Why a Monkey? by Alison Henderson

Why a monkey?

I love to add humor to my stories, even the most action-packed suspense or mystery. An unexpected laugh can give the reader the perfect release from relentless tension.

Each book in my Phoenix, Ltd. female bodyguard series features a specific humorous element. In UNWRITTEN RULES, a pair of meddling grandmothers stir things up for the hero and heroine. BOILING POINT includes a cooking robot named GRAMPA who attacks the villain with a kitchen torch at the opportune moment. A white-faced Capuchin monkey named Balthazar, who likes to play dress-up and steal every shiny object he can lay his hands on, thwarts a would-be kidnapper in UNDERCOVER NANNY.

The inspiration for Balthazar came from a most unexpected source. OG is a big fan of early rock ‘n roll, and one of his favorite songs is a number by the Coasters called “Run Red Run.” Here are the lyrics to the first couple of verses:

“Oh, Red went and bought himself a monkey
Got him from a pawn shop broker
Taught that monkey how to guzzle beer
And he taught him out to play stud poker
Last night when they were gambling in the kitchen
The monkey he was taking a beating
The monkey said Red, "I'm going to shoot you dead
Because I know that well, you been a cheating."

Well, run Red run, because he's got your gun
And he's aiming it at your head
Run Red run, because he's got your gun
And he's aiming it at your head
You better get up and wail
You better move your tail before he fills it full of lead.”

After listening to OG sing this for years, I knew I had to add a monkey to one of my books. Balthazar is that monkey. Given the source material, he has a lot to live up to, but I think he rises to the occasion admirably.

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com

New Release - Undercover Nanny by Alison Henderson

Yippee! I have a new release!! UNDERCOVER NANNY is here!!!

There were many times over the past eighteen months when I didn't think I'd be able to say that. As I told Jannine last week, sometimes it takes a village, and let me tell you, this book took a village and then some. I needed--and received--more help with this one than anything I've ever written. Happily, the end result is something I think we can all be proud of.

When I asked for input on the blurb, many of you responded with suggestions. If you look closely, you may see a few of your own words in the final version.

BLURB:

Kidnapping. Extortion. Antiquities smuggling. Add one light-fingered, bad-tempered monkey, and it’s all in a day’s work for novice bodyguard Casey Callahan when she’s hired to protect the five-year-old niece of a handsome archaeology professor.

Alec Bainbridge has been balancing excavation and teaching duties with single parenthood since the death of his sister. When a stranger attempts to kidnap his niece, he hires a bodyguard to pose as the little girl’s nanny. However, the young woman who shows up is a far cry from the matronly type he was expecting.

Amid break-ins, anonymous threats, and arson, Casey and Alec race to identify the villains before they harm the child or make off with a priceless Egyptian artifact. All the while, their mutual attraction complicates an already volatile situation. With an innocent child’s life at stake, Casey and Alec risk everything to solve the mystery before their growing feelings become the final casualty.

Balthazar, the monkey, was one of my all-time favorite characters to write and plays an important role in the story. Have you heard the old show business warning against working with children or animals because they'll always upstage you? Well, UNDERCOVER NANNY has both, and this short excerpt gives you a taste: 

Alec climbed the two flights of stairs to the playroom, where he found Grace and Balthazar playing her current favorite make-believe—Jungle Adventurer. Grace was wearing her pith helmet, while the monkey sported his veiled pink princess hat.

“He’s a giant gorilla who’s rescuing the hippo from the flooded river.” She pointed at her stuffed hippo, who was wrapped in an old blue bath towel.

       Alec gave a mental shrug. After the kind of day he’d had, he could see no reason why a heroic giant gorilla shouldn’t wear a conical pink princess hat.

Like the first two books in this series, UNDERCOVER NANNY mixes a healthy dose of heart-warming emotion and humor with the suspense. I just hope readers will enjoy it as much as the others.

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com 

The Art of the Blurb by Alison Henderson

By the time you read this, I will be deep in my edits, probably moaning and tearing my hair. However, at the moment I'm taking advantage of my last few days of freedom to work on the blurb for UNDERCOVER NANNY that will become my Amazon product description.

As you know, blurbs vary widely in length and level of detail. Some are mere teasers. Others spell out most of the main plot points. I've read quite a number of articles on how to write great product descriptions, but I'm not sure I got many useful pointers from any of them. Some were written by professional marketers, and others by authors discussing the elements and style that have worked for there. I'm not a marketing guru, but personal preference seems to play a major role.

So, what about you? When you're looking for a new book, what do you look for in a blurb? Do you want a brief description that gives you an idea of the tone of the book but only a broad overview of the characters and plot? Or do you feel more comfortable (and therefore more likely to part with your hard-earned cash) if you have a better idea of the story?

I don't think most readers like super-long blurbs, so I've written two potential options for UNDERCOVER NANNY: one with approximately 100 words, and one twice that length. I would love your opinion as to which would make you more likely to hit the "Buy" button.

#1

Kidnapping. Extortion. Antiquities smuggling. Add one light-fingered, bad-tempered monkey, and it’s all in a day’s work for novice bodyguard Casey Callahan.

She has been hired to protect the five-year-old niece of archaeology professor Alec Bainbridge from would-be kidnappers while posing as the child’s nanny—a task made all the more challenging by the escapades of Balthazar, a Capuchin with an attitude.

Amid break-ins, anonymous threats, and possible arson, Casey and Alec race to identify the villains before they harm the child or make off with a priceless Egyptian artifact. All the while, their growing mutual attraction becomes a complication too powerful to ignore.

#2

Kidnapping. Extortion. Antiquities smuggling. Add one light-fingered, bad-tempered monkey, and it’s all in a day’s work for novice bodyguard Casey Callahan.

Casey has been working part-time for an all-female bodyguard agency while finishing her graduate degree. In her first solo assignment, she has been hired to protect the five-year-old niece of a handsome archaeology professor from would-be kidnappers while posing as the child’s nanny. When she arrives at the house, she is startled to learn her duties will also include wrangling the little girl’s staunch companion, an impudent Capuchin named Balthazar.

Alec Bainbridge has been balancing excavation and teaching duties with single parenthood since the death of his sister. When a stranger attempts to take his niece from school, his fears push him to hire a bodyguard. However, the young woman who shows up is a far cry from the matronly type he was expecting.

Despite Alec and Casey's best efforts, the anonymous threats continue to escalate, sending them on a race to identify the villains before they harm the child or make off with a priceless Egyptian artifact. All the while, their growing mutual attraction becomes a complication too powerful to ignore.

Do you like either? Should I mix and match elements? I want to give readers enough, but not too much. It's a fine line, and any help you can give will be most appreciated.

Alison
www.alisonhenderson

My Catch-up-on-life Checklist by Alison Henderson

Can you hear those faint cries of joy? That's me. Yesterday I finished my second round of self-edits and sent UNDERCOVER NANNY off to my editor, our own esteemed, and very talented, Jannine Gallant. I should be relaxing and celebrating, but instead I'm working on my mid-edit to-do list--the things I need to accomplish before the manuscript returns and I have to dive back in. As my grandmother used to say, no rest for the weary (or wicked, depending on her mood.)

At the start of November, after almost of year of miserable existential angst, I decided I truly wanted to finish this book. I could never do NaNoWriMo, but a friend invited me to join her NaNoPretendo group on Facebook. A small group of writers vowed to do what we could and keep in touch. That's all. At the beginning of the month, I stated my goal to write every day with an eye on 500 words. No guilt or recriminations if I didn't make it, but I wanted to try to get back into the feel of regular writing. I started the month at 38K words and ended at 50K.

At that point, I knew I could make it to the end, so I set another goal--to finish the first draft by the beginning of March and send the manuscript to my editor by April 1st. The plan is to publish the book sometime in mid-late May. I'm happy to say I made it! However, in the final push I let a lot of things slide. So, here's my catch-up-on-life list for the next couple of weeks:

1. Clean my house. It's getting desperate.
2. Weed the yard. Also desperate.
3. Scrub the soap scum off the tile in the shower. A 2-day chore. It's 5' x 8' and tiled to the ceiling on three sides.
4. Make two fairy gardens for the Garden Club silent auction the first weekend in May.
5. Get an oil change in my car. I refuse to admit how long it's been.
6. Have the trees trimmed. The olive looks like Medusa.
7. Have the septic tank pumped. Fun, fun, fun!

      And if there's time:

1. Get outside. 
2. Take walks.
3. Take pictures.
4. Breathe.

Alison

www.alisonhenderson.com 

My Self-Editing Checklist by Alison Henderson

Today is my self-imposed deadline for finishing the first draft of UNDERCOVER NANNY. I don't think I'm going to make it, but I'll be close. The wrap-up is a little more involved than I'd expected, but I don't want to cheat readers out of out of a fully satisfying ending. 

As I've approached the end, I've been jotting down notes to myself about things I need to fix, change, amplify, etc. during my first editing pass. Some of these are plot points that have evolved as the story unfolded. Some are characters that have changed as I've gotten to know them better. You know the kind of stuff I mean. 

I've always considered myself to have a very orderly mind. This is the first time I've felt the need to write down a self-editing checklist, but 2017 was an ugly year for me, and I don't trust my memory. Looking over my list, I realize I'm much more scatter-brained than I give myself credit for. Just for laughs, I thought I'd share this part of my "process" with you. We might as well laugh together.

Here it is, in no particular order:

1. Cut info dump in Chap. 1 and weave it into the rest of the chapter.
2. Have Casey (heroine) tell Alec (hero) about Peter (former fiance) early on.
3. Have Carolyn Chiang (mother of Alec's niece's best friend) tell Casey about Alec's financial success with book and TV appearances.
4. Have Casey put on slippers or shoes when she goes downstairs to confront the villain.
5. Reminder: she's a psychologist and tends to overthink things. Use it!
6. Include ALL senses.
7. Beef up details re: clothes and settings. It's cold out there. These people are not all naked all the time!
8. Add emotion everywhere!
9. Replace cliched body language descriptions with something more creative.
10. Reconsider Fermin's comments and behaviors. (This is necessary because I didn't decide that he was going to be the ultimate villain until I was at least 2/3 of the way through the book.)
11. Ditto for Maria. (See note above. I knew she was a part of the villain's plan, but not whether she was an actual co-conspirator, until quite late.)
12. Increase the humor! (As I said, 2017 was not a funny year for me, so this book is lacking some of my trademark humor.)
13. Copy and save good quotes to use later. (I hate going back through a manuscript, hunting for quotes to use in ads, etc.)

Does this garbled mess look familiar to anyone? It's okay to say no. I wouldn't claim it, either, if I didn't have to.

Alison

www.alisonhenderson.com 

New Title, New Cover by Alison Henderson

I am within hours--or for me, days--of finishing the first draft of my current manuscript. The title and cover have been set for months, or so I thought.

Last Wednesday, while in the shower, I had a horrifying thought. The cover I'd settled on featured a looming figure in the foreground holding a gun in front of what was obviously a college dorm. I chose the image because my hero is a professor, and the setting is a college campus. My heroine is a bodyguard, so it isn't unusual that she would carry a gun. Besides, the image is flirty rather than threatening and matches the images on the first two covers in the series.

However, it suddenly occurred to me that in light of recent events, readers might look at the cover and think "school shooting." That's the last thing I want to suggest! I felt queasy just thinking about it. My books are light, humorous, romantic suspense novels, and I've put way too much into this story to turn anyone off with the cover. 

I remember when the release of the movie "Big Trouble" was postponed for several months after nine-eleven because it made fun of lackluster airport security by having the idiotic villains carry a bomb on a plane by claiming it was a food disposer. Dave Barry's original book was hilarious, and the movie was an excellent adaptation. The problem was timing. People weren't ready to laugh about something like that yet. I certainly don't want my book to suffer a similar fate, especially when I can avoid it. 

This story had also been through a couple of titles, neither of which reflected the story very well, so this was a good opportunity to see if I could come up with something I liked better. I wracked my brain, making myself crazier and crazier, until a writer friend suggested that since my heroine works as a nanny, I might want to try using that word in the title. Bingo! Undercover Nanny was born. It succinctly describes the premise, which is unusual enough to create interest on its own. As usual, I had been overthinking the problem. LOL

From there, it wasn't difficult to come up with a new background image that also matches a couple of scenes in the story. I was able to use the same figure I'd used previously, and I even added the monkey for a humorous touch. After all, he does save the day!

I hope readers will be intrigued, rather than repulsed. Now, all I have to do is finish the darn book.

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com