Greta Boris

Stories of Domestic Suspense

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The Evil Eye of Envy

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Don’t write about sin if you don’t want to become aware of your own shortsightedness.

When I wrote about sloth I fell asleep a lot. When I wrote about wrath, I had to forgive all the people I’d been holding stuff against. I won’t tell you what happened when I wrote about lust.

I believe we all have our own BS or besetting sin.

This is our default weakness. It’s the one we descend into when times are rough, and often when they’re not. Envy is mine. I’m not saying I never experience the other negative personality traits. I am saying envy is the one that trips me up the most often.

Envy is punished in Dante’s Divine Comedy by stitching up the eyes of the envious.

In the Middle Ages envy was associated with witchcraft and curses. It comes from the Latin “invidia” which means to look on someone with hostility. All this is wonderful fodder for a story about murder, but not so wonderful for life.

What the professionals say:

According to studies done at Texas Christian University, envy increases memory and cognitive function. A good thing? Apparently not. The only thing the subjects were sharper about were the objects of their envy.

Some argue envy is positive because it challenges us to reach higher and be better. But another in the same group of studies showed that envy decreased subjects’ abilities to complete an unrelated, challenging mental task. This was blamed on something psychologists call “ego depletion.” 

Ego depletion is the idea that we only have so much self-control to go around. If we expend a lot of energy fighting the nasty emotions associated with envy, we won’t have as much persistence with other things.

Not only that, but envy is a downer.

It engenders feelings of depression, hostility, and painful inferiority. These emotions have an impact on both our physical and physiological health. Have you ever tried to accomplish anything constructive when you were feeling inferior or depressed?

Lest you think envy is somehow a higher emotion and, at least, proves our intelligence, apes and monkeys can be envious. One poor man lost his nose, his foot, and a testicle all because he brought a birthday cake to a chimp and the other chimps got jealous. Unfettered envy is violent.

Hope you’ll join me for this romp down the dark alley of envy.

But read at your own risk! The Color of Envy is the darkest sin yet.

How to Beat Loneliness

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I love writing. I love creating characters, plot lines, seeing my name on the cover of a book. I feel incredibly blessed to do what I do.

Having said all that, there is a downside to the author world you, as a reader, might not be aware of. Writers are listed in the top 10 professions most likely to experience severe depression according to US World’s Website. The reasons listed for that are:

  • Erratic pay
  • Rejection
  • Isolation

Generally I’m a pretty cheerful person, in part, because I’ve learned to guard myself against the third on the list. The first two I’ve accepted as part of the job. But I had an unusual three weeks due to deadlines, support people being out of town, and just general poor planning on my part. Consequently, I was alone a lot.

The “Big D,” as my father calls it, came knocking on my door. After two weeks of hanging out in the doldrums, I realized I had to take action. I thought about joining a church group, but I’m already in a church group. I thought about finding other writers to hang out with, but I already have a big group of writer friends. Then, I had a brainstorm.

Instead of looking for people to support me, what if I went out and found somebody I could support?

I signed up to help at a local food pantry that week. I assisted low income women choose and load their carts with food, helped them carry to their cars, and took a moment to listen to their concerns and pray with them. I left there on cloud nine.

The next step in my anti-loneliness plan, I stumbled into.

I noticed some beautiful, fresh produce when I was stocking the pantry that morning. It didn’t look like it had come from a grocery store, so I inquired. Turns out the pantry has an organic vegetable farm on the property where volunteers grow produce to add to the the pantry’s offerings.

That Saturday I went to the farm and helped trim cabbage, harvest lettuce, and turn the beds. What a perfect way to counteract depression. I had sunlight, exercise, and the camaraderie of lovely people.

The literary world is a wonderful one, but writers and readers alike must spend time alone to enter it. I believe alone time is essential for mental health, but so is community. How do you find the balance in your life? I’d love to hear. Please share in the comments below, or join the conversation in the 7 Deadly Book Club on Facebook.

Want to be in a 7 Deadly Sin?

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Secret Confession – I write people I know into my novels.

But, don’t worry, I don’t kill them.

Last week I got a text from a friend. He’d just finished reading The Scent of Wrath and was excited to see his name in print. In this case I wasn’t really thinking of him – his first name is common – but don’t tell him that.

Other times I intentionally write real people into my stories. Here’s a few examples:

The Scent of Wrath :

In Chapter 2, Olivia is frantically searching the San Juan Capistrano Mission for Brian, who is recovering from a head injury. She stops a little boy who’s in Brian’s class to see if he knows where her son is. Johnny Wilson, the boy, is not little anymore. He’s thirty, and a good friend of my kids, but I’ve known him since he was a shaver.

In Chapter 12, I mention a Pilates instructor who can’t come to Olivia’s party, Julianne, because she’s teaching at ABC Pilates that evening. I worked with Julianne at ABC Pilates and the YMCA for years.

The Sanctity of Sloth: 

In Chapter 2, Steven Homestead, garden volunteer, finds the body. He’s the son of a close friend. That’s all he was supposed to do, but as I wrote I realized I needed more out of him. He makes problems for Abby and her father in Chapters 16 and 20 too.

The Color of Envy: (Coming this summer)

In Chapter 1, a woman walks her dog in a Seattle park early in the morning and has a harrowing experience. My sister-in-law, Kate, lives in Seattle, so she seemed like a natural choice. She could use a little shaking up in her life. For added fun, I decided to name the dog after my nephew Jake.

Would you like to be featured in one of the sins?

If so, join my Facebook Group, post there and tell me why you’re a good candidate for A Pinch of Gluttony! Your answer doesn’t have to have anything to do with your eating habits. It could be that you’re a park ranger, a dog catcher, or a mail delivery person and you’re out and about a lot. It could be because you have a special skill like painting, or jam making or party throwing. Tell me something interesting about yourself! I’ll let everyone know who the winner is next month.

Book Club Questions for The Sanctity of Sloth

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Questions: 

  1. The Sanctity of Sloth has an unusual premise: A young woman locks herself in a secret enclosure at the San Juan Capistrano Mission to observe humanity like the anchorites of old. Have you ever wished you could be a fly on the wall, watching but not participating in life?
  2. Abby is afraid of making mistakes, her solution is to avoid doing anything. Can you think of a time when you or someone you know did the same? How did it work out?
  3. Most of the 7 Deadly Sins are sins of commission – lust, greed, gluttony, envy, wrath, and pride usually inspire wrong actions. Sloth, on the other hand, is a sin of omission. There are many historical events we can look back on now in which people didn’t act when they saw wrong doing. Can you name a couple?
  4. How might history be different if people had acted, or acted sooner, in those instances?
  5. Abby’s inaction starts a domino effect. One calamity occurs after another. What, in your opinion, was her first big mistake?
  6. Although Abby’s decisions prove to be disastrous, do you have sympathy for her when you learn about the events of her childhood? Why, or why not?
  7. Carlos is Abby’s opposite. He makes decisions and acts swiftly. Is that always the best course of action?
  8. Who do you relate to more, Abby or Carlos?
  9. The Wife is motivated by love and concern for her family. Sounds good. But, where do you draw the line when protecting your children? 
  10. Hannah’s story is based on a real event that took place in Irvine, California a number of years ago. The attitudes of the couple who held her as a domestic slave were very similar to the attitudes expressed by the people in the book. Does their world view surprise you? 

My hope is this book will have inspired you to find out what you can do about the plague of human trafficking in the US and around the world. Here are a few links to help: 

https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-fight-for-freedom-7-organizations-combatting-human-trafficking

https://www.a21.org/

https://www.egovlink.com/ochumantrafficking/

 

JOY – Part 1

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Confession time: I’m a closet self-help, positivity enthusiast.

I pursue joy. You might think it’s strange that someone who writes dark fiction is an avid follower of uplifting podcasts, self-help books and encouraging bloggers. Maybe I need them because I write dark fiction, but I think there’s another reason. I’ll tell you about that next month.

This month it seemed appropriate to write about one of the most well known joy builders – thankfulness. 

Fiction is a wonderful but tough business. The highs are high and the lows are low. Learning to maintain a happy heart is a critical part of the job.

One thing I’ve found helps is to review my blessings. Not just the husband, kids, house, dog, kind of blessings, but specifically the wonderful things that have happened in my career over the past year. 

Here goes: 

  • I finished and launched the third book in The 7 Deadly Sins Series, The Sanctity of Sloth (Which reminds me how grateful I am for my publisher and editor.)
  • I spoke at 6 So. Cal. writing events – what an honor to be asked!
  • O.C.Writers (the organization I direct) threw it’s first author event to celebrate women writers
  • I taught two workshops at the Dallas-Fort Worth Writers Conference
  • I met my publisher in person for the first time
  • I wrote the first book in a brand new mystery series I’m very excited about (Am pitching to agents now. I’ll keep you all posted!)
  • I re-released a book for writers with the amazing Megan Haskell – PUBLISH – Take Charge of Your Author Career
  • Megan and I taught 4 workshops at the Southern California Writers Conference (Whew – tiring but great meeting so many wonderful people.)
  • Megan and I taught our first private small group writing workshop (It was a big success and we’ll be teaching a revision workshop in January.)
  • I started my first co-authored fiction project with the inimitable Kristy Tate. 
  • I’m speaking (spoke, depending on when you read this) at LitUP on Tuesday, Nov. 20th
  • I had my first contact with book clubs who chose one of my books for their monthly read

On the personal side of life:

  • My sister and nephew came to California to visit for the first time
  • My Dad came to visit
  • My husband’s company sponsored the building of a house in Mexico for a family in need
  • My daughter adopted an adorable puppy, so I now have a grand dog 
  • I went to France for 3 weeks!! Amazing trip 
  • The annual family camping trip went off without a hitch
  • My music duo, Eclectic Blends, got a regular monthly gig at a wonderful family restaurant – Stephano’s 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Writing this was so encouraging. Looking for more joy? I highly recommend you make your own list, and please share some of the highlights in the comments below.  

Crime Times Two

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I love supporting great mystery and thriller writers and introducing them to you, my fearless readers.

This month, I’d like you to meet Julie Howard, author of The Wild Crime series. Here’s a little Q&A so you can get to know her.

1) I know you had a career in media before you started writing fiction. What drew you to fiction?

Actually, fiction came first. I always wanted to be a novelist, but also needed to earn a living. I got a degree in journalism and went to work in newspapers so that I could write all day long. My goal was to eventually take my journalism experience and translate it into writing fiction. I’ve read a few thousand more books since my college days, and written ever since, so I suppose I’m more ready than ever to write my own novels!

2) We often think because we can string some words together to form a coherent sentence, that writing a story will be a piece of cake. It wasn’t for me. What was the process of transitioning from nonfiction to fiction writing like for you?

To be honest, it was a surprisingly painful process. My journalist brain was screaming “Don’t make stuff up!” While newspaper articles are called “stories”, that’s where the similarity ends. No adjectives, no description, and the murderer is revealed in the first sentence. After struggling a bit, I took a couple of online fiction classes through Stanford University. Those classes were great in leading me through plotting, structure, dialogue and also giving me permission to use adjectives. Now, I have no problem making stuff up. It’s a good thing I never plan to go back into a newsroom.

3) I think setting is so important in fiction, and you write it well. How has your home town of Boise, Idaho inspired your stories?

I lived half of my life in urban areas, both in Sacramento, CA and Las Vegas, NV. The move to Idaho came as quite a cultural shock. Idaho is sparsely populated and there are some very remote towns, miles along dirt roads up into the mountains. I started to wonder what made people want to live so far from others and, then, what would happen if a woman was moved there against her will. That was the genesis of my Wild Crime series. I do have to note that Boise, where I live, is quite urban with a beautiful downtown, great restaurants and cultural activities. The wild outdoors, though, is never far away.

4) Pick one of your favorite descriptive passages from one of your books. Let us read it and tell us why you love it.

The ground was damp but far from muddy, drying quickly as the sun rose higher in the sky. From the trail, there was a view of the valley below and lush green mountains rising far on the other side. Above, snow already coated the topmost peaks. Down below, farm equipment was parked for the winter, fields were harvested and empty, and there was the small cluster of structures marking Hay City.

Not long ago, she would have said the rural scene was a view of nothing; her perspective was one of a city person craving the bustle of roads, buildings, and people. Now, her mindset was changed. There was so much to take in; she could stare out at this vista forever and never truly see it all.

I like this passage because I can completely relate to Meredith’s transition. The longer I live in Idaho, the more I see. This is such an amazing place to live and I’m so fortunate to call it home.

5) Did your main character come to you as a fully formed individual, or did she become one as you wrote? Tell us a little about her.

Meredith Lowe grew up with an absent father and vagabond mother. When she meets her husband her first semester of college, he’s sort of the knight in shining armor who will rescue and cherish her. Whatever self-esteem Meredith has developed is broken down by his abuse and, when this series begins, an idea is already partially formed in her mind: What would happen if he disappeared?

I wanted to start with a stripped-down individual at her worst moment and see what she would do. My character surprised me a few times along the way, and I altered the plot once or twice to better fit her personality. I’m writing the third and final book in the series now and am excited at how she’s come into her own.

6) What are you working on now?

I have a few projects underway. I’m just wrapping up a paranormal mystery that will be released next year. Of course, I’m also writing the third book in the Wild Crime series that will bring some final surprises into my character’s life. Finally, I have a new mystery series under development. I plan to be writing for a long, long time.

Julie Howard is the author of the Wild Crime series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. She is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild, editor of the Potato Soup Journal and founder of the Boise chapter of Shut Up & Write. Learn more at JulieHoward.com. 

And you can find her new book Crime Times Two on Amazon.