Kathy Lynn Emerson's Blog, page 45

One for the Books

One for the Books

Bruce Robert Coffin here, waxing nostalgic. The third annual Maine Crime Wave has passed into the history books. Sponsored by the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, this year’s conference, held at the University of Southern Maine’s Glickman Library, was attended by more than seventy people, many of whom made the drive from out of state.

The weekend began Friday evening as the accomplished Gayle Lynds introduced the inaugural CrimeMaster Award recipient, Tess Gerritsen. Gayle read aloud comments made by other well-known literary figures regarding Tess’s many contributions to the genre. After receiving the award, Tess was interviewed on stage by Portland Press Herald’s own Chelsea Conaboy. They discussed everything from writing novels to making movies. Tess’s shared experiences inspired us all.

Saturday morning opened with coffee and conversation but, like most thrillers, quickly ramped up into panels and writing workshops conducted by the likes of Kate Flora, Jim Hayman, Chris Holm, and Gayle Lynds. The highlight of the morning was a panel moderated by Katrina Holm, during which Tess Gerritsen and her agent Meg Ruley shared their vast publishing experiences with the audience.

I was honored to share a morning stage with fellow debutants Dick Cass, Maureen Milliken, and Brendan Reilly. Barbara Ross did her best to keep the newly-minted scribes in line. In the afternoon Kate Flora moderated Law and Disorder, starring Roger Guay, Lynne Raimondo, and yours truly.

There were panels on queries and the writing biz, panels on where we come up with novel ideas (literally).

Attendees were even provided an opportunity to pitch ideas to Literary Agent Ann Collette and to compete in a friendly two minute reading competition.

Following lunch, Maine’s Attorney General Janet Mills and AG Criminal Division Chief Lisa Marchese presented updates on several recent successful prosecutions of Maine cold case homicides.

At every writer’s conference I extract myself just long enough to take it all in. It’s always fun to see so many positive interactions taking place. Those instances of fan adoration when writing superstars, like Tess Garritsen, take the time to chat up one of their readers, or to autograph their latest novel. And there’s the time honored tradition of agents and writers exchanging business cards, many of the latter still chasing that holy grail of publication. Curious customers perusing a wide array of the latest titles stacked atop tables at the bookstore in the hallway. Each eye-catching cover vying for the reader’s attention, until finally one of them grabs ahold. Have I read this one yet? is a common question, often asked aloud by avid followers of a series. Prospective readers examine a book’s copy, then either replace it on the stack or pony up the cash. Purchasing a new book from one’s favorite author is much like paying the carnival ride attendant before climbing aboard, and there’s always a gleam of excitement in the buyer’s eyes. Each one of us has experienced this anticipation before being whisked along on an exciting new adventure, perhaps while seated next to our favorite protagonist, or even villain. Hello, Clarice…

Whether you’re an avid reader, writer, or simply a fan of the mystery genre, you should definitely consider attending the next Maine Crime Wave. This was one for the books!

Short Story Extravaganza

Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson here, blogging today as Kathy. I’m writing this before Malice Domestic and will be on my way home on the day it is posted, but I think I can say with confidence that short stories will have played a big part in my weekend.

A little more than a year ago, I was asked to be one of three first round judges for the Malice Domestic anthology, Mystery Most Historical, scheduled to be published just in time for this year’s convention. Writers entered blind submissions, meaning their names and any identifying information were stripped from the file before the selection panel ever saw them. No one was told who the judges were, either. We didn’t even know each others’ names until the titles and authors of the stories to be included were announced in September. In other words, there was an even playing field. An unpublished writer had as good a chance as a published one of being selected for the anthology. Between May and August I read 102 submissions, scoring them from one to ten with ten being the highest. Only stories that averaged an eight or more advanced to the next stage. Out of those 102 entries, I scored thirteen of them as tens. Ten of those made the final cut.

“Lady Appleton and the Creature of the Night”

Now I have to confess that because I was a judge, I was invited to write a story for the anthology. So were the other judges and the guests of honor at this year’s Malice. This is not unusual. Many anthologies are a similar mix of blind submissions and stories that were solicited by the editors. My contribution is “Mistress Threadneedle’s Quest” and it is set in the sixteenth century (big surprise!) but does not use any of the characters from any of my series. It turned out rather well, if I do say so myself, made considerably better by feedback from fellow Maine Crime Writers Kate Flora, Barb Ross, and Lea Wait.

The anthology was designed to make its debut at Malice Domestic with a group book signing at the Friday night dessert party. I’ll try to add photos of that, if not here, then in next weekend’s update.

But, as they say in infomercials, wait . . . there’s more.

At last year’s Malice I approached the good folks of Wildside Press, publishers of the Malice anthologies and numerous collections of short stories, about collecting the stories I’ve written, some published and some not, since my first collection (Murders and Other Confusions) was published in 2004. Last time around, all the stories featured characters from my Face Down mystery novels. This time they ranged from medieval England to the present day in the U.S. Long story short, Different Times, Different Crimes is now in print and I couldn’t be more pleased. It contains thirteen stories. One has a medieval setting, six are set in the sixteenth century, three take place in 1888 and involve characters from my Diana Spaulding Mystery Quartet, and three are contemporary stories. Two of those are the adventures of Valentine Veilleux, a secondary character in The Scottie Barked at Midnight in my Liss MacCrimmon series. It’s just possible she may reappear in the new series, since she travels around quite a bit.

“The Kenduskeag Killer”

The illustrations accompanying this blog, other than the covers of the two new books, are from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, where the stories in question first appeared. The artist is Linda Weatherly S., from whom I later purchased the original artwork.

“The Curse of the Figure Flinger”

And now, a giveaway: Comment on this blog anytime in the next week and you will be entered to win a signed copy of Different Times, Different Crimes.

Kathy Lynn Emerson/Kaitlyn Dunnett is the author of over fifty books written under several names. She won the Agatha Award for best mystery nonfiction of 2008 for How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries and was an Agatha Award finalist in 2015 in the best mystery short story category for “The Blessing Witch.” Currently she writes the contemporary Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries (Kilt at the Highland Games) as Kaitlyn and the historical Mistress Jaffrey Mysteries (Murder in a Cornish Alehouse) as Kathy. The latter series is a spin-off from her earlier “Face Down” series and is set in Elizabethan England. New in 2017 is a collection of Kathy’s short stories, Different Times, Different Crimes. Her websites are www.KaitlynDunnett.com and www.KathyLynnEmerson.com

Weekend Update: April 29-30, 2017

Next week at Maine Crime Writers, there will be posts by Kathy Lynn Emerson/Kaitlyn Dunnett (Monday), Bruce Coffin (Tuesday), Brenda Buchanan (Wednesday), Dick Cass (Thursday), and Lea Wait (Friday).

In the news department, here’s what’s happening with some of us who blog regularly at Maine Crime Writers:

Today (Saturday, April 29) Maureen Milliken, Gayle Lynds and Janet Morgan will all be at Wiscasset Public Library for a Sisters in Crime 30th Anniversary extravaganza. The library is holding an open house with the authors from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the authors’ panel begins at 11 a.m.

It’s Malice Domestic weekend and Kate, Kathy/Kaitlyn, Barb, Lea, Jessie, and Bruce are all in Bethesda MD for the big event. We’ll try to post a picture or two during the weekend, and an update to the update, especially since Kate, Barb, and Jessie are all among the finalists for the Agatha award in their respective categories.

And if you’re not in Bethesda,  and buy e-books on KOBO — you’re in luck! From April 27-May 1, in the US and Canada, Kobo will be selling e-books of Kaitlyn Dunnett’s KILT DEAD, Barbara Ross’ CLAMMED UP, and  Lea Wait’s TWISTED THREADS, each for only $1.99. (Is there a rule against titles with more than two words??!)

Lea Wait would also like everyone in mid-coast Maine to know that she and her husband, Bob Thomas, will be celebrating the opening of an exhibit of Bob’s paintings at the Southport Memorial Library, 1032 Hendricks Hill Road in Southport, Maine, on Thursday, May 4, from 7 until 9 p.m.  If you miss that night, the exhibit will be up from May 4 until June 30.

Lea is also excited to announce that she’s just signed a two-book contract with Crooked Lane for a series about two (very different) sisters running a restaurant on a (fictional) Maine island. The first in the series, tentatively called KINDRED SPIRITS, will be published in June of 2018.

Barb Ross will be appearing at Breakwater Books in Guilford, Connecticut on May 3 at 7:00 pm with Lucy Burdette and Liz Mugavero.

 

An invitation to readers of this blog: Do you have news relating to Maine, Crime, or Writing? We’d love to hear from you. Just comment below to share.

And a reminder: If your library, school, or organization is looking for a speaker, we are often available to talk about the writing process, research, where we get our ideas, and other mysteries of the business. Contact Kate Flora

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Sisters (and brothers) celebrate a special crime-filled birthday

Sisters in Crime began 30 years ago as a way to support and advocate for female writers, who … wait for it… weren’t getting nearly as many reviews as male writers were, as well as a lack of attention for other things in the writing and publishing world.

Me and Coralie Jensen talk to fans after a Sisters in Crime 30th Anniversary talk at Rodgers Library in Hudson, N.H. this week.

This month, as Sisters celebrates its 30th birthday with library events across the country, things are a little better (a little), but the group is still as necessary as ever.

Now with 3,600 members nationwide, Sisters in Crime offers support, advocacy and community to writers at all levels of the game and, we’re proud to say, welcomes the fellas to join as well.

Many of the bloggers on this site are members of Sisters in Crime. Just as Maine has a huge pool of talented writers, New England seems to be the strongest, most active Sisters group.

If you write, or just love mysteries, check us out.

Is there food? You bet there is! McArthur Library in Biddeford provided these beautiful cupcakes when Kate Flora, Lea Wait and I spoke there on April 20. And they tasted as good as they looked.

Also, keep an eye out for a Sisters event near you. To celebrate, Sisters has joined with its biggest fans and supporters — libraries — to present events across the region. Sisters’ Speakers Bureau, which provides a two or three-author panel to libraries, similar to the Maine Crime Writers Death & Desserts program, has brought authors, libraries and fans together for years and is going strong.

Look for an event near you! Tomorrow, Gayle Lynds, Janet Morgan and I will be at Wiscassett Public Library for a 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sisters open house, with the author program at 11 a.m.

On May 21, a number of us as well as some special guests, will be at the Curtis Library in Brunswick for Sisters’ annual Murder by the Minute event, where we read from our works.

If you can’t make either of those, keep an eye out at your local library either for one of our “birthday” events this spring, or in general. Or ask your local library to have us there.

You can find out more about Sisters in Crime at sincne.org.

Maureen Milliken is the author of the Bernie O’Dea mystery series. Follow her on Twitter at@mmilliken47 and like her Facebook page at Maureen Milliken mysteries. Sign up for email updates at maureenmilliken.com. She hosts the podcast Crime&Stuff with her sister Rebecca Milliken.

 

Conferences, Conferences, Conferences

by Barb, on the train to Malice Domestic even as you read this

My business partner and I used to joke that anything anyone asked us to do, we would agree to, as long as it was six months away. It’s so easy to look past the craziness of the present and say, “Oh, sure. Things will have settled down by then. I can do that.” But when you get there, of course they have not.

So, last fall, I apparently thought it was a great idea to attend three conferences three weekends in a row. Last weekend, it was the Maine Crime Wave, sponsored by the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, where I moderated the debut authors panel. Since I knew that all the authors on my panel, Maureen Milliken, Bruce Coffin, Dick Cass and Brendan Rielly would be funny and informative, I didn’t have to stress about it. Instead, I got to enjoy the day, attending terrific panels and catching up with many fabulous Maine writers after the long winter away. I heard the craft sessions were excellent. I met people from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and even Missouri at the event. Maine CrimeMaster Award winner Tess Gerritsen and her agent Meg Ruley not only spoke on the morning panel, they hung out all day, attending panels and sessions, which I thought was remarkable and generous.

Debut authors panel at the Maine Crime Wave 2017 with Barbara Ross, Richard J. Cass, Maureen Milliken, Brendan Rielly, and Bruce Robert Coffin

This weekend it’s on to Malice Domestic in Bethesda, MD. Thursday night before the conference opens, my fellow Wicked Cozy Authors and I will squeeze in an appearance at the Bethesda Barnes and Noble at 6:30 pm. The store is 0.3 mile from the Malice hotel. We’d love to see you there.

Malice is a conference for fans of traditional mysteries, not a writers’ conference. My four-year-old granddaughter, Viola, calls it the “stinky conference,” because for as long a she can remember, Malice has fallen on her birthday weekend, hence, “Gram can’t come to my party because she’s at a stinky conference.”

It is not, however, a stinky conference. It’s a truly fun gathering of lovers of the traditional mystery. This is my sixth year going (not quite consecutively) and now for me it has a feeling of old home week. I can’t wait to see all the people who share my passion for novels involving murders, a closed pool of suspects, and a brilliant detective, professional or amateur. I’m a panelist at this one. Preparing for that is not difficult, though I have spent the last month or so making sure I have up-to-date bookmarks, and goodie bags for the people sitting at my banquet table and something to wear everyday. The fourth Maine Clambake Mystery, Fogged Inn, is a nominee for the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel, which will be announced on Saturday night.

Next weekend (May 5-7), I’m teaching a class at Muse and the Marketplace, the annual craft conference for all types of writing sponsored by Grub Street, Boston’s premier writing center. I’ll be leading a class called, Four Lies People Will Tell You about Marketing Your Novel, which was born out of posts I wrote for this blog. This one does require a ton of prep since I’ll be standing and talking and taking questions for an hour, and I’ll have slides and a handout and all that stuff. I know what I want to say, but pulling it together is my job for the train ride to and from Malice.

In between Malice and Muse, I’m doing a panel and signing on May 3 at Breakwater Books in Guilford, Connecticut with my friends Liz Mugavero and Lucy Burdette, (Because I am crazy, apparently.)

At this point, I have no idea how I’ll survive, but I know I’ll look back on it all as a wonderful time.

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Traveling Light

Jessie: Enjoying the height of daffodil season.

Every year about this time my thoughts turn to travel. Each spring I take a trip to Bethesda, Maryland for the Malice Domestic conference. I generally fly to the conference and with all the changes to air travel have learned to pack into the smallest carry on suitcase I can manage. I love the challenge of whittling the possibilities down to the fewest items I can manage. I aim to include one item per day I will be traveling plus one extra. Accessories, underpinnings, sleepwear and formal wear don’t count.

Over the years I’ve developed a list of clothing items that mix and match and collapse down to almost nothing when tossed in a bag. I usually only take one extra pair of shoes. I pack one pair of trousers, one day dress and one skirt. I scrunch in a couple of scarves for variety and a couple of shirts and a sweater. I wear one pair of earrings on the plane and plop a second into the suitcase. I throw a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen and a bright red lipstick into a toiletries pouch along with my toothpaste and toothbrush.

I never leave home without my iPad mini, my phone and the charger that juices them both. I load my iPad with books to read, maps of the area and my latest writing project in the Scrivener app. Just before heading out the door I tuck a small knitting project like socks or a lace-weight shawl into my purse and loop an infinity scarf that converts to a cardigan or a dress around my neck to keep out the blasts of arctic chill planes always seem to provide. So far, I have never missed anything I haven’t bothered to take along but have sometimes regretted the things I did make room for in the suitcase.

Readers, do you travel light? Do you pack for every possible contingency? Do you have any favorite travel gear you would recommend or tips to share?

 

How to Make a Murder

You may remember this post that I wrote back in July, about the murder mystery I was writing and coordinating for Sisters in Crime and the annual Books in Boothbay event held at Boothbay’s Railway Village. Well, I’m at it again… This time, coordinating an event for the wives of the Masons’ Grand Lodge of Maine at Point Lookout in Northport.

Murder at the Railway Village display

Every year, the wife of the Grand Master is charged with creating an event to remember for fellow wives during the multi-day Annual Communication. This year, Sharon Pulkkinen – wife of Grand Master Thomas Pulkkinen – thought perhaps commemorating the annual luncheon with a murder mystery would be the way to go. Naturally, I was very happy to lend a hand. Sisters in Crime once again stepped up to assist, providing me with three other mystery authors who will be actors in the unfolding drama. I’m very happy to be sharing the stage with Maureen Milliken, Janet Morgan, and Charlene D’Avanzo. In addition, a couple of the ladies there for the luncheon have also kindly volunteered to serve as suspects.

Part of coordinating the event includes putting together the brochure or flyer, which I have a great time doing. I used InDesign for the flyer I did last summer, but this time I’m doing a brochure, and am using a template from www.canva.com. If you’re not familiar with Canva, it’s a fabulous resource for authors — or, really, professionals in any field. They provide templates, royalty-free photos, clip art, and more, for everything from Facebook banners to print brochures. Most everything is drag and drop, so it’s easy to use and very, very inexpensive. Frankly, I don’t know how I lived without them all these years! Here’s one side of the brochure, currently in process:

To stage the crime scene, I was able to get crime scene tape, evidence markers, and evidence bags on the cheap from Amazon. I bought a 5′ x 6′ rug for $20 and a wine glass for a buck from Big Lots, and will be following this recipe to make the blood I’ll be spattering all over the rug. My lovely assistant Ben will pose as the body and I’ll use standard sidewalk chalk to make the chalk outline. The Boothbay event was a family affair so I had to keep things pretty tame with respect to the crime scene, but the ladies of the Grand Lodge have given me license to go nuts this time out. Within reason, of course – I won’t be leaving severed body parts in the lounge or chicken livers on the mantle or anything. But a tasteful spattering of blood should make a nice effect.

The day of the event, I’ll go up early to place the evidence and set the stage. Every participant will get a brochure that includes a list of the evidence found at the scene, details of the crime scene and murder, background on the victim, and a list of suspects along with their connection to the victim, possible motive for the crime, and their alibi for the night of the murder. They’ll have an opportunity over the course of the event to question the suspects, review the crime scene, and come up with their theory of whodunit. Once time is up, attendees will write down and submit their guess as to the murderer and motive. Since there are often multiple people who guess correctly at something like this, there are five prizes up for grabs: a basket of signed mysteries from the authors in attendance, and four centerpieces specially created for the event.

All in all, I think it should be a memorable afternoon for everyone involved. I’ll be sure to take lots of pics of the day (and the crime scene) and share them either here or on social media over the next few weeks. I’m very much looking forward to it!

Jen Blood is USA Today-bestselling author of the Erin Solomon Mysteries and The Darkest Thread, the first novel in the Flint K-9 Search and Rescue Mysteries. To learn more, visit www.jenblood.com. 

 

A Hole in the World

Kate Flora: A year ago, in March, my sister-in-law, Emily, who more like a sister and was a close friend, was diagnosed with acute leukemia. After many months, most of them spent in the hospital, they were unable to find a bone marrow donor, so she opted to try a cord blood transfer instead. It didn’t work, and last September, Emily died. At her memorial service, I read this piece Mark Twain wrote wrote about loss and grief:

The mind has a dim sense of vast loss–that is all. It will take mind and memory months and possibly years to gather the details and thus learn and know the whole extent of the loss. A man’s house burns down. The smoking wreckage represents only a ruined home that was dear through years of use and pleasant associations. By and by, as the days and weeks go on, first he missed this, then that, then the other thing. And when he casts about for it, he finds that it was in that house. Always it is an essential–there was but one of its kind. It cannot be replaced. It was in that house. It is irrevocably lost. He did not realize it was essential when he had it; he only discovers it now when he finds himself balked, hampered by its absence. It will be years before the tale of lost essentials is complete, and not till then can he truly know the magnitude of his disaster.

That piece has stayed with me through the months. There was cooking for Christmas, which we always did together. And the many, many times I was doing my holiday shopping and thought, “That would be perfect for Emily,” and had to leave the store. As her best friend Molly said, “Emily gave great presents.” This year, there were none of Emily’s perfect gifts, wrapped in amazing paper, under the tree. And every time I tied on the hilarious “sexy cops” apron she made for me, I mentally sent her thanks even as I realized that it would be my last Emily apron.

Then the New Year’s Eve party. She and I have decades of planning and making that dinner together. The days of poring over cookbooks, picking out the menu. The three cheese and wild mushroom lasagna? Sweet potato and corn soup with smoked oysters? Her mother’s recipe for World’s Fair Chicken? The trip to the grocery store for the ingredients somehow always became a hilarious expedition, maybe because being together was one of the few times we actually laughed our way through the day. Then there were the hours together in the kitchen, chopping and stirring, and consulting. Then the arrival of house guests and other friends, and everyone emerging glamorous for the pleasure of an evening most of us have share since before our babies were born. There was a moment, just before midnight, for Emily.

Taking a walk in New York

Mark Twain was so right. The loss is both immediate, and long lasting. The months are filled with aspects of her loss and memories of the years together. March, because she was always with us in Florida. June and July, when she and I would sometimes sneak away for a “girls only” vacation week at a spa in Mexico where we laughed our way through a week of hiking and dancing and fitness classes and aerobic bingo. August and September, when she would come to Maine, and we would go antiquing, or on photography expeditions. September, when we would celebrate her birthday.

We called each other “twin,” because although I was actually born in July, we were both supposed to be born in September.

Emily and Ken

I always said that she was my “signing bonus” when I married her brother. I didn’t just get a husband and a great new family, I got a sister. Since I lost my own sister more than twenty years ago, having that special “extra” sister has been very important.

It might seem crass to remember a person through things, but when someone has been a part of life for more than four decades, their gifts, and the things purchased on shared vacations, shopping expeditions, or while antiquing, accumulate and become part of everyday life.

My blueberry tablecloth. We also have one with potato chips.

When I sharpen a knife with knife sharpener Emily gave me, I am reminded of how very particular she was about sharp knives. When I do a book event, I will be using one of the novelty tablecloths that she made. Right now I have library cats, handcuffs, and sexy cats. My co-writer, Roger Gray, has the one with yellow, chocolate, and black labs. At home, we have blueberries.

I wear her favorite necklace because every time I put it on, I feel closer to her.

I believe that it is important for the people we’ve lost to be remembered often.

Today, as you are reading this, Ken and I are in New York, dedicating a bench in Washington Square Park, her favorite park in New York. The people who sit there won’t have known Emily, but I hope they’ll read the plaque, and think about who she was.

 

Weekend Update: April 22-23, 2017

Next week at Maine Crime Writers, there will be posts by special guest Joe Souza (Monday), Jen Blood (Tuesday), Jessie Crockett (Wednesday), Barb Ross (Thursday), and Maureen Milliken (Friday).

In the news department, here’s what’s happening with some of us who blog regularly at Maine Crime Writers:

On Thursday night, three Maine Crime Writers were at the McArthur Library in Biddeford, helping to celebrate Sisters in Crime’s 30th Anniversary. Lea Wait, Maureen Milliken, and Kate Flora spoke about process, and our series, and other mysteries of the genre to a large audience of mystery fans. Then everyone got to enjoy the most amazing cupcakes.

On Saturday, many of the Maine Crime Writers will be at Maine Crime Wave, an all-day mystery event in Portland.

Next weekend, MCW will be well represented at Malice Domestic in Bethesda, MD, where three of the Maine Crime Writers regulars (Jessie Crockett, Kate Flora, and Barb Ross) are among the finalists for the Agatha award in three separate categories.

On Wednesday the 26th at 6:30, Kate Flora will be at the Raymond Village Library to talk about her latest Joe Burgess mystery, Led Astray, and the intersection of fiction writing and the world of nonfiction. She hopes some of you will be there to join the discussion.

And, having long neglected you, we are again offering a bag of books to one of the clever readers who follows our blog. Maybe it will be you? How will we know? Because you’ve left us a comment. So follow us, keep your comments and suggestions coming, and thank you for supporting Maine Crime Writers.

An invitation to readers of this blog: Do you have news relating to Maine, Crime, or Writing? We’d love to hear from you. Just comment below to share.

And a reminder: If your library, school, or organization is looking for a speaker, we are often available to talk about the writing process, research, where we get our ideas, and other mysteries of the business. Contact Kate Flora

Mystery. It’s Everywhere.

Today’s guest at Maine Crime Writers is YA author Robin McCready, whose first mystery for teens (BURIED) won an Edgar and whose second, A LIE FOR A LIE,  was just published.  Welcome to Maine Crime Writers, Robin!

I love rules and structure and frameworks. They give me a direction and a proper path. Writing rituals, productivity hacks, and apps can be found in my toolbox. I use them all. The rules about how to write a story are read eagerly, embraced, and promptly messed with—especially the one that are absolute. The most breakable rule of all? Mystery is plot driven.  It is, but that’s not the whole story. You must have a compelling character behind the great idea or you won’t have the vehicle to fuel your plot or hip storyline.

I’m not a traditional mystery writer, the kind with a detective or private eye, but I find mystery everywhere. For me, it starts with a character and a problem. Usually that’s it. I don’t think too much about it. If she comes back—and it’s usually a she, and she’s usually a teen, I ask why she has this problem.

In my first book, Buried, Claudine can’t find her mother. At first this is no big deal. It’s a regular thing at their house, not much of a mystery, and if it was purely plot driven the mystery of where she was could be solved pretty quickly. What made it fun to write, and challenging, was making Claudine as much a mystery as her mother and drawing it out slowly.

In my second book, A Lie For A Lie, Kendra sees something that she shouldn’t see, and she can’t accept it. The mystery for her is whether or not what she sees is true, and if so, what does she do with this new information.

Mystery is everywhere. It’s not only in the plot details, but also in the character’s details and especially in the “whys” of the character. I know I’m hooked by a new story when I can’t stop talking to a character. In Kendra’s case it began with an interview. The simple problem of seeing her father with a woman who was not her mother brought on questions, but continued in a long conversation about how she felt, if she even cared, what she’d do, or not do about it, why would she confront, or not confront him, and how this effected her live immediately.

How Kendra answered these questions revealed her character flaws and this tightened the plot when it was clear that she had an ongoing anxiety disorder and a love interest.

Making sure to marry the character’s traits, both her weaknesses and potential strengths, to a staggering problem that challenges her is the only rule I follow now. Finding mystery in the “whys” is the story.