Writing Mystery vs. Fiction...Preference or Passion?

I've always loved a good mystery. In reading, I prefer a good whodunit to almost anything else. Whether it's the witty charm of a Kinsey Millhone or the brazen determination of a Stephanie Plum, I would never choose to read straight fiction over a mystery novel. I think this is why, when I started writing my own books, that I chose to write a mystery series. Although I had little experience with writing this genre, I was compelled to try my hand at putting together storylines that sort of drag the reader into a big mess. Was I successful? Who knows? That, in and of itself, is a mystery.

I was once told by a famous author that I should never have tried to journey into the intricacies of writing mystery without first having tried my hand at mainstream fiction. Her exact words were, "I advise novice writers to conquer the basics of characterization, plotting, tone and narrative in straight fiction before launching into the mechanics of the mystery." Not bad advice, but certainly a little discouraging for the aspiring mystery writer. If I had no desire to read straight fiction, how would I go about writing it? My plot ideas always come out the same way, someone gets killed or wronged in some other way, my main character tries to figure out who is responsible for it, and everyone eventually finds out who, what, when, where, why and how. I like to throw in some awkward situations for entertainment value and occasionally, my characters have substantial epiphanies that keep them motivated to figure out what has happened. I'm not sure I could comfortably write straight fiction. I couldn't stay interested enough in what I was writing.

Before I wrote the first two books in my Rona Shively mystery series, I checked out nearly every mystery writing book in our local library and looked at hundreds of websites on how to write, plot and develop your voice. I wanted to make sure that I was doing the right things and that my writing technique followed whatever patterns a good mystery writer should follow. After all, my qualifications for writing a mystery were pretty much made up of my tendency to read three mysteries at any given time, watch shows like Law & Order, CSI, and reruns of The Rockford Files, Charlie's Angels, and Starsky and Hutch. I have an inquisitive mind, what can I say?

I have thought about branching out into other genres and have even gone so far as to write a short horror story. In my mind, it still played out much like a mystery, only scarier than normal. The reason I write this post today is because I am at a point where I'm considering taking my mystery series in a new direction. In thinking about where I've been and where I would like to go with my writing, I know that I still want to be a mystery writer. I only hope that my series gets better and better with each intallment. In spite of my lack of professional experience, I want to be able to put together stories that are as compelling and entertaining as those I enjoy reading. My favorites, Janet Evanovich, Lisa Scottoline, Sarah Strohmeyer, and even Sue Grafton have inspired me to continue writing and trying to make my characters as intriguing and engaging as those they present.

For writers, do you have a preference of genre? If so, which ones? And what led you to that preference? I am wondering if any others out there feel that it is important to be an avid reader of your genre in order to effectively write within it. Readers, feel free to add your two cents. Just a conversation starter on this dreary Tuesday morning.

Until next time...

Baby takes brain, film at eleven!

Amidst the cravings, the morning sickness and the mood swings, it occurred to me that I haven't been blogging much lately. I apologize to those of you who have missed my unbridled wit. All I can say is that I haven't had much brain power lately and I probably won't have anything terribly witty to say until I'm sure that the baby is healthy and that we are going to make it through until my due date in September. I'll do my best, but the most I can offer for now are my observations about this pregnancy as compared to my last:

I have noticed that the cravings this time are slightly more interesting than before. With my daughter, I craved apples and cheese, Stewarts Key Lime soda, and s'mores. This time, I'm craving pizza, angel food cake and Stewarts Orange. Bizarre, but it's better than pickles and ice cream.

It's been four years or so since I had my daughter and I'm starting to remember some of what scared me about this the first time around. The thought of having another c-section and going through the recovery has me a little tense. It wasn't all that easy before, but now that I'm older, I'm sure it will take a bit more of a toll on me. This is fine with me, though as long as the baby is healthy.

My four year old daughter is so anxious to meet her new little brother or sister that she asks me every day whether or not the baby is ready yet. She talks to my stomach and tells me that the baby is saying hello and that it loves me. I enjoy talking to my daughter about what is going on with the baby and explaining to her how she will need to be ready to be a big sister. She's even come up with a beautiful name for the baby if it's a girl. She wants to call her Angelica Bailey. Not bad!

My husband, who will be forty this year is also very excited at the prospect of a new baby. I think he really wanted a big family and the fact that we've had some problems with other pregnancies made us wonder if we would ever be able to have our 2.5 kids. With this new little one, we will have two kids and three Yorkies. That pretty much does it. Who could ask for more than that?

Well, I'll do my best to keep you updated as I go through the next two trimesters. Bear with me, I am so focused on trying to send good energy to the baby that I sometimes can't put together a thought outside of what's going on with the pregnancy. In the meantime, don't forget to check out the From the Shadows horror anthology available at Triad Publishing Group. My short horror story, Eleven is in there along with several other talented authors' works. In addition, if you enjoyed the contest I ran a month or so back, you can get the mini-mystery collection at my Lulu.com store. It's called, A Little Bit of Murder.

Until next time...

She's baaaack! And she's hoppin' mad!

Hello, all. Sorry I've been away for a while. I've been struggling with several things including a rather nasty bout with morning sickness. I simply haven't had access to my brain cells for the past few weeks. Thankfully, a glimmer of coherence has presented itself and I've decided to give blogging another shot.

Yes, you heard right. Although I didn't really want to say much about this until we're sure everything is ok, I'm expecting our second child in late September. We've had some problems in the past with miscarriages and so forth, so please keep us in your thoughts as we pray for a healthy baby to join us this fall.

Today, I have a few things to say about the election. Like everyone else, I was all geared up to get out and vote for my candidate, Hillary Clinton. I was extremely disgusted to find out that my registration, which I filled out sometime last year was never turned in to the Board of Elections. Unfortunately, I didn't find out about this until it was too late to do anything about it. And so, I couldn't vote today. Talk about pissed. I'm sure there was steam rolling out of my ears. In fact, there might still be a little puff coming out here and there.

This discovery led me to wonder how many others had the same problem. It almost has me a little paranoid. Did someone lose it on purpose? Was the booth I registered at plagued by crazy, little Republican trolls who sought out my registration form and tucked it away, never to be seen again by the BOE? Who knows? All I know is that I made it a point to register early so that I would be ready and here I sit unable to vote. This was a big day for women to get out there and make their statement. We need Hillary in the White House. She's been there before and if the truth is known, she's responsible for much of the good that came out of the Clinton administration. I'm a big fan of Bill Clinton, but we all know that behind every good man, there's an even better woman. ;)

Since I can't vote today, I figure the least I can do is to state my position here on the blog. Ladies, it's time to get Hillary back into the White House. We need this. Women have been taken for granted for too long and it is definitely our time to shine. We have a highly qualified, intelligent, motivated woman who can do this country some real good and we need to show her our support. I have filled out my new registration form and will be mailing it today. I will also be calling the BOE every month to make sure that they have me on the list. I'll not miss another opportunity to vote. I just hope that I'm voting for the first female president when I go. If you haven't already, get out and vote for Hillary. If not for yourself, do it for our daughters.

Until next time...

Valentine's Day gift ideas!

Once again, we're nearing one of my favorite holidays. Young couples will pretend to be more in love than they really are...new couples try to impress one another with cheesy gifts and romantic gestures...old couples will continue their traditions of doing whatever they have decided is the romantic thing to do. Valentine's Day is a full-blown holiday of denial. No matter how crappy your love life is, it can all be made better (at least for the day) with a crummy little heart-shaped card or a box of chocolates. Isn't it great?

This Valentine's Day, instead of going for the romantic stuff, I'm celebrating the release of From the Shadows, a horror anthology published by Triad Publishing Group which features my first short horror story, Eleven. I'm also happy to announce my first self-published project, A Little Bit of Murder: Short mysteries to confuse and amuse. It's a collection of the short mysteries that were part of BB's Mini-Mystery contest! You can get your copy here.

So, while everyone else is enjoying their cardboard box full of candy or admiring their bouquet of flowers, do something different. Buy yourself or someone you love a copy of From the Shadows or A Little Bit of Murder! Everyone loves a good story!

Until next time...