Chris Forman's Blog, page 3

Plot Conundrum Solved

I started the new novel, Killer Ratings, and I got to just over 7,000 words when I realized that I was writing myself into a corner. You see the story starts at a cooking competition called Sliced where four chefs compete in three elimination rounds consisting of appetizer, entree and desert. In each round a secret ingredient must be used and one competitor is eliminated. After the second round one of the judges dies from what looks like a heart attack. Later it is discovered that he is poisoned by cyanide.




Now the problem I had was exactly how the one judge was the only one affected and not the other two, or Ian Wallace who is the host of the show. Well, I solved it with an interesting plot twist and now have the final chapter fleshed out. I won't say what that twist is, but it works in an old fashioned detective sort of way. Now I can get working on this.




On another note copies of the two Port City Mystery books will be auctioned off at the Cape Fear Literary Council's Casablanca event and the winner of the bidding gets a walk on role in the new book. 

Plot Conundrum Solved

I started the new novel, Killer Ratings, and I got to just over 7,000 words when I realized that I was writing myself into a corner. You see the story starts at a cooking competition called Sliced where four chefs compete in three elimination rounds consisting of appetizer, entree and desert. In each round a secret ingredient must be used and one competitor is eliminated. After the second round one of the judges dies from what looks like a heart attack. Later it is discovered that he is poisoned by cyanide.
Now the problem I had was exactly how the one judge was the only one affected and not the other two, or Ian Wallace who is the host of the show. Well, I solved it with an interesting plot twist and now have the final chapter fleshed out. I won't say what that twist is, but it works in an old fashioned detective sort of way. Now I can get working on this.
On another note copies of the two Port City Mystery books will be auctioned off at the Cape Fear Literary Council's Casablanca event and the winner of the bidding gets a walk on role in the new book. 

New article in Encore Magazine.

Tiffanie Gabrielse at Encore magazine wrote a nice article about Killer Surf recently after we had a lovely phone conversation. I've posted it below. 

"He’s back! And this time New York native, author, teacher and photographer Chris Forman serves our Port City a second helping of his beloved, fun and whimsical reads from “The Port City Mystery Series.” Published last September, I was lucky enough to recently receive my copy of “Killer Surf.” Keeping in tune with his first edition (“Killer Cuisine”—Forman loves food and even has a blog dedicated to it,burgersandbrewsfoodreviews.blogspot.com), “Killer Surf” doesn’t disappoint the humorous and light-hearted literary appetite. In fact, it’s full of the same flavorful flair: our Port City’s tastiest dining hot spots as backdrops and a plot that involves the same characters readers have come to love. Only this time around, they have grown in depth and dimension in their own individual subtle ways.

Within “Killer Surf,” Forman has a kilt-wearing food writer and photographer as his main character, Ian Porthos Wallace, involved in yet another murder. One morning while on a walk, he trips over a dead body washed ashore on the beach. When he looks closely, he astoundingly realizes it is the body of his neighbor, Brenda Dexter. Of course, this is a mystery Ian must solve—and so begins another trip into Ian’s world as he recruits Detective Jim Halstead to solve the murder. Together, they look into Brenda’s odd and sketchy past. But how? Well, how else? By interviewing (once again) Ian’s quirky neighbors, all of whom we have become acquainted with in the first installment.

Readers will find the two old ladies who order products from infomercials constantly and the guy who sits on his porch all day in his bathrobe, smoking cigarettes and drinking nothing but beer. “I particularly like writing the old ladies, because they remind me of my grandmother and my aunt who have passed,” Forman says. “They (my grandmother and aunt) weren’t as daft, but they argued constantly and I picture the two of them when I put them down on paper.”

Port City Mystery Series also welcomes back its staple characters, the minister, the police officer and, though tossed in jail, the remnants of the man in the bathrobe. They are all Forman’s favorites to construct because they aren’t bland, boring or tasteless—much like how Forman prepares his meals. “I like to add flavor and spice and pizzazz to everything,” he says.

Though Forman chose not to add new characters in “Killer Surf,” there are plenty on the plate to keep our taste buds ready for the next bite. Truly, the need for new faces isn’t that important here. As Forman said himself in our interview (we both find ourselves in the high north for the time being), it’s better to sometimes stick to characters you know so well and help them evolve rather than confuse readers with unnecessary additions.

“I have a tendency to throw too many people in my writing, and I’m trying not to do that here,” he admits. “I don’t want too many faces all over the place. I’m trying to keep the basic core characters. This is what’s important to me.”

Insofar his process in devising off-the-wall worlds of Ian Porthos Wallace is nothing but sheer satisfaction. The only difference, Forman explains, was staying true those whom he had created without deviating too far from their hearts and souls.

“I had to really sit down and remember [them] and really get to know them [again],” he says. “I had to remain consistent.”

As so many writers can agree on, self-editing is the hardest approach to any story. For Forman, he struggled with deciding how much back story to include. “You don’t want to put too much,” he says,
“but enough to allow the reader to pick up my novels and read them in nonconsecutive order.”

Like the people many have come to love, locals will see places they frequent, too, like Front St. Brewery, downtown Wilmington’s Riverwalk and the beach, as they read through the pages. “I did add in a strip club,” Forman notes.

While we’re downing his current killer platter of words, Forman’s already 4,000 words entrenched in part three, “Killer Ratings.” It will center around a food cooking competition and the rest, well, we’ll have to wait and read. “You just have to keep going back for more,” Forman says."




Thanks Tiffanie.

New article in Encore Magazine.

Tiffanie Gabrielse at Encore magazine wrote a nice article about Killer Surf recently after we had a lovely phone conversation. I've posted it below. "He's back! And this time New York native, author, teacher and photographer Chris Forman serves our Port City a second helping of his beloved, fun and whimsical reads from "The Port City Mystery Series." Published last September, I was lucky enough to recently receive my copy of "Killer Surf." Keeping in tune with his first edition ("Killer Cuisine"—Forman loves food and even has a blog dedicated to it,burgersandbrewsfoodreviews.blogspot.com), "Killer Surf" doesn't disappoint the humorous and light-hearted literary appetite. In fact, it's full of the same flavorful flair: our Port City's tastiest dining hot spots as backdrops and a plot that involves the same characters readers have come to love. Only this time around, they have grown in depth and dimension in their own individual subtle ways.Within "Killer Surf," Forman has a kilt-wearing food writer and photographer as his main character, Ian Porthos Wallace, involved in yet another murder. One morning while on a walk, he trips over a dead body washed ashore on the beach. When he looks closely, he astoundingly realizes it is the body of his neighbor, Brenda Dexter. Of course, this is a mystery Ian must solve—and so begins another trip into Ian's world as he recruits Detective Jim Halstead to solve the murder. Together, they look into Brenda's odd and sketchy past. But how? Well, how else? By interviewing (once again) Ian's quirky neighbors, all of whom we have become acquainted with in the first installment.Readers will find the two old ladies who order products from infomercials constantly and the guy who sits on his porch all day in his bathrobe, smoking cigarettes and drinking nothing but beer. "I particularly like writing the old ladies, because they remind me of my grandmother and my aunt who have passed," Forman says. "They (my grandmother and aunt) weren't as daft, but they argued constantly and I picture the two of them when I put them down on paper."Port City Mystery Series also welcomes back its staple characters, the minister, the police officer and, though tossed in jail, the remnants of the man in the bathrobe. They are all Forman's favorites to construct because they aren't bland, boring or tasteless—much like how Forman prepares his meals. "I like to add flavor and spice and pizzazz to everything," he says.Though Forman chose not to add new characters in "Killer Surf," there are plenty on the plate to keep our taste buds ready for the next bite. Truly, the need for new faces isn't that important here. As Forman said himself in our interview (we both find ourselves in the high north for the time being), it's better to sometimes stick to characters you know so well and help them evolve rather than confuse readers with unnecessary additions."I have a tendency to throw too many people in my writing, and I'm trying not to do that here," he admits. "I don't want too many faces all over the place. I'm trying to keep the basic core characters. This is what's important to me."Insofar his process in devising off-the-wall worlds of Ian Porthos Wallace is nothing but sheer satisfaction. The only difference, Forman explains, was staying true those whom he had created without deviating too far from their hearts and souls."I had to really sit down and remember [them] and really get to know them [again]," he says. "I had to remain consistent."As so many writers can agree on, self-editing is the hardest approach to any story. For Forman, he struggled with deciding how much back story to include. "You don't want to put too much," he says,
"but enough to allow the reader to pick up my novels and read them in nonconsecutive order."Like the people many have come to love, locals will see places they frequent, too, like Front St. Brewery, downtown Wilmington's Riverwalk and the beach, as they read through the pages. "I did add in a strip club," Forman notes.While we're downing his current killer platter of words, Forman's already 4,000 words entrenched in part three, "Killer Ratings." It will center around a food cooking competition and the rest, well, we'll have to wait and read. "You just have to keep going back for more," Forman says."


Thanks Tiffanie.

Killer Cuisine is in the Wilson Library at UNC.

This is the description for Killer Cuisine at UNC's Wilson Library in the North Carolina Collection.


Ian Porthos Wallace feels lucky to live in the lovely (fictional) town of Port City on the coast of North Carolina. There, he makes his living as a local food critic and photographer, and indulges in his love for wearing the kilts of his Scottish ancestors whenever he can. He most definitely isn't a detective, but because he tries his hand now and then at writing mystery novels, his friend Demos Spyros begs him to help solve a case. Their mutual friend Nick has been falsely accused of murdering his boss, chef Mitchell Reede, and Demos is convinced that Ian can prove Nick innocent. Ian isn't so sure–he's no professional gumshoe–but eventually he agrees to give it his best shot. It helps that Demos's attractive sister, and Ian's off-again-on-again girlfriend, Athena, owns a store near the crime scene. Athena, traumatized years ago by an abusive husband, has been more than a little distant up until now, but lately Ian is convinced that she's making a real effort to open up to him.  The sensitive food-critic-turned-investigator does what he can to encourage her feelings, but he is distracted by the murder, which only gets more mysterious as the evidence piles up. Worst of all, it's starting to look as though Athena's no-good, abusive ex is back in town, and possibly involved with the crime. As the situation heats up, it's all Ian can do to keep Athena safe and solve the mystery at the same time.

Library listing at UNC.

I came across this today on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's library website. They have both of the Port City Mystery books in the North Carolina section of the Wilson Library. This is the listing they posted and it shows they read the book. Thanks UNC!
Ian Porthos Wallace is a simple man. He enjoys wearing the kilts of his Scottish ancestry, working as a food writer and photographer, and making his lovely fiancée, Athena Spyros, happy. What Ian doesn't enjoy is murder, but it falls into his path anyway. Literally. He trips over Brenda Dexter's body while walking on Wrightsville Beach, a stone's throw from his home on the North Carolina coast. Ian used to know Brenda as the neighbor lady who locked herself out of the house every so often, but now he'll be forced to remember her as a dead body.Murder isn't the only thing on Ian's plate. He's also planning a wedding with (or perhaps in spite of) his intended's mother, Maria. Since Athena's last marriage was an absolute disaster, Maria is determined that everything will be perfect for her baby this time around. When Ian gets the bright idea of holding the wedding in Scotland in his family's ancestral town, Maria is dead set against it. But even with unrest on the home front and a wedding looming in the near future, Ian can't stop thinking about Brenda Dexter's murder, which remains a mystery. So he does a little sleuthing of his own, starting with his eccentric neighbors.First, he talks to Ruby, who lived in the other side of Brenda's duplex. Ruby is a great gal; she's a stripper past her prime and her fashion sense favors animal print and pink fluff. But she doesn't know anything. Next, he gets to know April and May, two eighty-year-old sisters with a passion for the home shopping network, who are similarly clueless about Brenda's death. Other neighbors and various local characters come and go, but no one knows anything. Then, another murder occurs and someone steps forward with an unexpected confession.

Books are now available on Nook

The Ian Wallace books are both out on Nook now, as are the first two Maria Hart books. I'll get the last two out soon. The links are below.
Port City Mysteries
Killer CuisineKiller Surf
Maria Hart Mysteries
Dead Men Don't JogEliminating the MiddlemanFive Fingered FirebugsChalk Dust and Chalk Outlines

New novel started

I started a new novel the other day. After staring at a blank screen for about an hour it started to flow and is now beginning to take shape.




I call this one Killer Competition and it features Ian Wallace as he judges a cooking competition called Sliced, patterned after some competitions on TV, and one of his fellow judges dies from poisoned food. In this book Maria and Dan Hart are in town, Maria is a judge as well and Dan is the emcee.  




It should prove interesting to balance the two characters and have them work together to solve the murder. I'll keep you posted as it progresses and I'll put up a sample soon.

New novel started

I started a new novel the other day. After staring at a blank screen for about an hour it started to flow and is now beginning to take shape.
I call this one Killer Competition and it features Ian Wallace as he judges a cooking competition called Sliced, patterned after some competitions on TV, and one of his fellow judges dies from poisoned food. In this book Maria and Dan Hart are in town, Maria is a judge as well and Dan is the emcee.  


It should prove interesting to balance the two characters and have them work together to solve the murder. I'll keep you posted as it progresses and I'll put up a sample soon.

The biggest problems facing the world.

I was recently at the mall and I looked in the cooking sections of Macy's and in William's Sonoma for an escargot dish. I didn't come across one, but I came to realize that perhaps the biggest problem known to man is how to open a bottle of wine. It has to be, just look at all of the contraptions people have come up with to remove a piece of cork (or plastic as is now becoming common) from a bottle. The obvious solution is to buy boxed wine.

A second problem is catching mice. Take a look at all of the traps and contraptions out there and you'll realize it is a huge issue. I usually use the old fashioned trap baited with peanut butter and catch three over a two day period. Not so this time. I have a mouse, or mice who seem not to want peanut butter and would prefer to gnaw at the top of my olive oil container. I hate to use poison because I don't know where they'll wind up and I'm not about to bring in a cat.