K.B. Pellegrino's Blog, page 7

Writing Again!

Captain Beauregard will meet Beryl Kent in the seventh Captain Beauregard mystery novel. Life for Rudy again brings everyday citizens into his professional life. Although Beryl Kent is not ordinary, she does intrude into the rather solitary captain's work. The West Side detectives face solving more than murder; way more. Looking to publish in July or August 2021.

Plotting

I am thinking today about plotting as a most necessary component for the work in developing a mystery story. Is it a chess game to plot, where you look at a board and use defined plays which are estimated to be ten to the fiftieth power? Are there more possibilities for the author in plotting than in a chess game? I think maybe there are. It is not just the simplicity of a victim and a perpetrator from which we develop plots and write. There are the millions of creative writers who see a plethora of ideas and express them as no other writer would. So interesting plotting requires creativity. It does not mean writers cannot look to other writers' works to help with the spark of imagination. We all learn from each other. We do not copy. We get inspired. I have read over two thousand 'who dunnits' and other mysteries. But, in addition, I have read multiple works in psychiatry, sociology, criminal justice, personal stories of pain suffered from an attack, domestic abuse, elderly crimes, etc. My brain is alive with plots. However, which plot? What characters? And off I go.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

Editing

I have finished the very rough draft of my seventh Captain Beauregard Mystery novel. It's name is not yet finalized. Now comes the difficult work. First step is a rewrite. I must view my work as critic of plot and character consistency. It takes time and great mental effort including memory recall. The process requires active thinking. I do not hate it as much as I do editing for use of words, punctuation, and grammatical use of phrases and clauses positioning.
Next I do the first of my three self edits. These edits are more automatic processes for me, but they annoy me. Despite my religious efforts at detail, I often miss the most common item. I wish perfection, but this writer often does not catch self-made mistakes. By the third editing try, I'm ready for the third process. I send my book out to my police procedural editor, a former police chief. She takes me to task for pushing policing too far in any direction. She reminds me I once was on our city's police commission and should remember more than I do. Since it's fiction, I research policing and sometimes use policing methods from smaller departments. We then discuss my deviations and I make decisions to stay or rewrite. Next I send the manuscript our to my mainstay editor. He likes the genre and sends me notes when I have had logic strays. Other than that it is grammar and word use. I then re-edit the manuscript. Exhausting is how I view the process, but necessary. My baby is now ready for publication. And........that is the most psychically problematic process. I hope when you read my books, you will remember, I work diligently to make a good read in murder.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

Rainy Day

On a rainy day, I am reminded that three of my grandparents immigrated from Ireland in the early 1900’s. I’ve visited Ireland on several occasions. The people are friendly, the pubs inviting, and the land is greener than the travel brochures can capture photographically. The reality is greater than the advertising. Today is one of those rainy days common in Ireland and I am fighting flu like symptoms the result of a drug infusion where every bone in my body aches. I am able to sit at my desk and...

New Neighbors

We have new neighbors moving in next door. I have met them but don’t know them well. What I do know is they love their home and are restoring it to its original beauty. We are thrilled when folks love historic homes and work to bring them into the modern world. Homes are similar to humans in that way. A home maintained well is a joy to see, but everyday maintenance is required. During our almost eighteen months of COVID, we were all in our homes more than ever I am able to remember. At Home Depo...

RENEWAL of SPIRIT

I purchased a shed for my city space in August 2020. COVID related problems prevented immediate delivery, delaying it to mid-March 2021. Five days later the shed was destroyed in a sudden and violent storm. Such occurrences take the wind from our sails. But then reality sets in! Next steps were ordering the same shed over again, begging for immediate delivery, speaking with the insurance appraiser, getting assistance with removing the shed, the tree, and other damaged items. I did all of that, b...

Writing in Captain Beauregard Series

I am busy on this rainy day in late April writing the seventh novel in my MCU Captain Beauregard Mystery Series. In this book, I introduce a new character who is a sophisticated buttinski. Lo, poor Beauregard finds her intrusive, but she also finds evidence. His detectives enjoy his discomfort while his wife Mona enjoys the buttinski. All this interaction comes with the lady's eyes upon them as they investigate a complicated case involving murders, suicide, several murder attempts, theft, and financial interactions. They are left attempting to beat the lady out in fact finding. She does intrude and has even made the acquaintance of defense attorney Norberto Cull. Police procedurals are upended by a citizen and not the first time for Beauregard. Expecting to publish by July 2021.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

Staying Power

I am reading a book, "Forgotten Heroes" edited by Susan Ware with a Preface by William McCollough. The heroes written about must be heroes in our legitimate use of the term, but they must also have staying power. I like the staying power concept. I use it in evaluating who to trust in life and the concept is clearly translated to my writing. In all my six presently published mystery novels, my lead characters have staying power. They 'carry on' as the British say. Carry on despite difficulties and disappointments is my view of the truly heroic. I use the term 'staying power' a bit more loosely than the above cited book. A heroic moment is always remarkable and well regarded. There are differences in heroic moments. The cited book tends to want a great deal of time to pass before discovering the forgotten heroes. Time is of less importance to me. Heroic moments in my mind are a starting point and must be examined. Was that moment just a reaction? Still heroic. But is it just a bleep in a life? When the moment is the result of a life of doing one's best and planning to do well and not leaving the scene or regretting the action over time, then staying power jumps in. The protagonist in all my mysteries is a moral person who does heroic things through his honed traits of diligence, good sense, and responsibility to the people who rely on him. He has staying power. I like staying power.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author

Comfortable Arrival

My yearly visitors have arrived. Not all of them quite yet, I’m sorry to say. Analogous to receiving Amazon packages during shut down, when one or two come daily, my arrivals are just as reliable. Crocus in purple appear along with daffodil in yellow to start my parade. Next is the stunning dogwood tree in massive white coloring. I see other blooms in forsythias and buds on some of my fruit trees. Azaleas are waiting to show their stuff in colors of pink and red in my plot of land. Almost time f...

Back from Vacation

Ten days in Surfside, Florida, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Daily walks along the paved trail following the beautiful sandy beach, heavenly weather, exquisite dining, and great shopping presented a most congenial environment for suffering another birthday. And then, HOME, to a pile of mail, unanswered emails, no groceries in the home, Othello my dog giving me the STARE which means my company was missed but I interpret it as my guilt in leaving him, and life goes on. There is a difference, how...