GLENDA CARROLL -Sportswriter – Open Water Swimmer – Author

Glenda Carroll writes the Trisha Carson mysteries that take place in the San Francisco Bay area, from Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants to the beautiful lakes in the East Bay to the tree-lined streets of Marin County.

Her mysteries are set in the world of open water swimming. The third book of the series Dead Code will be published by Indies United Publishing House. The launch date is October 27, 2021. Books one and two, Dead in the Water and Drop Dead Red, introduced Trisha Carson, a 40-something woman trying to find her way in the world, and her family to the mystery reading community.

When not writing, she tutors high school and college students for Canal Alliance, San Rafael, in English and occasionally History. These are first-generation teens who understand that education is the way out of poverty.

What brought you into writing? Good question. I never, ever thought I would write fiction. For almost twenty years, I was a sportswriter for the Marin Independent Journal. I covered mostly water sports: sailing and sailboat racing, boating (in general), surfing, some swimming. I remember someone once asked me, “Do you have a novel in there?” I was miffed. “How can you write about something that isn’t true?” I huffed and puffed. But I found that not only could I use my imagination and find dead bodies in all types of strange locations. But I liked doing it!

What is your writing process? Several years back, I entered a NaNoWriMo 6-word contest about writing. “Write like a hurricane. Edit later,” was my prize-winning entry. That seems to be what I do. I blast through the first draft. After that, it’s torture. I write draft after draft. I often take out big chunks of copy and put them in a special deleted file. I’m not sure why I keep them. I have never used anything that I’ve buried in that file. For Dead Code, three people volunteered to be my Beta readers. It was the first time I was that organized to ask for help. They were great…excellent suggestions that made the manuscript better.

Have you ever had writer’s block? Oh yes. When I was writing the first book in the series Dead in the Water, I reached a point where I didn’t know what to say and what to type. At those times, I would go out and cut the grass. I had an old-fashioned push mower, and it was in the middle of summer. Maybe it was the dripping sweat that kickstarted my brain, but when I came back inside to my cool house, my mind was working again.

How do you come up with characters’ names? For the protagonist of the series, Trisha Carson, I knew her age and researched the popular girls’ names the year she was born. After that, I began to use the names of family members. In all the books, there is a character I called Inspector Carolina Burrell, San Francisco Police Department. That moniker contains my granddaughter’s name and the name of a former San Francisco Giants outfielder, Pat Burrell. I used my sons’ first names for ballplayers on the Giants. My grandson Caden’s name was used for a secret swimming spot, Caden’s Corner. If you’re related to me or even someone I admire, your name will be usurped at some point.

Do you have subplots? There is definitely a subplot in Dead Code. As I mentioned earlier, the first two books of the series are firmly set in the world of open water swimming, and the plots are water-oriented. Dead Code moves away from being totally involved with water into the world of hacking. (There are swimming scenes for those who can’t get enough of H2O.) Just as I finished the first draft, I had my identity stolen. My hacker found his way into my bank accounts, health care, phone, and email. I tore my hair out for about a week, trying to understand what was going on and how to stop it. I knew I had to add that to the manuscript. I rewrote the whole thing so Trisha could share my pain. She hated it as much as I did.

Do you outline, or are you a pantser? Honestly, I seem to start in the middle and work toward the beginning and the end. I usually don’t know ‘who did it’ until I write it. However, I tried to become more organized with book two. For Drop Dead Red, I carefully worked out an outline. Then I started writing. I didn’t make it through the first chapter before I strayed from the outline. I’m not sure why I can’t stick to an outline. I just can’t. I wish I could.

“(Trisha Carson is)…a smart, steadfast gumshoe who, in her second book, continues to flourish…Carroll’s writing bounces off the page.” Kirkus Reviews

What are you currently working on? As I mentioned, I am approaching the finish line with Dead Code. This is a different subject for me, involving hackers and ransomware. I only had a cursory knowledge of the computer crime world. I needed to read everything I could on the subject, and I even lurked on a few hacker bulletin boards. My sister’s sweetheart started his own computer security firm ages ago, and he was happy to answer all my questions, from the simplest to the most complex. He even made a few plot suggestions.

Advice to new writers?

First, keep reading—everything you can. But be critical (in a good way) of the text. How does the author use verbs? What are transitions like? What makes you say, “I wish I wrote that sentence, paragraph, chapter?” Does the ending work?

Second. Do your best to keep that inner voice that tells you. You don’t know what you’re doing at bay. Half the time, I never know where the story is going until I write it. However, I am beginning to have confidence that something, maybe even something worth reading, will come out of the process.

Third. Write. Even when you don’t want to.

Looking to the future, what is in store for you? As you might guess, I write about open water swimming, because I swim in open water (as well as a pool). I swim in rivers, lakes, the ocean, and over the past year in the chilly San Francisco Bay. I’ve raced in more than 150 open water events in Northern California and Hawaii, and Perth, Australia. Currently, I am training for an Alcatraz swim in early September. I was swimming along the other day in the choppy Bay, putting in the distance, and the idea came to me for the next book. A swimmer is making their way across the Bay, and she is being escorted by a pilot boat. The swimmer gets a bit off course, and when she turns to look back at the boat, something is strange. She swims over to it, and the pilot (the captain or driver of the boat) has disappeared. The swimmer and the empty boat are in the middle of the Bay, alone. Sound interesting?

How can our readers contact you?

Ggcarroll43@gmail.com
Webpage: glendacarroll.com
FB: Author page: https://www.facebook.com/Carrollandfriends
Personal FB page: https://www.facebook.com/glenda.carroll
Twitter: @ggcarroll
Instagram: Glenda.carroll
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Ms.-Glenda-Carroll/e/B00CIJ7HJ8/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

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14 Comments

  1. Thonie Hevron

    What a fun interview! The new book sounds fascinating. As a former Marinite, now a Petaluman, I love the local aspect of these stories. Thanks George and Glenda!

    Reply
    • Glenda Carroll

      Petaluma isn’t that far away. In fact, it’s a destination in Dead Code toward the end. Glad you liked the interview.

      Reply
  2. Vinnie Hansen

    I loved reading this and learning more about you and your books, Glenda. “Write like a hurricane. Edit later,” would make a perfect motto for Nanowrimo.

    Reply
    • Glenda Carroll

      Thanks for the kind comments. I wish I could put off the ‘edit later’ part to the next millennium sometimes.

      Reply
  3. Ana Brazil

    “I didn’t make it through the first chapter before I strayed from the outline.” Love this!

    Reply
    • Glenda Carroll

      I know. I am such a klutz when it comes to following an outline.

      Reply
  4. Heidi Noroozy

    Such great writing advice, Glenda! And I learned something new about you too: I didn’t know you were a sports writer. Your idea for the next book sounds exciting!

    Reply
    • Glenda Carroll

      I’m just hoping the idea for the next book doesn’t come true when I’m doing the Alcatraz swim.

      Reply
  5. Rebecca Salazar

    Always something up your sleeve- just one of the many reasons I love yah, Sis!

    Reply
  6. Glenda Carroll

    Thx! The hurricane part is fun; the edit later, not so much.

    Reply
  7. Michelle Chouinard

    I also am a big believer in the ‘write like a hurricane, edit later’ approach and I love that you won a contest with those six words! Congratulations on the new book. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Alec Peche

    Glenda,
    I love the premise for your next book! I can imagine the terror and bewilderment of the swimmer.

    Reply
    • Glenda

      Me too. A swimmer’s nightmare.

      Reply

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Welcome Award-Winning Author John R Schembra

Mystery/Thriller, Supernatural, Military

In Blood Debt, San Francisco Homicide Investigator and Vietnam veteran Vince Torelli strives to clean up the violence in San Francisco. But, after a suspect in a double murder is killed during an attempted arrest, he finds himself protecting the good police officers of the city he considers family. His efforts put him in the line of fire when he’s targeted. The brother of the suspect victim wants revenge on the officers responsible, and he’ll stop at nothing. He kidnaps Vince, a man obsessively loyal to his job as well as those he works with and defends, a man as smart and committed to his principles as the criminals he catches almost without fail. Vince knows best, though; a blood debt always demands payment.

How long have you wanted to write? When I was a young boy, my mother instilled in me a love of books and reading. I read mostly adventure stories, in particular, a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and  I admired how he could spin such wonderful stories. I vowed at a young age to write my own stories someday, as I knew the joy I got from books. I wanted to someday write books that would give that joy to others.

How long did it take you to reach your goal of publication? Many years! With growing up, school, college, the Army, becoming a police officer, marriage, and raising two children, there just wasn’t time for me to write, though I never lost the desire. The opportunity came when the kids were in college, and I had finished my master’s degree.  One afternoon, another sergeant and fellow Vietnam Veteran and I were swapping stories from our tours in the police department briefing room. Other officers heard us and stopped to listen. They told me later that day I should write my stories down, they would make a good book. That night, I began writing.

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author? Traditionally published. I researched small publishers, on the advice of a genuinely nice lady, and very prolific author I had met at a writer’s conference and was lucky enough to have one accept my manuscript. I have been with them, Writers Exchange, for 18 years, and all five of my books have been published by them. I have two new novels currently in their queue undergoing editing. I hope to have them published by mid-2021. By the way, that nice lady and I are fast friends and have been for 20 years.

Where do you write? A small 4th bedroom in my house was converted to an office/writing room. It gives me the privacy I need to concentrate, with no interruptions from family (other than the dogs). I have a TV in there. I tune to soft rock music, at low volume, as a background when writing. I find I am more proficient when writing with the background music. It helps me concentrate.

Where do you find your characters? How do you name them? All of them are drawn from real life, at least the main characters. I’ve patterned them after friends, family, and other people I know or have known. Obviously, I change the names, but I have had some readers recognize the character and ask me if the character is based on them, or on so-and-so. I usually tell them, “not entirely.” A couple of times, I have used their real names, with permission, of course, because the name suits the character. Those persons really get a kick out of being in the book!

I try to develop names that suit the characters. If a tough guy is needed, I’m not going to name him Chad, or Chip, or Timmy, etc. I chose Vince Torelli as the name for the protagonist in five of my books—a tough, dedicated, homicide inspector with San Francisco PD. An Italian name, to me, rings of toughness. Of course, the character’s personality has to echo the tough name. I also like to have the protagonist exhibit compassion at times, too. I try to avoid cliché names like “Reaper,” “Savage,” and the like.

Real settings or fictional towns? I use both. In M.P., a Novel of Vietnam, all the locations were real, and all the military units, from whichever side, were real and operated in the area at the time setting of the book. All the areas mentioned in the Torelli books, in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area, are real, as are all towns, streets, highways, hotels, restaurants, etc. I even used the address of my childhood home in one of the books! I like to think it adds a sense of realism when the reader knows or has visited the areas where the scenes take place.

If you could have written any book already written, which one would it be? Any of the Tarzan books!  ERB is my absolute favorite author, and I have read almost everything he has written (80 books), a lot of them more than once. His writing is what got me hooked on reading and inspired me to become a writer. By the way, I have 73 of his books in my bookcase.

One other book is The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. An absolutely amazing book, skillfully written. I felt I was on the boat with him. Some of the best descriptive writing I’ve read.

You’re stranded on a deserted island.. what must you have? All my ERB books, my reading glasses, and a Lazy-boy recliner

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books? As I mentioned, I have written seven books—five published (in Kindle and paperback) and two at the publisher’s. I have posted the first chapters of all my published work on my webpage, including a couple of short stories (non-published). Please take a few minutes to visit the site, learn more about me, view some photos, and read the excerpts.  Between the five books and a short story, I have been fortunate to receive eight writing competition awards.

A big thank you to my friend, and award-winning author, George Cramer, for inviting me to post at his blog.

If any of you read a book of mine or the short stories, I would love to hear from you. Please post a review at Amazom.com, or send it directly to me so I can post it at other sites.

Thanks for taking the time to read about me and my writing. I appreciate it.

Best wishes, John

Website and links: www.jschembra.com   https://www.facebook.com/Books-by-John

10 Comments

  1. Jim Hasse

    Good choice for an interview, George. I have the pleasure of being in a critique group with John and have read a lot of his work, including many Vince Torelli stories. John and I have similar backgrounds as I had a twenty-eight-year law enforcement career and served in Vietnam. John has been an inspiration to me and I value his friendship.

    Reply
  2. Madeline Gornell

    I second everything the commenters before me said, and would add I’ve found John to be a thoroughly nice and competent person who I’ve enjoyed working with through PSWA. Although, John, I was surprised by Tarzan! (smile)

    Reply
    • John

      THank you Madelin, my friend, and an excellent author!

      Reply
  3. Deven Greene

    Interesting interview. I’m glad your mom got you interested in reading. At least you’ll have something to keep you occupied if you are stranded on a desert island with Tarzan books (hopefully with reading glasses and a comfortable chair). Blood Debt sounds interesting. I ordered a copy on Amazon.

    Reply
    • John

      Thanks, Doc. I appreciate it!!!

      Reply
  4. Thonie Hevron

    Fun interview, George and John. As long as I’ve known you, I never knew you were an ERB fan. Love learning about authors like this, George.

    Reply
    • John Schembra

      Thank you Thonie. I’m going to miss our Nov. crafts fair!!

      Reply
  5. Michael A. Black

    Good interview, guys. John is a talented writer and he also exemplifies the very best of us through his service to our country. He’s the kind of guy that Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote about, so I’m not surprised he’s an ERB fan. Make sure you try out his books. If you liked Dirty Harry, you’ll love Vince Torelli.

    Reply
    • John Schembra

      Thanks, Mike. I appreciate the comments, my friend.

      Reply

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