserting a strong good guy AND a strong antagonist. 

​Thriller plots can go an endless number of directions. The Killing Floor by Lee Child established wandering ex-military investigator Jack Reacher as a force to be reckoned with in the criminal underworld. 

Note: Did you notice that these thriller covers are have a similar look? That is not a coincidence.  Publishers print a lot of thriller covers with big splashes of red (danger!) and bold print. 

Tom Clancy has made himself synonymous with the tech-savvy military thriller.

​ The Hunt for Red October is where it all started and remains one of his best.

In Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton taps his mesmerizing talent and scientific brilliance to bring humankind’s thrilling fantasies to life…until something   goes wrong. 

​And, of course, in thrillers, something is always going to go wrong--with cataclysmic results.

​I personally enjoy mystery, suspense and thrillers. These genres continually find a way to create stories that are fresh, interesting and original. From cozy mysteries to edge-of-your-seat suspense, to high-octane thrillers, there is bound to be something for you.

Next time I'm going to begin telling you about my own in-the-works suspense novel, Crescent Moon Crossing. 
​
Until then, find yourself a new favorite suspense author, and dig in!

Photo by Paul Mason 7-22-2010

The brightest comet to appear in Northern Hemisphere skies in nearly a quarter of a century is ending its run in our sky, and you’ll never see it again. So go outside before the end of the month and try to see the Comet NEOWISE before it’s gone.

Comet NEOWISE was discovered on March 27 by astronomers during the NEWVISE mission, which used NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope to look for near-Earth objects like asteroids and comets.

Joseph Masiero, NEOWISE deputy principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory says that from its infrared signature, we can tell the comet’s nucleus is about 3 miles across (5  km) across, and is covered with sooty, dark particles left over from its formation near the birth of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago.
​
Is NEOWISE a great comet? There’s no strict definition for great comet, but most agree that Hale-Bopp—widely seen by people in 1997—was one. NEOWISE is nowhere as bright as Hale-Bopp, which was clearly visible to the naked eye, but it’s absolutely the best comet we’ve had for casual observers in some time. 

This image is from Bob King – aka AstroBob – in Duluth, Minnesota. He wrote: “My first view of Comet NEOWISE at dusk instead of dawn from a lake near Duluth on July 11. Comets and water naturally go together as they’re thought responsible in part for delivering water to the early Earth.” Thank you, Bob!


​The comet made its closest approach to the sun (called perihelion) on July 3. At the time, it swept to within 29.4 million miles of the sun, or inside the orbit of Mercury, the innermost planet. Unlike some comets, it survived the close encounter with our star. And, although it was moving steadily away from the sun, it was steadily approaching Earth. The comet blossomed, and has been putting on a formidable show widely seen by binocular observers and astophotographers for the last month.

On July 2, NOEWISE passed as close to the Earth as it will come (called perigee), 64.3 million miles away. Because it had been approaching the Earth during the last few weeks, it has been fading very slowly. At one point, it shown at around magnitude +2 (about as bright as Polaris, the North Star). 

ou haven’t yet had a chance to check out Comet Neowise for yourself, you’ll want to get a look at it sooner rather than later, as the comet has been dimming over the last few days.. The comet’s proximity to the Big Dipper will help you locate it. Just remember that your clenched fist held at arm’s length measures roughly ten degrees. About 2 hours after sunset, face northwest to find the Big Dipper. Go approximately 15 degrees (about 1 ½ fists) down and to the lower left of the bottom of the “bowl” of the Big Dipper, and ultimately you will arrive in the vicinity of the comet. If you’re located in a dark location, free of bright lights, you should be able to make out the comet as a pale streak of light with your naked eye. Then train your binoculars on the area for a better look.

After Monday, the moon will reach its first quarter (half) phase, and in the nights thereafter, it will be a waxing gibbous moon, flooding the late night and early morning sky with its own light.

Because of its extremely long, elliptical orbit, the Comet NEOWISE won’t be back for another 6,800 years, NASA has said.

If the comet has whetted your appetite for other astrological and space events, here’s what’s coming up:

July 30 – NASA’s Mars 2020 rover launches to the Red Planet. Lift off is on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. You can watch it live.
August 11-12 – The Perseid meteor shower peaks.

Until next week, good reading and be safe.

Ernest Hemingway said writers should develop a built-in bull**** detector.  I believe the best readers already have their own BS radar. You can tell when a writer is winging it. As a reader, you don't have to believe the story really happened, but you must believe it could have happened.
 
Some writers love doing research. Others avoid it because the very word evokes memories of all-nighters and stale coffee. Dull, dull. But if you’re writing a crime novel, sooner or later you’re going to have to do research.
 
That's why I always begin my writing process with research, and continue researching clear through the final draft. It's fun to find that little detail that gives a scene the ring of verisimilitude—the feeling that the story's world is absolutely and unquestionably real.

I love to research locations, and I do that early on. For example, the suspense novel I'm writing involves human smuggling across the Mexican border into Arizona.

​Since the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. Border Patrol has doubled in size to more than 20,000 agents, most of them stationed along the border with Mexico. That's roughly nine agents for every mile of border from Texas to California. Although President Trump has not been successful in fencing the entire border, there are fences at all the major crossing points. Illegal crossers are forced to cross through more remote and dangerous geographic areas. Arizona's Sonoran desert is one of the busiest--and deadliest--border crossing routes. 

​While reading books and articles about Coyote drug smugglers and human trafficking, I began poring over topographic maps and using Google Earth to virtually roam the route my Coyote smuggler will force his customers to walk to their meet-up point. It's a scorching, desolate and arduous route, with summer temperatures topping 115 degrees, so they only travel at night.
 
Interestingly, I found during my research that the smugglers outfit the illegals almost as if they used an assembly line: Same brand and style of backpack, same contents, even the same amount of water—and never enough, so the travelers will be dependent upon their guide.  In my story, one of the characters in the border crossers is a drug mule for the Mexican Sinaloan cartel, so sentries are posted along the route to track his progress. But they're not there to assist, only to monitor. 

Sometimes to ravage.

From that fact, came the little jewel of a scene called “The Real Panty Tree.”

Cartel scouts are known to rape migrant women and summarily execute people who wander into their borderlands territory without approval. One high mountain pass has a “rape tree” draped with the trophy bras and panties of violated women, and migrant bodies have been found decapitated.

If the Covid-19 crisis ends before I get the book finished, my photographer husband, Paul Mason, and I will travel south to visit the locations I'm writing about on both sides of the border. The town of Naco is a small town that spills over onto both sides of the border. I’d like to tour Ft. Huachuca.

And I’ve always wanted to visit Bisbee, where my main character, Rumor Vargas lives and has her antiques store. While I say there will be no paranormal elements in this book, after the haunted sites tour in Bisbee, who knows?
 
It's the physical location visits that really "seal in" the details—especially sensory details like the way things sound, smell, and look in the actual setting. The hubby will take photographs and I'll take notes. If you are familiar with the book's settings, I encourage you to let me know if you have any favorite spot you’d like to have appear in the book. You have another couple of months and then it’s too late!
 
As an author, the hardest part is making sure the research doesn't take over my writing time, especially with the Internet making the world so very accessible. Hours (days!) can go by while I'm happily browsing down one rabbit hole after another, and not one word of the actual book gets written. That's the paradoxical truth about research: While it is absolutely essential, research isn't the story. The story must come from within. From the heart. For me to get into the "flow" requires extended periods of uninterrupted concentration, or wakeful dreaming. It's not an easy state to enter into and maintain. It must be protected.
 
 To keep from getting lost in research, I set the kitchen timer. When the timer goes off, I stop—no matter how enticing that next search link looks. I go back to my blank page, and write. It's the only way to make a book. 

So, if I come to something I don't know, I insert square brackets

[find out the geographic point in the high desert where Saguaros quit growing] or

[how much does a drug mule get paid per trip]. Or

[describe flying a single engine plane. Which plane to use?]  Then, if I get writer's block, or just need a break, I'll research one of the bracket questions, and that helps me get the writing juices flowing again.
 
Can you recall something an author researched so effectively that it pulled you into the story? Please share, I'd love to hear your examples.

In the meantime, I've spent enough time researching about researching. Time to go back to novel writing!

(Parts of this article was adapted from one written by Rachel Zar, relationship and sex therapist, and published in Prevention Magazine in My 2020.)

“Boys to the right, girls to the left.” Ever since we were put into our pink or blue onesies as babies, it’s been drilled into us in countless ways that gender is and either/or thing. For many of us, it’s simple to check the “male” or “female” box at the doctor’s office or choose which bathroom to use.

But for those who don’t fit neatly into the male or female category, such choices become more complicated. The conundrum has come to light more and more in recent years, bringing much-needed attention to something that has always been true: Gender is not a black-and-white binary but a spectrum with many shades of grey.

Sex vs Gender
First it’s important to understand the differences between sex and gender. Sex refers to biological characteristics of maleness or femaleness (indicated by chromosomes, gonads, hormones and genitals), while gender refers to a person’s internal sense of their own maleness or femaleness. Gender is internal; you can’t see it, and a doctor can’t predict it at birth. Neither what someone wears nor what’s between their legs tells you that person’s gender. You can only truly know if they tell you. (And FYI: Someone’s sex or gender tells you absolutely nothing about their sexual orientation, meaning the sex or gender of people a person is attracted to.)
​
Cisgender (cis) is a term meaning that the sex someone was assigned at birth—what the doctor puts on the birth certificate—matches the gender they identify with. For example, someone born with a vagina, ovaries and XX chromosomes who identifies a female is cisgender. 

Transgender (trans) people have a gender identity not aligned with the sex they were assigned at birth. For example someone born with a vagina, ovaries, and XX chromosomes who identifies as male is transgender. Studies have shown that about one in every 250 American adults identifies as transgender (although, because of reporting bias, that number  is lower now that it is expected to be in future studies).

Though we were taught that there were only two sexes and two genders, the truth is that both sex and gender exist on a continuum. A 2015 Fusion Millennial poll of adults ages 18-34 in the USA found that the majority see gender as a spectrum, rather than a man/woman binary. And a 2017 Harris   poll of millennials found that 12% identify as transgender or gender non-conforming.

For people who have both male and female sex characteristics, the term intersex applies. For those who don’t identify as 100% male or 100% female on the gender spectrum, many terms exist, including nonbinary, gender fluid, gender non-conforming, pangender, demi-girl, two-spirit, and all, none or a combination of these. If you’re curious, do a little more digging. You might start answering the questions posed, and find a gender that feels like it’s always been you, regardless of your age.

The Importance of Respect
If you’ve never conceptualized gender in this way, relearning what seemed so simple can be difficult. But when your coworker your in-law, your friend, or your child lets you know that they identify as, say, nonbinary, I’s important that you don’t  let the confusion over something new to you get in the way of being respectful and supportive. If you are cisgender, you may never had had to think about what your gender was. Having that privilege offers you the opportunity to be an ally for those who do not have it.

Transitioning
Transitioning is a term commonly used to refer to the steps a transgender, or non-binary person takes in order to find congruence in their gender. But this term can be misleading as it implies that the person’s gender identity is changing and that there is a moment in time when this takes place. What people see as a “transition” is actually the alignment in one or more dimensions of the individual’s gender as they seek congruence across those dimensions. A transition is taking place, but it is often other people (parents and other family members, employers, etc.) who are transitioning in how they see the individual’s gender.

Transitioning can also refer to social, legal, and/or medical steps individuals take to affirm their gender identity or gender expression.

Not everyone wants to take some or any of these steps, and that’s okay. Transitioning for some looks like using a new set of pronouns or wearing different clothing. It can be changing one’s name on legal documents or changing one’s gender marker on a drivers’ license. Or going on hormones. Or getting surgery to affirm one’s gender. Not all people who identify with gender(s) other than the one they were assigned at birth choose to transition. And for those who do, the process can look a million different ways.

If you are involved in a transition, first and foremost, when someone tells you their gender, your only job is to believe them.  Treating this as a fad or a phase they’re going through is disrespectful and incorrect. Try your hardest to reflect back the language they use about themselves. If they tell you they’re now going by a different name, use it.

The Issue of Pronouns
We’re very accustomed to gendering everyone we meet—thinking of a person as either a he or a she. But for those who are trans or gender nonconforming, these pronouns don’t always fit.  This may take some getting used to, and that’s OK. Not sure? People usually welcome being asked, “Say, what pronouns do you use?” or “What are your affirming pronouns?” Or I could say, “My pronouns are she/her/hers. May I ask what yours are?”

If you slip up, apologize and correct yourself, but please don’t tell a nonbinary person that their affirming pronouns are grammatically incorrect or hard for you to use. Remember, this is not about you, it’s about supporting them.

This is important: Don’t ask anyone what genitals they have or if they plan to take hormones or have surgery. Some, but not all, trans or nonbinary people have surgery or take hormones to help make their bodies more congruent with their gender identity. For many, this is crucial and even lifesaving. For others, medical intervention doesn’t feel as important. Regardless of their choice, other people’s genitals are none of your business.

While some nonbinary folks—especially those you’re very close to—may welcome questions, it may be better to turn to Google or a therapist to work through any confusion or anxiety you may have. No one should need to justify their gender to you or compromise who they are to make you more comfortable. Remember, knowing someone is transgender or nonbinary tells you only a little bit about them. So continue to treat them with respect, curiosity, and compassion, just as you would any other human acquaintance.

Q: What’s the difference between being transgender and being gay?
A: As we’ve said, being transgender is about an individual’s gender identity, while being gay is about an individual’s sexual orientation, or attraction. Attraction is the combination of the physical and personality traits that happen to turn your crank. Someone may identify as trans and straight, or they may be trans and gay, or they may identify as something else. Two separate issues, two separate personal decisions. We get to decide who we know ourselves to be, and who we are attracted to.

Q: Is there a difference between cross-dressing and being transgender?
A: Yes, cross-dressing refers to people who wear clothing and/or makeup and accessories that are not traditionally associated with their biological sex.
Many people who cross-dress are comfortable with their assigned sex and generally do not wish to change it. Cross-dressing is a form of gender expression that is not necessarily indicative of a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.

Q: Are children too young to truly know their gender?
A: Understanding our gender comes to us fairly early in life. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “By age 4, most children has a stable sense of their gender identity.” This core aspect one one’s identity comes from within each of us; it is an inherent aspect of a person’s make-up. We don’t question when cisgender children know their gender at a young age, so why do we question when transgender or nonbinary children know their gender at the same age?

Q: We shouldn’t talk to young children about gender diversity.
A: We communicate with kids about gender identity from the moment they’re born. They are receiving messages and stereotypes about how boys and girls are supposed to look and behave, not only from adults, but also from peers, books, media, product marketing and advertising. Research indicates that these messages place them in strict boxes that can prevent them from reaching their full potential. For example, one study published in Science in 2017 showed that, “At age 5, children seemed not to differentiate between boys and girls in expectations of ‘really, really smart’—childhood’s version of brilliance. But by age 6, girls were likely to lump more boys into ‘really, really smart’ category, and to steer themselves away from games intended for the smartest children. If we don’t proactively teach different message to children about gender, they will simply absorb the messages out there—and we all lose.

Q: When do children discover they are transgender?
A: While many transgender people say they knew they were trans at an early age, for many others the journey to living openly as their affirmed gender was longer. Some say the process lasted until their teens, adulthood, or even old age. Many people have a general feeling of being “different” but don’t connect their feelings to their gender until they are exposed to new language or find role models in whom they can see themselves reflected. In one study, the average age of self-realization for the child that they were transgender or non-binary was 7.9 years old, but the average age when they disclosed their understanding of their gender was 15.5 years old.

Q: Is being transgender or nonbinary a sign of mental illness?
A: No. Some gender-diverse people experience gender dysphoria which is a diagnosis in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). However, this refers to the distress some people experience as a result of a disconnect between their gender and their sex. Other minority stress factors often take a toll on transgender and nonbinary youth, who then experience levels of depression and anxiety as a result of harassment, discrimination, bullying and stigmatization they experience. Gender-diverse youth who have parental support and are affirmed in their gender have similar mental health profiles as their cisgender peers.

Q: Can someone be fired for being transgender?
A: Twenty one states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico have statutes that protect against both sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in employment in the public and private sector: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah,  Vermont, and Washington. Two states Michigan and Pennsylvania have acquired such protections through executive orders, court rulings or binding decisions by their respective civil rights commissions.

Q: What’s next?
A: There is a generation divide in how we think about gender. I know I’m on the far side. Are you? In order to bridge this gap, those of us who were raised with a more limited view of gender can take this opportunity to explore gender with new eyes, to read and ask questions to better understand gender’s complexity. As with any new learning experience, you’ll learn more about the world around you and about yourself in the process.
Gender diversity has existed throughout history and all over the world. As one of the most fundamental aspects of a person’s identity, gender deeply influences every part of our life. Where this crucial aspect of self is narrowly defined and rigidly enforced, individuals who exist outside of its norms face innumerable challenges. Even those who vary only slightly from norms can become targets of misunderstanding, disapproval, or even violence.
This doesn’t have to be the case. Through a thoughtful consideration of the uniqueness and validity of every person’s experience of self, we can develop greater acceptance for all, and make space for all individuals to more fully explore who they are.

Blessed Be!

I have never considered myself a “prepper” who stockpiles goods and materials for a future disaster. But I think this year has made all of us preppers to some extent. And judging by the new infection numbers being racked up (more than 4,400 new cases today) in Arizona, it looks like we’re in for another lockdown.

We will be smarter this time. Won’t we?

Look at what FEMA has recommended for survival situations in the past. Their stance is you only need to be ready to take care of yourself for three days. That’s their target reaction time. At the end of three days, FEMA supposedly will have assistance in place. There’s only one problem: That model doesn’t work. There were people digging in dumpsters, looking for food, six weeks after both Hurricane Katrina and Sandy. And I have even less faith that it will be safe to resume normal shopping activities any time soon during this pandemic, even if the stores remain well-stocked.
​
When selecting food for a lock-down situation, there are several things to take into consideration. This isn’t buying your regular week’s groceries multiplied by 10, but rather buying food that you will use instead of your regular groceries. As you are selecting food for your emergency stash, consider the following:

• You can’t depend on having refrigerator and/or freezer space for two or three months’ worth of convenience and junk food.
• Most foods aren’t packaged for long-term storage, with the exception of canned foods.
• You want foods that will give you the maximum nutrition for minimum bulk.

 
What you really need to store are staple foods. You can make a fairly nutritious diet out of grains, beans and canned goods. Properly packages for storage, these foods will keep for years, and still be as tasty and nutritious when you take them out, as they were when you bought them.
Here is what I consider the most important ones:

1. Beans. This is one of the more common survival foods. Not only are beans plentiful and cheap, but they provide a lot of protein—something hard to find without eating meat.
2. White rice. The perfect companion to beans, it’s an excellent source of carbohydrates, and it stores well.  (Note: don’t store brown rice, which contains oil and will spoil.)
3. Canned vegetables and fruit. A good way of adding micro-nutrients to your lock-down diet. Canned goods keep well, long past the expiration date on the label. Don’t throw the packing water away, as it contains vitamins also, and you can use it to make soup stock.
4. Soups. The nice thing about having soup on your shelf in a lock-down situation is that you can use it in almost anything. Think beyond chicken noodle and check out others, such as cream of mushroom.
5. Canned meats. Of all the ways of preserving meat, canning is the most secure in protecting the meat from decomposition. While it doesn’t typically have as good a flavor as fresh meat, it still provides animal protein at the most reasonable price you’ll find. Consider chicken, tuna, and salmon as well as spam and deviled ham. Meat may be the hardest type of food to find during a crisis, so stock up.
6. Powdered milk. While most people don’t particularly like the flavor of powdered milk, when you don’t have access to other milk, it’s wonderful. It’s also necessary for baking and provides needed calcium for proper bone growth.
7. Cheese. Another great source of protein. To store cheese, it needs to be triple dipped in wax, making an airtight seal around the cheese. In this form, it can be kept, without refrigeration, for years. Even if the cheese forms mold, it will only be on the surface. Simply cut that part of and the rest of the cheese is still good.
8. Sugar. Yes, we try and stay away from eating too much sugar, but it’s an essential ingredient in making jam and for preserving fruit. You will also need it for baking. And sugar will keep pretty much indefinitely if stored properly.
9. Molasses. (Note: If you want brown sugar, just combine your molasses and white sugar).
10. Honey. Whereas sugar will last indefinitely, honey will really keep forever, as long as you keep the ants out of it. Plus, it is beneficial to help stave off colds and infection.
11. Salt. Most means of preserving foods require the use of salt, and our bodies need it for survival.
12. Spices. Stock up on the spices your family likes, as well as any you’ll need for cooking and baking.
13. Nuts. A good source of both protein and fat, nuts store well.
14. Cooking oil and vegetable shortening. Our family doesn’t normally use Crisco, but an unopened metal can of it will last for 5 years! It can also be used to make emergency candles. If you’d prefer a lighter oil for your food, coconut and olive oil both last about 24 months tightly capped in a cool, out of the light location.
15. Coffee and tea. Comfort food for adults. Keep your favorites on stock at all times.
16. Rolled Oats. You can prepare breakfast cereals and other dishes. Store in dark, airtight container with an oxygen absorber.
17. Pasta products. Pasta is a great source of carbohydrates, and it allows a wide variety of eating. Even your kids will eat it.
18. Spaghetti sauce. Obviously, you need this to go with the pasta. But it’s also great for hiding the flavor of things your family doesn’t like to eat—whether you’re talking about an unusual vegetable or leftovers you’re re-presenting.
19. Jerky. While expensive to buy, jerky is pure meat with only added spices. Its high salt content allows it to store well, making it a great pandemic food. It can be reconstituted by adding it to soups and allowing it to cook.
20. Summer sausage. Like many ‘cured meat products’, it’s created to keep for a long time.
21. Peanut butter. Another good source of protein and a great comfort food, especially for the kids. Maybe you should stockpile some no-sugar-added jelly with it.
22. Wheat flour. For baking, especially baking bread. Flour also allows you to shake up the diet with the occasional batch of cookies or a cake.
23. Baking powder & baking soda. Also good for making bread, cookies and cakes.
24. Bouillon. This ‘soup starter’ allows you to make broth without having to boil bones on the stove for hours. Soups will probably be an important part of anyone’s diet in a stay-home situation, as it allows you to eat almost anything. Just throw it together in a pot and it’s soup.
25. Hard candies. These are useful as a reward for kids and also for quick energy (or emergency sugar if you have a diabetic in your household). The candy will keep for years as long as they are protected from moisture.
26. Most essential paper products: Toilet paper and tissues are my “must haves.” You may want to add paper towels if you don’t have a huge supply of cleaning rags like I do.
27. Light bulbs. Take an inventory of your home, and have a package of every kind you use in your lights.
28. Batteries. Again, inventory your electronics, medical supplies, and so on. Don’t forget your keyboard and mouse, as well as the TV remote!
29. Battery charger for your car.
30. Hand sanitizer, household wipes, and soap.
31. Water. Don’t forget to stockpile a good supply of water. You’ll go through much more than you expect. Experts recommend a minimum of one gallon per person per day, but remember: That’s just for drinking.

 
Try creating a three-week menu, with the idea of repeating that menu over and over. If you have the supplies you need to cook everything on that menu, you’ll have a fair assortment of food, and enough so your family shouldn’t grow tired of it.
 
Whatever you do, don’t try to run out and buy a year’s worth of food in one week. Take your time. Start by building a 2-week stockpile; then increase it to a month. Keep your eyes open for sales and other opportunities to save money.