Just call me Charlie

 

How would you feel about reading a chapter of a novel and then waiting a week—or even a month—for the new chapter? That’s what people in Victorian England did, as Charles Dickens wrote his way to fame in weekly or monthly installments, starting with his first novel, The Pickwick Papers (1836). For Dickens, the advantages were several: first among them, a more regular income, which he needed to support his wife and family. But he could also change characters, directions, etc. according to public reaction to the installments. When his wife’s physician expressed displeasure with the way Miss Mowcher (David Copperfield) reflected her disabilities in her personality, Dickens strengthened the character and gave her a more positive outlook. Often, he wove contemporary events into his narrative.

Here are some novels that were serially published over the years: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Crime and Punishment, Treasure Island, The War of the Worlds, Heart of Darkness, Ulysses, A Farewell to Arms, In Cold Blood. (Here’s a literary test: how many authors can you pair with the above titles?) Contemporary authors who have used the form include Stephen King nd Michael Wolfe.

In 1986, in celebration of the Texas Sesquicentennial, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram commissioned me to write a novel in honor of the celebration. Installments appeared twice a week, and in between I wrote frantically. Like many who write by the seat of their pants, I didn’t really know where the novel was going until I wrote that last installment. Someone said to me, “You do like the sentimental ending, don’t you?” Too late to change that. Sesquicentennial ended; so did the novel, and I never thought more about it.

Today serial publication is back in vogue, especially with genre fiction—mystery, romance, and science fiction. The idea is that you can read on the fly—a chapter in the dental office waiting room, another chapter on the subway to work, still another waiting to pick your child up from school. Several platforms let you download installments to your iPad or phone.

Today, I joined the authors at KISS Crazy Maple Studios with the launch of the first in my Blue Plate Café Mysteries, Murder at the Blue Plate Café. Crazy Maple has contracted for the other three books in the series: Murder at Tremont House, Murder at Peacock Mansion, and Murder at the Blue Plate Café.

Here's the blurb for Murder at the Blue Plate Café:  Small towns are supposed to be idyllic and peaceful, but when Kate Chambers returns to her hometown of Wheeler, Texas, she soon learns it is not the comfortable place it was when she grew up. First there’s Gram’s sudden death, which leaves her suspicious, and then the death of her married sister’s lover. Kate runs Gram’s restaurant, the Blue Plate Café, but she must defend her sister against a murder charge, solve the murders to keep her business open, and figure out where the café’s profits are going. Gram guides Kate through it all, though Kate’s never quite sure she’s hearing Gram—and sometimes Gram’s guidance is really off the wall.

You have to subscribe to the KISS app on iTunes ( IOS Android) and then when you open the app a search button appears in the upper right corner. Just type in author’s name or book title, and it will take you right to it. Here’s a link right to the book, but I think it’s for browsing only if you haven’t subscribed: direct link to your story.

Bear with me. This is all new territory for me, and I am not an app user, don’t use iTunes (although some of my books are for sale there), and don’t use my iPad, except in computer downtimes, and my phone only for phone calls and texting. You can clearly see that I am a Luddite so it’s exciting for me to have my work part of this new—or new-again—technology.

To celebrate this publication Kiss gives me 20 gold coins to give away to readers. So I will send the redemption code to the first four who tell me my dog’s name.

Why do I feel that I’m treading in water over my head?