What inspired me to write Secrets in Storyville?

As a reader, I’ve always loved a good mystery. Most of the books I’d read were standalone mystery/suspense novels. But, several years ago, I picked up a cozy mystery, which took place in a small town, and I was hooked on cozies. Now, I still love a good suspense novel but I find that I read more cozies than any other mystery sub-genre. Some are standalones and some are part of a series.

As a writer, I never know where inspiration for a story will come from. But it’s always from people, places and things that have crossed my path. Sometimes they’re recent and other times they emerge from my memory bank.

When I finished writing my fifth Malone mystery, Marnie Malone, I wasn’t sure what my next book would be. I’d spent so many years on the series and had become so involved in the lives of the characters. I knew I’d miss the Malones but I also realized it was time to end the series and to do something totally different.

My Malone mysteries are all written in the third person and they are set in real locations, places that really exist. An old Victorian in my neighborhood was the inspiration for the series.

For a long time, I’d wanted to write a cozy mystery in the first person and set it in a fictional small town. Now I had my chance. Secrets in Storyville is completely separate from and different than my Malone mysteries but the books have one thing in common: an old house inspired me. As it turned out, I didn’t use that house as the main setting in my new book but it is a secondary setting and important to the plot. 

The other elements of the book came to me in the usual way – bits and pieces that somehow eventually coalesced to form a book. A book that was so much fun to write!

I hope you enjoy reading Secrets in Storyville as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Book or Movie?

I think most authors dream of the possibility that one or all of their books will someday be made into a movie or a TV series. I mean, think about it. Imagine seeing the characters and the story you created on the big screen or, more likely these days, on television. What a thrill, right? Not to mention the money you’d be paid for the movie rights. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? The fact is, I think it just might be. 

Off the top of my head I can only think of two instances where I read a book, later watched the movie and was pleased with the casting choices and the way the producers adhered to the storyline. The Godfather and Gone with the Wind. I’m sure there are lots of others but, for me, they were the exceptions because most movies I’ve watched recently, which were adapted from novels I’d read, did NOT stay true to the book. And, to be honest, that bothers me.

For example, I love the Hallmark mystery movies and I think, overall, they do a great job producing them. I especially enjoy the movies based on books I haven’t read because watching them is my introduction to the characters and the story.

However, some of the ones I’ve watched - where I had previously read the book/s - were disappointing. Why? Because there were too many discrepancies between what the author wrote and what I was watching. In some cases the producers omitted elements of the novels that I believed were crucial to the plot. And, in other cases, their choice of an actor/actors was lacking. The actor simply was not like the main character or supporting character I’d grown to love and care about. So, for me, the movies lost a lot of their appeal.

Well, you might ask, doesn’t the author have a say in choosing the actors and approving the script? From what I understand, they do and they don’t. In other words, although their opinions are requested and sometimes honored, the producers have the final word.

Authors:

Now for the big question: If you were offered the opportunity to have your books made into movies, would you accept?

Readers:

Given the opportunity to read the book or watch the movie – or both – which would you choose?

Mystery and Mirth

We all know that laughter is cathartic. No matter what’s going on in our lives and in the world, a good laugh or even a chuckle has the power to make us forget about whatever challenges we’re facing if only for a short time. The more we laugh, the better we feel.

Kate, the main character in Secrets in Storyville has what she calls “a healthy sense of humor.” I have to agree with her because I found myself laughing out loud as I wrote many of the scenes in the book. I hope, as you escape into Kate’s world, you will too.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

I pushed the button on my radio for our local oldies station. As I drove back to work, I cranked up the music and sang along to the strains of Frosty the Snowman.

The song reminded me of the “anatomically correct” snowman Bobby had built in our front yard when we were in our early teens. As long as I lived I would never forget the expression on my mother’s face - a combination of shock and rage - when she pulled into the driveway that day and saw the snowman.

She slammed her car door, stomped over to us, grabbed one of the two carrots Bobby had used – it wasn’t the one for his nose - and tried to pull it out. That carrot must’ve really been stuck because she yanked and yanked before it came out in her hand.

Bobby and I exchanged glances, trying so hard not to laugh out loud because we knew better than to do that. Somehow we managed to control ourselves until my mother had stormed into the house. Then we both lost it. Thinking about it now as I drove back to work, I couldn’t stop laughing. 

Hunting for Gems

Writing novels is like hunting for gems.

Several years ago, my mother and I went gem hunting in North Carolina - two years in a row. The first year, we went to Hiddenite, one of those if-you-blink-you-miss-it towns, to sluice and pan for a variety of gems and to dig for emeralds. The mine was located out in the boonies, even more remote than the town itself. As I drove down the bumpy dirt road to get to the office, I passed chickens, a couple of stray dogs and a rooster.

 

When I finally spotted the long, covered sluice line surrounded by stacks of buckets filled with unprocessed, virgin ore, I was excited about what we might find. We sat at the sluice line for hours, sifting through the dirt and, not having any luck, we decided we would try our hand at digging for emeralds. It was an incredibly hot day in August; sweat poured off of us as we trudged up hills, carrying heavy shovels and buckets. Again, no luck. We ended up sitting in the creek, panning for gems, letting the cool water wash over us. We didn’t find any “quality” gems there either but we learned a lot on that trip and had so much fun.

 

Our next trip, the following May, was to Franklin, which is advertised as the “Gem Capital of the World.” I’d done my homework and I was determined that, this time, we would find what we were looking for. We went to several different mines in search of star sapphires or, as the locals refer to them, "North Carolina rubies." But, after three days, we still hadn’t found any of the precious gems and we were beginning to get discouraged.

Our last day there, it rained on and off and was damp and chilly. We sat at the sluice line, shivering, with our hands submerged in the cold, running water, rinsing off and inspecting hundreds of rocks. By the end of the day, we had each found some stones, which we thought were promising, but we weren’t certain they’d amount to anything. So, on our way out of town the next morning, we stopped at a local gemologist’s shop. Our suspicions were confirmed; we’d each found stones that we would later have cut and polished to produce beautiful, star sapphire rings!

Like gem hunters, we writers often have to sort through a lot of ideas, discarding most of them, before finding one that is worth keeping and developing into a novel but, as we write our story and, especially, when we finish it, we know that it was well worth it. And then, we do it again!

What if?

The two little words "what if?" can be both harmful and beneficial depending on how we use them.

In our daily lives, if we constantly ask ourselves that question, we will become chronic worriers. "What if I loose my job?" or "What if he/she never speaks to me again?"
As writers, that question can be harmful too. What if no one likes my book/s? What if I don't get any positive reviews? Or, worse yet - What if the only reviews I get are negative?
The list can go on and on, taking on a life of its own, overwhelming us. We are tense and stressed, which wears on our health and our happiness. I try not to ask that question in my personal or professional life.

My fiction is another story, pun intended. I've learned that those same two words can provide the plot for a scene or an entire book and they can create tension and suspense.
For example:
What if the reader knows that the killer is hiding in the basement but the main character - let's call her Laura - doesn't know?
What if Laura is about to go down there?
What if Laura's next-door-neighbor is a voyeur, always secretly peeking in her windows?
And, what if, while he's watching, he sees a man attack Laura and rushes to her rescue?
So many "what ifs."

In my new release, Secrets in Storyville, Kate has made some shocking discoveries, long buried secrets which, if she chooses to reveal them, could have disastrous results. As she struggles to decide what to do, she finds herself constantly asking "What if?"