Terry Odell's Blog, page 110

Stretching the Boundaries of a Series

Stretching the Boundaries of a Series

When I wrote Deadly Secrets, the first book in my Mapleton Mystery series, I chose to use three Point of View characters, something I’d only done once before (Danger in Deer Ridge). However, even though Deadly Secrets was a mystery, not a romantic suspense, the villain wasn’t a POV character. And, because Megan and Justin, two of the three characters were “civilians”, the book had a “cozy feel” according to readers and reviewers.

However, my goal was to w...

Identity Crisis has a Cover

Thanks to the talented designer, Kim Killion, of The Killion Group, Identity Crisis, Book 7 in my Blackthorne, Inc. series, has a cover. My editor is going over my revisions, and I hope to have the book available for sale in October. You can read more about it on my Coming Soon page.

If you haven’t read the other books in the series, now would be a good time to start. You can find them here.

My newsletter subscribers saw the cover first. If you want to have access to sneak peeks, exclusive c...

What’s Cooking Wednesday – Double Blueberry Pie

What intrigued me about the recipe when I found it years ago was the gingersnap crust instead of the standard graham crackers. Also, it’s made with fresh blueberries which provide a contrast to the pie filling. (The original recipe called for cooking part of the blueberries with cornstarch and sugar, but after I tried it once, I decided the shortcut of a can of blueberry pie filling worked just as well, so I adapted the recipe to this one.)

Double Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:
30 gingersnaps
5 T...

Character Interviews – CT Collier’s Lyssa Pennington

Thanks for letting me interview you today, Lyssa. First, a few introductory questions

Your name:  Lyssa Pennington
The book you’re in: Stuck
Your author’s name:  C. T. Collier
Your role: Heroine

And now, on with the interview:

What was your favorite part of being a character in this book?
My student Emma Van Derzee’s father, Fritz, was murdered, and the police thought Emma had done it. It was a ridiculously confusing situation, starting with embezzlement and complicated by Fritz’s habit of in...

The Balancing Act of Romantic Suspense

While my editor is going over my rewrites for Identity Crisis, I’ve been busy working on my lectures for an on-line class for the Kiss of Death chapter of the Romance Writers of America.

The class runs through the month of September and is open to everyone. You don’t need to be a member of RWA, or the Kiss of Death chapter (although rates are lower if you are.)

I’m going to be including the following topics:

Definition of Romantic Suspense Choosing your sub-genre Romance and Mystery Reader E...

Dealing With What Readers Might Not Know

Dealing With What Readers Might Not Know

A recent comment from a beta reader got me thinking. How much “explanation” do you owe your readers? I, for one, have a tendency to assume any words or terminology I know, my readers will know.

My beta reader questioned my use of the term “cutting red tape.” Now, this is something I thought was universally understood. Whether or not a reader knows the history of the term doesn’t matter as long as they know what it means. However, this particular reader...

What’s Cooking Wednesday – Pasta With Grilled Vegetables and Herbs

Hubster found this one in the Fresh and Fast cookbook, a gift from our daughter.

Pasta with Grilled Vegetables and Herbs

Ingredients:
2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into thirds
1 red bell pepper, seeded and quartered
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and quartered
1 large red onion, cut crosswise into slices 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
Olive oil for brushing
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
 lb. penne, preferably multigrain
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
c minced mixed fresh herbs, such...

Character Inteviews – Claire Marti’s Sophie Barnes

Thanks for letting me interview you, today, Sophie. First, a few introductory questions:

Your name:  Sophie Barnes
The book you’re in: Second Chance in Laguna
Your author’s name:  Claire Marti
Your role: Heroine

And now, on with the interview:

What was your favorite part of being a character in this book?
Definitely not the beginning! The book opens with me at the lowest point of my life, but everything improves from there. Pursuing my dream of becoming a successful novelist runs a close seco...

Adventures in Editing – Part 2

Adventures in Editing, Part 2

Last week, I posted part one of my “Adventures in Editing.” As promised, here are more steps in my process.

After a long talk with my editor, we agreed that almost everything I had written “fit” the story. We discussed how to add more of a “Blackthorne op” feel to the manuscript, and came to the conclusion that to open the file and stick in an op would change the whole tone of the book, which is Brett proving himself worthy by succeeding at a security/bodyguard a...

Adventures in Editing Part 1

Adventures in Editing 1

I’m in the midst of edits for the new book, Identity Crisis. When you think of edits, you think of markups on the page suggesting a different word, or fixing punctuation, or maybe pointing out your character has eaten breakfast three times that day. Those are the easy ones, and normally you can breeze through them in under a day.

But there are more levels of editing, such as when your editor points out character inconsistencies—not behaving in a ‘believable’ fashion, w...