Now available in all ebook formats on Smashwords
The Writing Desk: Writing, support and useful links for writers
29 March 2013
24 March 2013
Guest Post - Making a Mystery By Joyce T. Strand, Author
“The butler did it.” … “Elementary, my dear Watson” … “Little grey cells” I love a good mystery. From Agatha Christie to Stig Larsson, I revel in taking the ride with provocative characters to solve a crime. The puzzle intrigues me. I respect the heroes and hiss at the villains. I care about the characters. I crave travel to interesting settings. And I take on all those red herrings with relish—certain that I can solve the crime and track down the guilty one. Sometimes I even do guess correctly!
What makes a good mystery? At the risk of disturbing the magic of the genre, I’d like to explore the ingredients of a satisfying whodunit.
It all starts with a good puzzle. Whether solving a murder, burglary, or missing necklace, we need pieces of a story to lead us bit by bit to a conclusion. There is always a victim, and we work to understand who or what caused the offense. We gain components of the dilemma as we read on, but a slow, meticulous revelation grabs us the most.
Next, we must care about the characters. We don’t necessarily need to want to invite them for dinner, but we do want to care what they say and do, whether it be the neat-in-appearance Hercule Poirot with the “very stiff and military” moustache or the gothic-like Lisbeth Salander with her unique research skills.
Authors have provided a variety of sleuths. We can become engaged with the crime-solving efforts of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch—a “hard-boiled” detective. Or we can struggle along with amateur sleuths who have no crime-solving background, but solve the puzzle using other identifiable skills. I tend to like most of them—as long as they solve the puzzle with some cleverness and likeability. Oh, and if there’s a little romance along the way, well, we can take pleasure in that as well, e.g., Nora Roberts.
Characters can be heroes or villains. Typically the sleuth is a hero, and the villain is the perpetrator. But there can be more than one bad guy. Let’s presume for a moment that TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD is a mystery. Atticus Finch is definitely a hero—but there are more villains than just the one who committed the murder—like most of the townspeople.
In addition to compelling characters, I truly appreciate the opportunities offered by a unique setting. The limitations of a train setting in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS gave Agatha Christie the chance to show off Hercule Poirot’s “little grey cells.” We could always count on some kind of horse racing background and crime in Dick Francis novels. The darkness of long Swedish winters offered a chilling backdrop for the Stig Larsson series.
To solve a puzzle is the objective of a mystery. But it can’t be too easy or we won’t enjoy it. To slow down readers from solving the misdeed, authors mix in red herrings with real clues. To be effective, red herrings are integral to the story. Authors cannot introduce them just for the sake of throwing off readers—well, maybe sometimes.
What makes a page-turner? Whether a story is a spy thriller or a cozy mystery the element of suspense enhances our enjoyment. We want a reason to start the next chapter and stay up all night to solve the crime. Will the heroine be rescued in time? Is the detective going to realize that he is headed into a trap?
As with any story, a mystery should be credible. Crime stories solved with forensic evidence are more convincing if based on the science of forensic evidence. Police procedure should at least approximate how police actually do their job—or any deviation explained. Travel times should be accurate, especially if the solution to the crime relies on timing. Accurate descriptions of setting and back story help draw readers into a story.
Ahhh—all this talk of mysteries makes me want to start reading one. There are so many mysteries still to be pursued. Some of them go beyond these simple ingredients. They engage us with especially memorable characters or complex tricky puzzles. Regardless, what fun to become absorbed in a new puzzle.
###
OPEN MEETINGS
Jillian
Hillcrest returns as a PR Executive to join with a local Silicon Valley
reporter who is uneasy about the supposed DUI death of an informant. He
solicits Jillian’s help along with that of her neighbor, a retired police
officer, to look into events in his hometown north of the Napa/Sonoma wine
country. Jillian’s ex-husband grows more and more certain he wants to re-marry
her. OPEN MEETINGS was inspired by a
network of criminal ex- and current police officers in the broader San
Francisco Bay Area.
ON MESSAGE
Murder
intrudes on PR Executive Jillian Hillcrest's routine as head communications
executive at a small Silicon Valley biotechnology company. She is eagerly
staying on message to inform investors, the media and the community about her
company and its products. When someone near to her is murdered, a determined
San Francisco police inspector involves her in the investigation, convinced she
is key to solving the crime. She co-operates fully only to find that solving a
murder is more hazardous than writing press releases. On Message is the first
in the Jillian Hillcrest mystery series. As with all the novels in this series,
it was inspired by a real California case.
LINKS
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JillianHillcrest
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
Twitter:
@JoyceTStrand
20 March 2013
Guest Post - Why I Write by Shannon MacLeod
Sometimes, love lasts lifetimes
I was a solitary kid growing up, so my imagination was my best friend. I never knew the meaning of boredom – still don’t. I’ve got way too much stuff going on in my head to EVER run out of things to think about. In my situation, it all boiled down to a loss of control. I didn’t like the way things were at all. I made Eeyore look positively giddy by comparison and I was convinced the light at the end of the tunnel was an oncoming train. So I did what was second nature – I created a fantasy world with imaginary playmates. I controlled everything right down to where the grass grew and the outcomes were all like I wanted them to be – an unfamiliar yet heady feeling, to be sure.
After a while I started making notes. Those notes turned into chapters and the chapters eventually turned into books. When I wasn’t writing, I was reading about the process, devouring everything I could find on how to write query letters, how to submit manuscripts and how to write more efficiently. I did research to write knowledgeably about things I knew next to nothing about. I used Google Earth to describe places I had never been. I read novels by my favorite authors and started a notebook of things I liked/didn’t like. I knew the layout of my local library better than the librarians did. And as the tiny snowball of my imaginary world started rolling downhill and gaining momentum, an amazing thing happened – I started taking back control of my real world and learned how to be happy again. Now I can’t imagine my world without it.
I write about what I know – growing up in a close knit Scot-Irish neighborhood with magic simmering just below the surface of everyday life. The Arcana Love series is about a large Irish family living in the US. There are four books, each based on a suit of the Tarot. The Celtic Knot: Suit of Cups (now available from Lyrical Press) is the story of Ian, the middle son of the Kelly family and how he met his true love Lily…again…and again. The next book in the series is The Gypsy Ribbon: Suit of Wands, arriving sometime in 2014 and that one…well, you’ll just have to wait to see.
In the meantime, my next novel coming out later this year is entitled The Rogue on the Rollaway – a Scottish time travel that goes awry and ends up in Ireland. I’ve also begun outlining The French Twist: Suit of Swords and can’t wait to start the writing process again.
I could be really dramatic and say that writing saved my life, but that is closer to truth than fiction. For me it’s the best therapy ever and costs no more than the price of pen and paper (The Celtic Knot: Suit of Cups was first written longhand, in red ink because I thought it more romantic *rolls eyes*).
I received an email a couple months ago with a wonderful question posed by an aspiring writer. She asked “What is the most important thing you can tell me about writing?” I thought about that long and hard before I replied. My answer was simple:
Do it.
Just do it.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done it before – start now, this minute. Don’t worry about your spelling or if your participles are dangling. Write. Even if you only write three sentences a day, write. Do it on the back of napkins or carry notepads in your pocket. Do it by flashlight after lights out, on the bus, in the bathroom, but do it. Everybody has a story that needs telling - don’t deprive the world of hearing yours.
.jpg){kind=avatar}
Shannon is the author of these upcoming paranormal romances from Lyrical Press!
The Celtic Knot: Suit of Cups (available 1/7/13)
The Gypsy Ribbon: Suit of Wands (coming 2014)
The Rogue on the Rollaway (coming 2013)
The ShadowFox Tarot (written under the pen name Jennifer ShadowFox) is available now from Schiffer Books…there are whispered rumors of a new Tarot book due out later this year...
Proud member of Romance Writers of America and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers
Visit Shannon at http://www.shannonmacleod.com and at her blog
17 March 2013
Fargoer - Fantasy From The Far North
Hear the call and join us as we travel to the Far North. To a time and place that exists only in the depths of our ancient past. To the vast woodlands, their surface unbreached by any plow. These stories wander in the winds of that distant land, in the cold whispers of the ancient forests.
Vierra is a strong-minded girl of the Kainu tribe. When she, along with her cousin, heads for a journey toward her adulthood, the forces that are to direct her life are set in motion.
Can Vierra break her path painted in stone, a path leading her toward a life filled with great turmoil? Can she find her place among her tribe, or will she fulfill her destiny as the Fargoer?
Fargoer begins the series of fantasy novels that draws its power from the harsh, yet beautiful nature and folklore of Finland. Its roots are at the same time in mythology and in the ancient, unwritten history. Fargoer's foundation has been laid on the wonders of the ancient world, and the fast-paced storytelling is colored by poetry, the age-old tradition of self-expression.
Fargoer is written by Petteri Hannila, illustrated by Anne Petelius
and translated from the original Finnish Kaukamoinen
by Miika Hannila and Peitsa Suoniemi
Fledgling, The Shapeshifter Chronicles by Natasha Brown
Struggling to keep up appearances, she soon suspects Chance is hiding something as well. His animal-like senses, miraculous healing ability and peculiar reaction to her Thunderbird necklace compels Ana to question if there's more to the stories about his Navajo ancestry. Without any other explanation, she fears he is playing tricks on her. But the truth may prove too much for Ana's delicate heart...
11 March 2013
Book Launch Guest Post The Assassin's Brother: The tragedies of Edwin Booth, by Rebecca Wallace
He was the most famous actor in America. On the streets of New
York, people stopped and stared when he walked by. When he toured the South,
legislatures changed their meeting times so that everyone could see his
performances. And no one played Hamlet like Edwin Booth.
Today, 120 years after his death, most people know Edwin Booth only as the brother of President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, if they know him at all. But he remains an important figure in the American theater, his onstage tragedies as great as his real-life ones. His natural, nuanced acting style was groundbreaking at a time when 19th-century thespians made a noisy career out of melodrama. He set a world record by playing Hamlet 100 nights in a row.
Booth also helped elevate the theatrical profession in the eyes of
society, inspiring new respect for actors and creating an elegant gathering
place for all artists. The Players, the New York social club that Booth founded
in 1888, still hosts events in its Gramercy Park townhouse. And it's an honor
to be chosen for the Edwin Booth Lifetime Achievement Award. Winners have
included Kevin Spacey, Edward Albee, Jack Lemmon and Angela Lansbury.
The Assassin's Brother: The tragedies of Edwin Booth
Rebecca Wallace
I first heard of Edwin Booth while reading about the culture and
arts of the Gold Rush, where he got his start as a young actor. I live in the
San Francisco Bay Area and have spent a lot of time up in the hills and giant
redwood trees of the Gold Country in eastern California. Both San Francisco and
the Gold Country were rough and wild as the population exploded with hopeful
miners in the 1850s – yet both areas swiftly became surprisingly cultured.
Miners loved their Shakespeare, especially the tragedies. Up-and-coming actors
like Booth, performing in the newly built theaters of San Francisco, saw vast
opportunity in the makeshift saloon stages and tents up in the Gold Country.
I'm an arts journalist with a passion for history, so it was a joy
to dig through old theater programs, photos, scripts and letters while
researching this book. It's tragic that Edwin Booth's accomplishments have been
so overshadowed by his brother's act of violence. Several people who have read
“The Assassin's Brother” told me that they'd never heard of Edwin before. My
main goal in writing the book was to help educate modern audiences about this
great 19th-century artist, so that feedback is thrilling.
Now
that I've gotten so immersed in the theater of the 19th century, I'm planning
to write several more books about the stage stars and powerful theater owners
of the time. The material is endless, and endlessly fascinating.
Follow Rebecca on Twitter
8 March 2013
FRY by Lorna Dounaeva FREE on Amazon Today
What if your new best friend is really a deadly enemy?
When Isabel Anderson nearly runs over mysterious Alicia McBride, she is ridden with guilt. She helps Alicia get a job at the supermarket where she works, and soon, Alicia is acting like her new best friend. But then strange fires start to break out all over the small seaside town of Queensbeach, including at the caravan park where Alicia is staying. Isabel suspects Alicia knows more than she's letting on and grows increasingly nervous when her friend Deacon invites Alicia to stay with him. But it's Isabel the police suspect.
Determined to confront Alicia, Isabel bursts into her room and sees the word 'FRY' branded across her back in capital letters. From then on, she sees the word "FRY' everywhere she goes; in graffiti, on toilet walls, even on car registration plates. Then her beloved cat, Fluffy disappears and Isabel is convinced Alicia is behind it. She puts up posters all over her neighbourhood, but as fast as she puts them up, someone takes them down. Soon, a whole spate of fires is breaking out and Isabel must stay one step ahead of the flames, and the police. In order to survive, she must question her own innocence, her sanity and the very fabric of her morality. Can she win back Deacon? And will she ever find Fluffy?
FRY will be on Amazon from March 12th
Visit Lorna's website: www.LornaDounaeva.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)