Hello Reader!
I hope you've been handling the ups and downs of all the crazy weather we've been getting. If you were in the path of the last big snowstorm, hopefully you've managed to dig out by now. We only got about 8 inches here, but my friends & family on Long Island certainly got blasted with it! And while I never enjoyed the winters I lived through in Boston, at least I never dealt with a blizzard while I was there! Dare we hope that's the last big storm we see this season?
My developmetal editor has gotten back to me with her comments on my butlers book. I have to admit, being on the writer's side of the manuscript review is a scary place to be. She was very encouraging in her letter though, and I was glad to see I had at least recognized what many of my book's issues were beforehand. I just didn't know what to do with them. So her suggestions on fixes have been firing all kinds of new ideasโthough it means lots or revisions! It will make for a better book in the end, and that's the point, right?
I'll be spending March mixing my revisions with continuing to write museum policies for my old boss. He's hired me to write up some things for his new museum and I've surprised myself with how much I've enjoyed jumping back into that world. And I'll be working on a developmental edit for a YA realistic fantasy novel this month. On top of that, March 8-11 is the annual Women in Publishing Summit, which means reconnecting with great people, meeting new ones, and learning all kinds of great new things. There's still time to get your ticket if you're interested!
As if March isn't busy enough, this is the perfect month to celebrate all things mystery (Ides of March anyone?). So if you write (or are writing) any kind of mystery book and have been thinking of talking to me about editing or coaching services, this is the month to do it! Scheduling this month gets mystery writers 20% off !
๐Mystery March Sale๐
We're celebrating the Ides of March all month long with a Mystery March Sale! All March long, mystery writers get 20% off my editing & coaching services. And my newsletter readers get an extra 5% off!
โContact me & let's ferret out your best ideas together!
Tips For Writing Suspenseful Mysteries
What are the key elements we need to keep our readers engaged when we write mystery novels? Obviously, solid characters, plot and a mystery. But what does that translate into to ensure suspense and keep crime-loving readers with us through the big reveal?
Hook Them Early
Like any other book, we want to hook our reader in chapter one. But in a mystery, we're also setting up a crime. By the end of chapter one you want to make sure your reader is either: shocked ("What happened?!", "Why did that happen?!"); intrigued ("How did that happen?"); or curious ("Which of these people is going to get killed?)
Make It Personal
Whether your detective is a professional or an amateur, give them some personal stakes in the case. Give them a reason they need to solve it. And don't forget your criminal! Why did they do it? Make their motive personal. The deeper and more personal the case for both sides, the more you know the detective and criminal will be willing to do as you move forward with your story.
Raise the Stakes
Depending on your plot and subgenre this will mean different things (chances are most cozy mysteries aren't going to have a bomb threaten the entire town). Know what your audience expects, what they want, and go with it. But at about the halfway point, raise the stakes for your detective. Are they racing against the clock to save a hostage? Has another murder victim been found? Or a letter suggesting there will be another jewel heist? Your reader and detective need to start feeling the pressure to solve this case before it becomes unsolvable!
My Reading Shelf
You may have heard storiess about Elizabeth Bathory, the "Blood Countess". Was she a vampire? Serial killer?The Blood Countess goes back to original documents and Hungary's difficult religious & political history to discover the real story. Elizabeth Bathory was a powerful, independent woman in a time when women could easily be brought down by men's lies. By the time you've finished reading this book, you'll want to shout out Bathory's feminist truth to revive the real woman behind the blood-soaked myths.
Nalini Singh's latest psychological thriller, Such a Perfect Family, explores the truths and tragedies behind one seemingly perfect family. Tavi's wife lies in a coma, her family dead in a fire. He's the obvious suspect & his past is anything but clean. Can he prove he didn't do it before he gets arrested? A clever blending of past & present keep you guessing through mulitple deaths as Singh teaches us not to believe anything we see in this seemingly perfect world.
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