NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

A group blog featuring an international array of killer mystery, suspense, and romantic suspense writers. With premises and story lines different from your run-of-the-mill whodunits, we tend to write outside the box. We blog several times a week on all topics relating to romantic suspense and mystery, our writing, and our readers. We welcome all comments and often have guest bloggers. All our authors can be contacted separately, too, using their own social media links.

We find our genre delightfully, dangerously, and deliciously exciting - join us here, if you do too!

NOTE: the blog is currently dormant but please enjoy the posts we're keeping online.


Julie Moffet . Cathy Perkins . Jean Harrington . Daryl Anderson . Nico Rosso . Maureen A Miller . Sandy Parks . Lisa Q Mathews . Sharon Calvin . Lynne Connolly . Janis Patterson . Vanessa Keir . Tonya Kappes . Julie Rowe . Joni M Fisher . Leslie Langtry

Friday, April 28, 2017

IT MAKES SENSE - by Kathy Ivan

A lot of you may not know, but I had surgery on my left eye this past Monday (cataract removal).   It had progressively gotten worse for the past few years, and I really didn’t notice the decreased/foggy/cloudy vision right away.  I have a degenerative retinal condition which is under treatment, and when the vision started deteriorating, I (wrongly) assumed the retinal condition was the culprit.  Boy, was I wrong!  Things had escalated to the point that when I finally saw my retinal specialist in March, he did my usual retinal scan, and couldn’t do the procedure on my left eye, which was worrisome, so I had to have an additional test – an ultrasound on my eyeball. 


Once I’d had all the tests done, he told me that he had good news and bad news.  The good news was my retinal condition had improved markedly, and he was extremely pleased with the progress I was making.  That’s awesome news, right?  Then he broke the bad news.  “You’ve got cataracts—really BAD cataracts.”  So thick they couldn’t do the scan through the density of the left lens.  He couldn’t understand why I burst out laughing at his pronouncement.  I had to explain that cataracts were actually good news, because that was something that could be fixed, and my vision might improve markedly.  I’d been dreading the news that I was going to lose my sight completely, and be legally blind within a very short period of time. 

Anyway, I had the first of two procedures this past Monday, and the difference is astonishing.  Unbelievable.  Mind-blowing.  There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the vividness of the colors, and the intricacies of patterns.  Watching television has become a whole new experience.

But, this also got me thinking about our senses and how they pertain to the craft of writing.  Have you every fully contemplated being without or losing one of your senses?  Try it sometime.  Walk around with a set of noise-canceling headphones on for a few hours.  What is it like around you?  Yet as writers, we often forget how important it is to include these senses in our stories.  How boring would it be if we had to read a book that never mentions what the characters hear?  Not just the dialogue, but also the other sounds around us.  Birds chirping.  Car tires squealing as they race away from a scene.  Even the sound of music playing softly which our characters share a romantic dance. 


The same thing applies to our outer senses, like smells and scents.  Try cooking your food without being able to smell what you’re fixing.  It’s a lot harder than you’d think (I tried doing this with cotton stuffed up my nose, but that’s a whole other story.)  Cooking really doesn’t work the same.  But utilizing the scents around us can add a subtle nuance to a book that would otherwise be lacking. 
Most of us try to utilize the five senses (or six if you write paranormal) throughout our work, but maybe I’ve inspired you to try a big harder to make sure the story has that extra little oomph with sight, sound, scent, touch, and taste.  A little bit goes a long way. 

And I'll have the surgery on the right eye on May 15th.  Honestly, I can't wait.  

Kathy Ivan can be found most days at her computer, working on the next romantic suspense in her bestselling New Orleans Connection Series.  You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and BookBub.   And you can pick up her latest book, Fatal Intentions, at the links below: 






7 comments:

Rita said...

I'll watch a movie sceene with no sound then only listen to it. Amazing what the differences are. Great post.

Kathy Ivan said...

Thanks, Rita. I think we tend to underappreciate the influences our senses have on not only our day-to-day life, but also the intricacies it can have on our writing. Layering in not only emotion, but the senses that evoke those feelings can bring new life to a scene. Thanks for stopping by.

Anne Marie Becker said...

Great post, Kathy! It's so easy to take for granted the things we experience every day. Nice to have a reminder to, well, stop and smell the roses. ;) I'm so glad you received good news, and that the procedure was so helpful. Sending good wishes that the next procedure is just as helpful!

Kathy Ivan said...

Thanks, Anne Marie. Even as a writer, finding the right words to describe the difference just a few days after surgery has made -- it's almost impossible. But I can say I will never take any of my senses for granted again. :-)

Toni Anderson said...

SO glad the op went well. Hopefully the other one will too and the world will be further illuminated. Amazing how we take everything for granted until we risk losing it...

jean harrington said...

Kathy, I had cataract surgery a year ago, so I see what you're saying. When I wake up now,, I can spot the cracks in the wall and the light coming through the blinds. A whole new universe! And yes, getting sense impressions into scenes is always a challenge, but well worthwhile. Good luck with operation#2.

CathyP said...

Good reminder Kathy.
Remember when the poll was going around - which sense would you give up? "None" was not an option.
As a voracious reader in addition to being an author, I share your concern about your vision. Hope your second surgery goes as well as the first one!

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