SPA Girls Podcast – EP187 – Interview With Forensics Expert Geoff Symon
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Want to figure out how to create the perfect crime for your cozy mystery character to solve?
Or find out how your investigator protagonist would investigate a murder?
Perhaps you just want to discover what investigators look for at a crime scene so you can figure out what to plant at your fictitious scene?
Well, your questions will all be answered during this in-depth chat with Federal Law Enforcement Special Agent, Geoff Symon.
For more than 20 years, Geoff has been using his expertise and experience to put away the bad guys. Now he’s begun lecturing and consulting with authors in genre fiction communities to help bring verisimilitude and meaningful detail to the depiction of crime and investigation.
A forensics expert, Geoff was able to give us his expert guidance on crime scenes for authors, giving us the correct language (it’s spatter not splatter, people) as well as explaining jargon like ‘crime scene integrity’ and ‘crime scene cross-contamination’, and even what an investigator might get wrong when you need them to make mistakes for your story.
He also debunked popular stereotypes, and gave us a behind the scenes glimpse into forensics investigations in the US, all in his charming, hilarious style…
Another fantastic guest for Mystery May, giving you valuable insight into crimes and the people who solve them.
Episodes 100 – 200 List
200 What we’ve learned so far…
199 Interview with Adam Croft – Mindset and Marketing
198 Find Your Sparkle – with Julie Schooler
197 Hack Your Muse – with Kelly McClymer
196 Public Speaking For Authors – with Alena Van Arendonk
195 The Magic Pill – with Laura Van Arendonk-Baugh
194 A Day In The Life Of A Writer
193 Keep It Simple
192 Interview with Skye Warren: Money Mindset and Facebook Ads
For Authors (Part Two)
191 Interview with Skye Warren: Time Management & Advertising
For Authors (Part One)
190 Dragon Wrangling with Scott Baker: secrets for
Successful dictation
189 Interview with Patricia McLinn: Writing by the seat of
Your pants
188 Interview with Morgana Best: Writing & Marketing
Cozy Mysteries
187 Interview with Geoff Symon: Wounds & Crime Scenes
186 Interview with Natasha Bajema, WMD for Authors
185 The Writer’s Detective with Adam Richardson
183 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part Two
182 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part One
181 Learn dictation with Kilby Blades
180 Interview with Brian Meeks, Mastering Book Descriptions
179 Interview with Tara Cremin, Kobo Writing Life
178 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part Two
177 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part One
175 Wrangling Facebook: How To Make It Work For You
174 How To Write A Regency Romance
173 How Do You Identify Your Writing Weaknesses?
172 Interview With Dan Wood, D2D
171 Interview With Serenity Woods
169 5 Goals You Need To Make In 2019
168 Jumpstart Your 2019 Marketing with 31 Quick To Dos for Jan.
167 Scheduling For Writing Success
166 Our 2018 Roundup
165 He Said, She Said: Creating Dazzling Dialogue
164 Interview with Steffanie Holmes: Reverse Harem
163 Interview with YA author Kelly St Clare
160 Amazon Excl v Wide – things to consider and how to market
159 Interview With Kathryn LeVeque
158 Some Like It Hot – Or Not. Heat Levels In Romance
157 Interview With Louisa George
156 The Kindness Factor: Helping You Achieve More and Stress Less
155 Editing
153 Characters: From Cookie Cutter to Kapow
152 Interview with Tina Dietz: Audiobooks
151 Interview with Grace Burrowes
150 Should You Prune Your Mailing List?
149 RWNZ18 Interview with Damon Suede & Geoff Symon
148 Interview with indie superstar, Bella Andre
147 Top Ten Traits for Success
146 Write Better Faster with Becca Syme
145 Newsletter Ninja Tammi LaBrecque
144 Looking After Your Creative Health
143 Interview with Carlyn Robertson from Bookbub
142 Personal Branding For Authors with Lauren Clemett
141 Ten Free Online Tools For Authors
140 Tempting Taglines & Heartstopping Hooks
139 Findaway Voices with Kelly Lytle
138 Get Your Writing Mojo Back
137 Interview with Toni Kenyon: facebook live & serials
136 Dealing with misinformation and change in Sp-ing
134 Interview with Kevin Tumlinson, Draft2Digital
133 Interview with Sara Rosett
132 Organization For Authors – how to keep track of your
research and book details without losing your mind
131 Interview with Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy
130 Critical Care: Leveraging feedback for success
129 Brand You
128 SAS Special: Interview with Johnny B. Truant & Sean Platt
127 Industry Insiders with Damon J. Courtney of Bookfunnel
& Christine Monroe of Kobo
126 SAS Debrief with Jami Albright
125 SAS Special: Interview with Michelle Spiva
124 SAS Special : Interview With Michael Anderle
123 Sports Psychology for Authors – Interview With Nate Vella
122 Using Sub Plots To Amp Up Your Writing
121 Interview with Scott King: Outlining Your Novel
120 Pen-names Pros, Cons and Possibilities
119 Reader Engagement with Nalini Singh
118 Writing the Small Town Setting
117 Handling Negativity and Naysayers
116 Tough Mindset Questions For 2018
115 Interview With Nicola Davidson: Sex and Sensibility
114 Tropealicious
112 Interview With Honoree Corder & Ben Hale: Write Like A Boss
111 Ten Health Hacks For Writers
110 Interview with Kathryn Burnett: Your Writing Audit For Future Success
109 Interview with Melissa Storm: What Readers Want
108 Interview With Zoe Dawson: Writing Across Genres
107 Interview With Dave Chesson, The Keyword King
106 Pros and Cons of Kindle Unlimited
105 Why YOU should do Nanowrimo
104 Ten Truths For New Self Publishers
103 Find 30 Minutes A Day EXTRA!
102 Your Christmas Presence: Maximizing the Holiday Season for Authors
101 The Writing Life: Interview with Katie Cross
100 100 Episodes! Retrospective with funny moments; changing AO title
SPA Girls Podcast – Episode 219 – Christmas and Our Favourite Guests of 2019
It’s always Christmas in the SPA!
Let’s clear the air!
All our lovely guests are special and they resonate in different ways with each of us. But, if we had to choose . . .
Here they are, the ones who made us really think about what we do. The ones who push us to do better. And the ones who inspire us.
SPA Girls Podcast – EP188 – Cozy Mysteries With Morgana Best
SPA Girls Podcast – EP197 – Hack Your Muse With Kelly McClymer
SPA Girls Podcast – EP182 – Facebook Ads with Maria Luis (Part One)
SPA Girls Podcast – EP214 – Interview with Lindsay Buroker
SPA Girls Podcast – EP187 – Interview With Forensics Expert Geoff Symon
SPA Girls Podcast – EP191 – Seven-Figure Success With Skye Warren
SPA Girls Podcast – EP210 – Slow & Steady to Six Figures with Serenity Woods
SPA Girls Podcast – EP189 – Pantsing with Patricia McLinn
We thank them all. And also, thank you for being here and giving us added encouragement to do this thing we love.
Merry Christmas!
SPA Girls Podcast – EP200 – What We’ve Learned From Our Amazing Guests
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Here it is. Our 200th Episode! Yay! Who’d have thought that we’d ever make it this far??
First of all, we’d like to say thank you to everyone who listens to the show, we appreciate you all! It’s been an amazing few years, and we’ve loved every minute of it.
This week is a celebration episode, where we look back over those 200 episodes, and talk about the common traits of all the successful self publishers we’ve spoken to.
From the humbleness of Bella Andre and the flexible nature of Serena Woods, to the smart work ethic of Skye Warren and the focus of Kathryn Le Veque, we cover it all.
We will give you the ultimate list of self publishing traits that will help you rise to the top of the Indie pile! Don’t miss it!
Podcast interviews mentioned in the 200th Show
Serenity Woods https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep171-interview-with-serenity-woods/
Kathryn LeVeque https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep159-interview-with-kathryn-le-veque/
Skye Warren https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep191-seven-figure-success-with-skye-warren/
Zoe York https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep65-interview-with-zoe-york/
Maria Luis https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep182-facebook-ads-with-maria-luis/
Natasha Bajema https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep186-what-authors-get-wrong-about-weapons-of-mass-destruction/
Elements Of A Great Book
Ingredients For A Great Story (according to the SPA Girls)
The Hook
This is what lures the reader into the story, like hooking the fish. The blurb or story needs to grab the reader from the beginning. Don’t ramble, get the reader involved asap!
- Start with a question. Ask your reader to think about where this book is heading.
- Use descriptive words. Creating a picture in the reader’s mind can make them want to keep turning the page.
- Intrigue them.
Characters
“You must learn to be three people at once: writer, character, and reader.” ~ Nancy Kress
- Give your characters’ values, pain, and fear. What motivates them and makes them vulnerable?
- Make them likable, even if they start out mean. They must be empathetic. If someone seems hard and unlikeable, show a softer side. A weakness for bunnies maybe?
- Conflict is important. Let us see why your characters are behaving the way they are. Show not tell.
- Make sure your characters have substance. Let the reader see them as real, and empathize with them.
- You may know your characters, but your readers do not, it is your job to give them the details. Your job is to introduce us to them.
- Your characters need to be relatable. The reader wants to see their flaws, or what makes them unique.
- If you are stuck going forward with a character, interview them. It’s great fun, and you’ll be surprised what you learn! Write down a list of questions like these below, and answer them as your characters.
- How old are they?
- What kind of childhood did they have? Was it happy? Why/why not?
- How have past/present relationships affected them?
- Fears, what are they?
- Secrets, what are they?
- What are their passions?
Conflict
There are two types of conflict, internal and external. With internal conflict, it is personal to the character involved. This type of conflict takes place within the character. It can surface when their values or morals are tested or otherwise compromised.
External conflict is conflict that occurs outside of the character’s control. This can be conflict that is observed in others or outside forces that are causing conflict for the character in obtaining what they want.
- Conflict is not necessarily arguing, it is the conflict of opposing goals. If you have an antagonist and protagonist, then the antagonist has to want the opposite of what the protagonist wants.
Protagonist – They are the main focus of the story. Its their fears and motives we’re aware of.
Antagonist – They are the character that opposes the protagonist and are often the obstacle to stop them reaching their goal.
- Conflict needs to drive a scene forward until the ultimate goal is reached for the character. Often the goals will change, but it is resolving the problem to get to the goal.
- Conflict helps the journey to fulfillment.
- Don’t solve a conflict in a way that is out of character and unbelievable, this will take the reader out of the story.
- Conflicts should and will make your characters stronger.
Ending
In a romance novel the reader expectations are that there is a HEA (happy ever after) or HFN (happy for now) ending.
You’ve carried your reader through the book, now you want it to end in a way that makes them want to buy your next one. If you write series, then this is vital, as it will have them rushing to purchase book #2!
Don’t hurry it, and cheat your reader, or round things up without explanation. The ending should be consistent with what happened throughout the book. Show the reader your character’s evolution and the resolution of conflicts.
Endings can make or break a novel – beginnings sell this book to the reader; endings sell your next book!
Watch Out For…
Saggy Middles
The sagging middle occurs when the writing between the opening and climax of your book looses the readers interest, due to structure, waffling, or pages of description which does not advance the story. This is one of the most common issues a writer faces.
- Plotting can help this, because often a sagging middle is from a weak structure.
- Remember that each scene should move the story forward, if it doesn’t then cut it, no matter how good you believe it is.
Telling, Not Showing (aka Show Don’t Tell)
A well written chapter can draw an image in the reader’s mind instead of telling the reader what to think or believe, and this is what you want to achieve.
For example, here is a sentence that tells:
Miss Simple was a skinny, angry old woman.
Instead of:
Miss Simple slid her slight, stooped frame through the narrow opening. She glared at the children who dared to enter her orchard, making each one quiver with fear.
Remember, create a vision in the reader’s mind.
Beware The Info Dump
This is when you write in a lot of information in one block, and jar the reader out of the story. We know you need to tell some of the back-story, and describe your characters and setting etc., but you need to weave it into the story not dump it. This can also be done well, by using dialogue, a discussion between characters can bring a setting to life.
‘If a story is in you, it has to got to come out.” ~ William Faulkner
Helpful Resources
