Jen here, and happy to host Debra, who moderated my Malice panel. Besides being a thoughtful moderator, she’s clearly a creative at heart. Check out how she uses an innovative way to kickstart her writing. Plus, she’s generous—comment below for a chance to win a physical or e-copy of Serving Up the Truth!
We All Have Those Days
We all have those days when we’ve hit a brick wall and need to take a step back.
It can be as complicated as how to stretch a paycheck when you’ve been asked to join an upcoming fun trip you don’t want to miss. Or it can be as challenging as organizing all those thousands of photos on your phone so you can find them when you want to show them off. And then there’s the trick of pulling together a dinner for three friends who will be at your home in two hours, and all have different tastes, and you have no clue what to serve.
We all have our own ways of working through to creative solutions for the challenges that hit us, whether it’s head on or inch by inch.
For myself, whenever I hit a brick wall, I head to the living room to get a creative jumpstart from my faithful piano.
Just putting my fingers on the piano’s keys makes me sit up straighter. When I start playing, it’s music to my ears, as the saying goes. I get reenergized.
An article describing how a pianist feels when tickling the ivories recently caught my attention. The premise is this: the pianist controls the sound, the tempo, and the mood. They run the show, which gives them a feeling of total accomplishment. They can do this!
Playing my piano gives me that same jumpstart. I can do this!
Now I don’t want you to think I’m a virtuoso and the Chicago Symphony is trying to recruit me for their orchestra. Same for Carnegie Hall. Neither is going to happen. In fact, I confess I never made it past John Thompson’s Modern Course for the Piano, The Third Grade Book – Something New Every Lesson. Perhaps some of you are also familiar with John Thompson’s red elementary books? The frayed, faded, taped up book in the photo has been with me for many years. Same for the Brahms and Beethoven busts that cheer me on.
I view my pile of music books and sheet music as long-time friends. Just like the TBR piles we all have that can pump us back up when we’ve hit that proverbial wall.
For myself, Serving Up the Truth, my debut cozy and first book in my Amanda Knightly series, playing the piano cleared my mind and helped me set the changing mood throughout the story.
How’s that you ask?
Amanda Knightly is a deli clerk who’s tired of the same old routine behind the counter. Playing elevator-type music, like that in the grocery store, made me visualize the scene where she’s ready to admit she needs a new start. Same for playing dark tunes, where I got a sense of an impending unpleasant surprise that I could hit Amanda with. And a fast-paced favorite charged me up for the rapid-fire ending.
Yes, creative jumpstarts can come from many places. For me, my piano is my instigator.
What’s your creative jumpstart when working through challenges?
ABOUT DEBRA
Debra Klein is a lifelong Chicagoan, which is also the setting of her debut cozy mystery, Serving Up the Truth, featuring a deli clerk who swaps slicing for sleuthing. Her Chicago-themed short story “Ghost of a Chance”, pegs the Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers in the Tales From The Golden State of Mind anthology. She serves on the board of her Sisters in Crime local chapter and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Authors Guild. A reader of all genres, for Debra, walking into a book store is like stepping into a chocolate shop – she wants one of each! Stay connected with Debra through her website at: DebraKleinBooks.com
ABOUT SERVING UP THE TRUTH
Amanda Knightly, known as the Deli Lady of Oak Hills, hustles behind the grocery deli counter in the cozy Chicago suburb, keeping her smile and her customers delighted…. except for the arrogant young woman who dithers forever before storming off in a huff. When that same young woman is murdered, and a family friend is arrested for the crime, Amanda is shocked. Convinced he’s innocent, she swaps slicing for sleuthing and starts out on a roll.
But things get as stinky as three-week-old potato salad when Amanda gets into big trouble and her list of suspects hits way too close to home. Can Amanda serve up the truth before it’s too late?
“Klein excels in planting tantalizing tidbits throughout the story while maintaining the integrity of the world she has carefully built. When the identity of the killer is discovered, it is a genuine surprise…Fans of cozy mysteries will want to add this to their collections.”
– Kirkus Reviews
Chicks on the Case 