Is Your Protagonist Your Alter Ego?

Many years ago, after reading the first novel I’d just finished writing, someone told me she could see me in every page. There were many similarities between me and my protagonist. We both wore glasses. (Now I wear contact lenses.) We liked the same foods and had many of the same hang ups. Soon after I started writing books for kids. Since I have two sons, my protagonist was usually a boy. I’d simply put myself inside the head of a boy and imagine how it feels to have an older brother with neurological problems (And Don’t Bring Jeremy.) I imagined how it would feel to suddenly have magical powers (Rufus and Magic Run Amok.)

The more books I wrote, the more my protagonists developed traits of their own. But certain personality and character traits of mine cling to each of my sleuths. Sometimes fiction precedes real life. In my Twin Lake mysteries, Lydia Krause is newly widowed and starting a new life in a gated community. She beat me there, as I became a widow after I wrote the book. Still, we both have a cat and we both live in a gated community.

Gabbie Meyerson in Giving Up the Ghost is also starting a new life. She’s divorced her husband, something I never did, after helping to send him to prison. (Didn't do that, either.) She takes a job teaching English (I taught Spanish) in a small Long Island community, and discovers she’s sharing a cottage with the ghost of Cameron Leeds. Pressed into service, Gabbie finds out who murdered Cam.

Ardin Wesley in Dangerous Relations bears the emotional scars of an abusive marriage, something I’ve never experienced. She finds herself wanting to adopt her murdered cousin’s little girl, which pits her against her cousin’s widower. She tries to ignore the fact that she’s falling for the guy, telling herself she doesn’t want anything to do with romance. In the course of the novel, Ardin comes face-to-face with her ex-husband. Even more painful is overhearing him tell his current wife that he'd never loved Ardin. Through it all, Ardin grows stronger and is able to love again.

There’s no question that Lexie Driscoll in Murder a la Christie is intelligent (she’s an English college professor). But Lexie’s not always wise when it comes to choosing the men in her life. Her first husband left her when she was pregnant with their son. When she decided to divorce her crazy second husband, he burned down her house with himself inside. Lexie finds herself spending the summer housesitting in affluent Old Cadfield, blocks from her college roommate and best friend, Rosie. Rosie is married to one of Lexie’s rejects and lives the life of luxury. Lexie realizes that this life could have hers. But would she have done things differently if she'd known how everything turned out?

The more books we write, the more our characters take on lives of their own. I suppose we subconsciously borrow traits from people we know, from characters in TV series, books and movies. How they behave and interact with one another are offshoots of their personalities and characters. My sleuths vary in age and social position, but they are all strong, intelligent women. Of course they’re all bolder than I am – never afraid to ask questions or to follow up on a clue, which often gets them into trouble as they go about solving murders.

In what ways are your sleuths like you? How are they different?

Taking Stock

The other evening I happened to go to my Amazon site. I don’t go there often for a variety of reasons. For one, they show some of my books with covers of old versions that no longer are for sale instead of putting up the covers of more recent editions. Another reason is my rankings aren’t what I want them to be. But I digress.

Because I rarely visit my Amazon site except to check for errors, I found myself reading reviews of one of my children’s books. No Boys Allowed deals with a young girl’s life after her parents’ sudden divorce. Though the novel first came out in 1992 or 3, the theme is still relevant. How divorce impacts on kids hasn’t changed much since then. When the book finally went out of print, I retrieved the rights and put up a new edition  myself. Reading the reviews made me take stock. Sure, I liked the compliments regarding my writing skills, but I was especially glad to know that Cassie’s situation touched the hearts of my readers. I smiled as I left my Amazon page, remembering a conversation with a teacher this past year and her telling me that she and another teacher in her school had read the book with their students. Remembering that a friend’s granddaughter’s teacher had read the book to her class. No Boys Allowed is alive and flourishing, and reaching new readers!

I do my best to bring my books to the attention of readers via social media. I blog, I guest blog, I go on Facebook, I tweet, etc. Nothing seems to raise my sales, though No Boys Allowed is #29 in the Kindle store for children’s books concerning marriage and divorce through no effort on my part. Perhaps that’s through word of mouth. Taking stock, I realize that making my novels available to readers is what’s most important to me. I love hearing a reader say she enjoyed one of my mysteries and hopes I write more books in the series. I take delight in receiving emails from children telling me they love a particular book, or that one of my books hit a particular subject spot on. This is especially heartwarming because my kids’ books deal with serious themes. In Getting Back to Normal Vannie copes with life after her mother's death. In And Don’t Bring Jeremy, Adam finds himself and a way to relate to his older brother who has
disabilities. I’ve decided not to worry about rankings and numbers and to focus on what I love: writing novels for myself and for my readers.

Three Achievements I’m Most Proud Of

I’ve had my share of successes and failures in my life. Here are the achievements that stand out in my mind. Two of them are related to my writing career.

1. The publication of my first book.
I was in seventh heaven when my children’s novel, And Don’t Bring Jeremy, was published back in 1985. (Was it that long ago?) Publishers Weekly reviewed it-- “Levinson’s first novel promises to launch her career as a gifted, sensitive author”-- and included one of Diane deGroat’s drawings. A book club bought the paperback rights  before the hardcover came out. In time, Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards. I was thrilled. Surely, every book I wrote from here on in would be published. Hah! Was I in for a rude awakening.

But there’s a nice ending to this story. And Don’t Bring Jeremy is now available in e-form through Untreed Reads. This week it’s 30% off the regular price of $3.99: http://store.untreedreads.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_335&products_id=710

2. My father was a difficult man with a bad temper. At 92, he was living alone in the Florida condo he’d shared with my stepmother. Always athletic, he was now beset with various problems—in need of cataract surgery, falling occasionally, and suffering severe shoulder pain. My husband and I often flew down from NY to take Dad to doctors, and to do what we could to help ease his life. I hired aides, and he would fire them for sitting around and “doing nothing.” Dad's doctor told him he needed to move to an Independent Living facility, but Dad was having none of it.

On one visit he agreed to look at residences. I don’t know what I said, but finally Dad agreed to move to a facility near his condo. To this day, I can’t believe we signed the necessary papers, moved Dad and his belongings, and settled him in his new home—all within three days.

3. Last week I was bursting with pride as I drove home from my Long Island Sisters in Crime meeting. Member John Nolan had just given a most informative talk on mistakes criminals make, discussing actual cases he’d supervised when he was Commanding Officer of Nassau County’s Homicide Squad. The month before, member Linda Frank gave a brilliant talk on DNA, which she used to teach.

Three years ago I'd come home from my first Malice Domestic convention knowing I wanted to start a Long Island chapter of Sisters in Crime. I convinced my friend and fellow writer, Bernadine Fagan, to help me co-found a group. We contacted Sisters in Crime members in the Long Island area and held our first meeting in August of 2010. In December, Hank Phillippi Ryan, who had offered to be our first guest speaker, came down from Boston to give us an unforgettable presentation.

We are a small but active group of mystery writers. After my presidency of two years, Charlene Knadle took over the office and is doing a wonderful job. The Long Island chapter of Sisters in Crime continues to flourish.

What achievement are you most proud of? Write and let me know what it is.