The Upside of Connection – Kendel Lynn

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Liz here, and I have a wicked fun guest with me today! Kendel Lynn, managing editor of Henery Press, fabulous writer and a fellow Agatha nominee, is here to talk about the new Club Hen House blog. Henery Press published the Writes of The 2014 Agatha Best First NomineesPassage essay collection, in which four of us Wickeds have pieces, and Kendel was generous enough to invite us to participate on the new blog. So cool!
Kendel, take it away!

When we (Henery Press) invited the authors of WRITES OF PASSAGE to contribute to our sparkly new Club Hen House blog, the fabulous Liz Mugavero immediately emailed and asked if I’d like to talk about it on the Wicked Cozy Authors blog. That’s the kind of generosity WRITES is built upon. Helping, giving, inspiring others.

That same generosity of spirit is at the heart of connection. The general rule of social media marketing is 80/20: 80% of your contents helps the internet and 20% helps you. That means 80% of everything we post, comment, like, reply, tweet, shouldn’t link to our book or sales page, but should be something interesting, witty, insightful, educational, Writes of Passageentertaining. Be generous, be kind, be honest.

If we regularly blog, then we should try to include something new ourselves in every post. When we trigger an emotion in another person, we reach them. It can be simple, a family recipe, as long as we share why that recipe matters. It can be complicated, a tragic incident, as long as we’re honest. Sometimes we need to put ourselves out there. Not our book, not our next project, not an award nom or fan-girl author endorsement. Readers want to know us, and if we’re brave enough, the rewards will be plentiful. We may not see an immediate connection in sales, but hopefully we’ll feel a direct connection with people.

Four Wicked Cozy Authors contributed to the Agatha Award-Winning (and Macavity and Anthony nominated) WRITES OF PASSAGE (Liz, Julie, Edith, and Barbara), and it’s really cool they’re blogging with us on Club Hen House, as part of our team. We’re all in this together: writers, readers, editors, publishers. We all need inspiration, to write the next book, to better our relationships, to get out of bed in the morning….

CHH banner logo

I hope Club Hen House and the Henery Press authors, including the generous contributors of WRITES OF PASSAGE, bring you inspiration, motivation, and a real connection.

A special thank you to Liz Mugavero for hosting me. A quick personal Liz story: I’ve known her for many years, but we rarely get to spend real time together. She’s adorable and lovely and so brave! Here we are, sitting next to each other at the signing table at Malice, when she pulls out her phone and says to me, Have you ever used Uber? My reply was something about strangers and serial killers and never ever would I consider it. Liz: I’ve never used it, but I just booked my ride and they’ll be here in an hour. A brave soul, that one…

About Kendel Lynn

Kendel Lynn is a Southern California native who now parks her flip-flops in Dallas, Texas. Her debut novel, Board Stiff, was an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. It features Elliott Lisbon, a mostly amateur sleuth who is only 5000 hours away from getting her PI license. Kendel is the President of SinC North Dallas and the Managing Editor of Henery Press, where she spends her days editing, designing, and reading subs from the slush pile.

About Club Hen House

A place to chat with the authors of Henery Press, a publisher of mostly mysteries with a splash of chick lit. Fresh content (chats, giveaways, books) brought to you Monday – Thursday. We hope you’ll join us for a lively discussion, leave a comment, share an opinion, win a prize, buy a book – whatever makes you happy. Find us at www.clubhenhouse.com.

Kendel, you are a riot! And I have to admit – throughout the entire ride, visions of serial killers danced through my head….

Readers, any thoughts on Club Hen House? Have you bookmarked the site yet?  

Published by Cate Conte / Liz Mugavero

Cate Conte writes the Cat Cafe Mysteries and the Full Moon Mysteries. As Liz Mugavero, she writes the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, the first of which was an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. She lives in the Boston area with her rescue pals.

27 Thoughts

    1. Crazy, right? It’s part of my psyche. When I see a van without windows, I immediately think: serial killer van. Or a car riding super low in the back? Body in the trunk (obviously). Stranger arriving to give me a ride? No, thank you…

      1. Kendel, I’ll pick you up at the airport in Raleigh. I’ll be driving a van…er, so you’ll have plenty of room for your luggage.

  3. Hey, I’m in Writes of Passage too! I’ll have to look for Club Hen House. And I have to say, I think Henery Prss is putting out great stuff–wonderful authors, excellent presentation, effective promotion. Everything a small press should be.

    1. Sheila, you’re one of the most generous authors, always giving back.I appreciate the wonderful words, and ps. you were a fantastic panel mate at last year’s Bouchercon. Hope to see you in Raleigh…

  6. Uber terrifies me! 🙂 Glad I’m not the only one. LOVE this–the fellowship of writers, and also the idea of offering something of yourself to readers. Great advice. Thanks, Kendel!

  7. Off to check out the new blog now. Thanks for telling us about it.

    And, yes, I agree that authors are incredibly generous, not only with each other but with their readers as well. It’s one thing I love about the mystery community.

  9. Thank you everyone for all the kind words!! I’m a flag-waving member of Sisters in Crime, and I know people say this all the time, but it really was an honor to work on WRITES OF PASSAGE. Being a part of such a generous group, dedicated to helping other writers, has made a tremendous impact on my life.

  11. I love this line: “We may not see an immediate connection in sales, but hopefully we’ll feel a direct connection with people.” Because, really, it’s all about connecting with your audience. Sales can’t always be the focus, sometimes they’re just what follows after you make those genuine connections. I’m excited to see the reaction to Club Hen House, and I hope readers love it as much as we do!

  12. Love this! Connecting with readers is so important to us; that’s why we do what we do. And we’re all readers first! Club Hen House has been so fun for us to put together and I’m excited for everyone to join the Club!

  13. Kendel, thanks so much for joining us today and for letting so many of us be a part of Writes of Passage and the blog. The crime fiction community truly is amazing.

    As for Uber, I could have said until two weeks ago that I had never used it. I don’t think it’s fair that cabbies have to pay for medallions and liability insurance and all sorts of stuff the Uber drivers don’t. But believe me, when you’re stranded at a wedding in the Brooklyn Naval Yard at 10:30 at night, that car pulling into the lot is a welcome sight. My daughter uses it all the time. The only really scary ride she’s ever had was in a licensed cab, so to each his own.

    1. You make a VERY good point about cabs. I’m definitely not a fan. If I lived in a big city and didn’t drive, I’d be a hot mess trying to decide the lesser of all the germy, scary evils. (Let’s face it, I’d just stay home.)

  14. Fantastic post, Kendel! You and the other authors/editors I’ve met through the Hen House have been such a tremendous encouragement to me, in my own writing and publishing journey. Terrific points here..especially about how we’re all in this together. So true!

  16. Thanks Jessie and Julie and Sherry — it’s been a whirlwind over here at Henery. I’m incredibly grateful for our team, and the outside support. I truly believe we’re all in this together, no matter which house we write for or which genre we prefer. It takes a village. (An introverted, book geek village where ever shop is filled with books and coffee and cupcakes.)

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