Shannon Work's Blog, page 2

Q&A: Characters I Love and Love to Hate

I had the most enjoyable interview with author Brett Nelson that was published on his blog today. One of the questions he asked (that I've never been asked before) is which of my characters I would like in real life and which ones I wouldn't. What a great question!

The answer is included in the Q&A, along with answers to other intriguing questions that had me thinking! I hope you'll read it!

Here's the link: https://brettnelson-author.com/2022/03/17/author-spotlight-shannon-work-mystery-suspense-writer/

The Killing Storm and Telluride

The Killing Storm, Book 3 in the Mountain Resort Mystery Series, is only days away from publication. Watch this video by Travel + Leisure to get a glimpse of what Telluride is like in the dead of winter (the time the story is set).

The video will give you a quick look at Main Street and the views from town of the icy box canyon. It will also explain the gondola system, the only free public transit system of its kind in the United States. You will also witness the beauty of the San Juan Mountains in winter.

After you watch the video, read The Killing Storm when it comes out. I hope you like it!

https://youtu.be/KyC9a6XD-zw

Writing Mysteries Set in the Rocky Mountains (Podcast Interview)

I loved being interviewed by (and reconnecting with) an old friend!

For a quick behind-the-scenes look into how I write traditional mysteries set in the Rocky Mountains, see the link below. It's a podcast interview with Alison Nissen for the Florida Writers Association. Florida, you ask? I might not live there, but I did honeymoon there and love it. Does that count?

I hope you enjoy the interview!

https://youtu.be/yCNlLBAUe0Q

The Killing Storm: A Telluride Murder Mystery

I'm super excited to tell you that Book 3 in the Mountain Resort Mystery Series, The Killing Storm, is still on track to be published sometime this winter. I've had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you'll read it and enjoy it!

Here's a synopsis:

She asked him for his help. Now she's dead.

Fearing for her life, celebrity author Alice Fremont asks detective Jack Martin for protection. But during the deadliest storm of the season, Alice goes missing from her historic estate in the Colorado Rockies.

Now Jack is determined to find her. Yet during his search, he’s faced with an avalanche of secrets and lies.

When Alice turns up dead, Jack vows to catch her killer and make them pay. But the stakes are high, and some of the locals—including those closest to Alice—don’t like strangers asking questions. And at least one will do whatever it takes to keep their secret.

Will Jack’s latest game of cat and mouse be his last?

The Killing Storm is a fast-paced whodunit set in the chilling winter landscape of Telluride, Colorado, and the third book in the suspenseful Mountain Resort Mystery Series.

Mary Higgins Clark

If you asked me about my favorite novel, I’d tell you it was Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. I love westerns—always have. As a rancher in west Texas, my grandfather knew western author Elmer Kelton personally. Kelton was a livestock reporter before going on to write some of the greatest westerns ever written. Kelton is one of my favorites.

But my first love is mystery. Agatha Christie, PD James, and John D. MacDonald are a few of my early favorite mystery writers. Among contemporary authors, I really enjoy Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell. But hands down, my all-time favorite writer is Mary Higgins Clark.

Mary’s novels are suspenseful with interesting casts of characters. I love that none of her books include elements that distract from the story—there’s never any sex, gory violence, foul language, or politics. When you read a Mary Higgins Clark novel, you simply get a fun and entertaining read.

Unfortunately, I never got to meet Mary in person. I would have liked to. She passed away in 2020, and I will desperately miss her new releases every year.

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to win a cape Mary owned in a charity auction. It was donated by her family, and her son mentioned it was her favorite. You can imagine how ecstatic I was to receive it!

In case you missed it on my Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter feeds, here is a picture of me showing it off! You can see how happy I am!

Plotting the Perfect Murder (fictional, of course!)

I’ll be the first to admit, killing people for a living (even just on paper) is not normal, but it can be a lot of fun. A crime writer will spend

hours conjuring ways to murder a victim and attempting to get away with it. For me, it’s an amusing escape from a relatively quiet life.

So where do the dark ideas come from? After writing and publishing two murder mysteries, I’m sure I have more than a few friends and family members wondering the same thing. How can a seemingly ordinary (my kids would say ‘boring’) person come up with stories of heinous crimes?

The short answer is that ideas come from everywhere—news stories, movies, television, and hours of considering different ‘what if?’ scenarios.

Early in the outlining process of each novel, I use the Five W’s and an H method that I learned studying journalism in college. Who? What? When? Where? Why? And How?

Since I write contemporary mysteries, the when is always the current day. That’s the easiest question to answer!

In my latest novel, Everything To Lose, the main storyline (answering the rest of the questions) came from hours of wondering how to tie a murder mystery to the oil and gas industry that is so prominent in Denver. But I wanted most of the story set in Vail.

I knew that a fair number of wealthy Denverites have homes or condos in Vail. Cue Elliot Banks, a wealthy Denver energy executive murdered in his Vail mansion on Forest Road. That took care of the who, the what, and the where.

Next came figuring out the why and the how. Why and how was Elliot Banks murdered? The why is the killer’s motive. Why would someone want him dead? And who would do it? (Another Who question to answer.)

But figuring out the why and how of the murder is the fun part. This is when an author has to reach back into the darkest recesses of their imagination to come up with a surprising (yet hopefully plausible) scenario of why and how one person would kill another.

Once I had answered the Five W’s and an H for Everything To Lose—I knew who was murdered by whom and why; I knew where, when, and how—it was time to populate the story with additional suspects and characters to help hide ‘whodunit’.

This is where the storytelling comes in, creating a whole world around the inciting incident (the murder). This, for me, is what takes the most time and imagination. It’s creating the story around the crime.

And even if the reader can guess ‘whodunit’ before the end of the story, the author hopes the reader has enjoyed the ride!

PS- I took this photo last week. We were between storms and it looked like the mountains were floating in the clouds.

Back in Colorado!

We were so happy to get back to Telluride last week for the summer. It’s still chilly in the mountains—even during the day if you’re in the shade, but the weather has been gorgeous.

Every morning I take Penny for a long walk on the ski slopes around our house. We usually go for another one in the evening. This is a picture from our walk a couple nights ago.

I’m also gearing up to seriously dive into writing Book 3 of the Mountain Resort Mystery Series. I have a rough outline but will finish fleshing out the story this weekend and probably start writing next week.

The working title is The Killing Storm, and I’m excited about setting the story in Telluride. I’ve got some fun ideas. More details to come!

Publication Day!

Finally!! Everything To Lose is out today in all three formats: eBook, paperback, and large print paperback. If my cover designers weren’t so awesome, I might have to kill them in one of my next novels! (just kidding) The cover is beautiful, and the finishing touches were worth the wait!

The characters in Everything To Lose are a fun and eclectic bunch. I was sad to let them go! But I hope you’ll read the book and let me know who’s your favorite. Somebody is guilty of murder. Will you be able to guess who?

Thank you for reading!

A Sneak Peek at Everything To Lose

Here's a short snippet of Everything To Lose. I can't tell you how much fun I had with this cast of characters. I was sad to see them go! A couple of the characters from Now I See You make brief appearances, too. I hope you'll read the book and let me know which character was your favorite. Thank you for reading!

Scouting scene locations for Book 3

I know, I know, Everything To Lose (Book 2) isn't out yet, but I'm already excited about Book 3!

I've got a (very) rough outline and a title: The Killing Storm. It will be set in Telluride in the dead of winter. Dead--get it?? (Sorry, bad joke!) But I've been busy scouting scene locations to get a feel for what they're like with all of our recent snow.

The outline for The Killing Storm is still very much a work-in-progress, but when Everything To Lose is published, I’ll be able to work on it full-time. I can’t wait!

I hope you will continue on this journey with me. After you spend the summer in Vail (Everything To Lose), come spend the winter with me in Telluride (The Killing Storm)!

Everything To Lose should be out by the end of April. The Killing Storm should be out November/December. I'll keep you posted!