Nancy J. Cohen's Blog: Nancy's Notes from Florida, page 130

MYSTERY PLOT POINTS

What are the turning points in a mystery? When we plot romances, we have certain emotional plot points, like first kiss and big dark moment. What about the traditional whodunit mystery? For example, is it necessary to have a dead body in chapter one? Does the crime always have to be a murder? How many suspects is too many? How can the sagging middle be avoided?

Each author will have a different answer, and they're all right. I've read mysteries where no one gets killed for the first hundred...

SETTING THE SCENE

Have you ever written your characters into a hole? I did this recently and had to pause in my writing schedule to figure out a way to salvage the situation. Jennifer and Paz, the only passengers on a private jet in my story, are     attacked midair by the villains who set off an electromagnetic pulse grenade. The blast disables the plane's electronics and the aircraft plummets toward Earth. The pilots have been shot, and Paz is supposed to save the day.  

Since he has knowledge of advanced...

LAKE EOLA

We spent a lovely day recently at Lake Eola in Orlando. Close to downtown, this peaceful lake hosted their annual Spring Festival. Vendors lined the walkways, selling jewelry, art works, and hand-crafted items, among other things. Smells of hot dogs, kettle popcorn, and barbecued chicken wafted our way as we strolled around the lake past the bandstand and swan boats. On Sundays, you can shop the Farmer's Market here. We dined at Spice on their outdoor patio facing the tranquil lake. Just a...

SAPPHIRE PHELAN

SAPPHIRE PHELAN is an author of erotic and sweet paranormal, fantasy, and science fiction romance, along with a couple of erotic horror stories. She also writes as Pamela K. Kinney, for horror, fantasy, science fiction, and two nonfiction ghost books, Haunted Richmond,Virginia and Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales. She lives in Virginia with her husband and two cats, Ripley and Bast. She admits she can always be found at her desk and on her computer, writing. And yes, the house...

Florida Library Association

I was happy to participate in a panel discussion at the Florida Library Association Convention in Orlando recently. The evening before, local MWA members met for dinner at Hot Olives in Winter Park. Located on New England Avenue, this trendy restaurant sat us outside on their shady patio amid bamboo, lit torches, and tropical trees. I tried their famous chopped olive appetizer and ordered pecan crusted salmon while chatting with fellow MWAers. We all had a great time in a relaxed...

WHY WE READ MYSTERIES

I awoke to the news there had been a home invasion robbery and murder in my town. Although we're a western suburb of Fort Lauderdale, our city doesn't experience violent crime all that often. So when it does occur, it's scary. What's even more scary is that I just got a call from a mystery writer friend of mine, and it happened right across the street from her. I hadn't even connected the addresses. She can see the CSI folks out her front window.  

This incident brings home the fact that a...

BEGINNINGS

I hate beginnings. Some authors love starting a new book, but not me. It's painstakingly difficult for me to write the first few chapters. Why? Because I don't know my characters yet. Sure, I've done character development sheets on them, but they don't really come to life until they're on stage. Then I have to describe their physical mannerisms, type of dress, speech foibles, etc. Once they've made an appearance or two, the story flows much easier. I don't have to stop to figure out how to...

PUBLISHING TRENDS: ENRICHED E-BOOKS

What is an enriched ebook and how does it differ from an ordinary one? An enriched ebook has bonus features like on a DVD. These can include research material, references, deleted passages, alternate endings, footnotes, audio interview with the author, research photos, interactive maps that follow the action, music to accompany scenes in the story with music, commentary by the author.

As you may have guessed, adding these features means more work, but we do a lot of this anyway. For example...

ALLISON CHASE ON BLOG TOURS

ALLISON CHASE is the author of the Novels of Blackheath Moor, paranormal historical tales set in the wilds of nineteenth century Cornwall. At the April 2009 Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention, she received a Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Historical Romantic Gothic of 2008, for DARK TEMPTATION. Her latest release, MOST EAGERLY YOURS, debuts her new Victorian series, Her Majesty's Secret Servants, featuring four sisters who risk their  lives, hearts, and occasionally their virtue in the s...

WINTER GARDEN, FL

While researching book two for my proposed new mystery series, I came across the delightful town of Winter Garden, FL.  This town, located west of Orlando, may be considered part of the greater metropolitan area, but its quaint historical buildings and small town atmosphere remain intact. While W. Plant Street, the main avenue, doesn't last for long, you can visit the historic Edgewater Hotel originally opened in 1927 (and now a viable B&B), the Garden Theater dating from 1935, the Central...