For mysteries, however, it crucial to plan out the crime and the clues. I figure out who gets murdered then develop a roster of suspects and motives.
'Butt in chair.' In other words, show up to write and treat it like a real job, not just a hobby. My mother used to repeat that quote that 90% of success is just showing up, and that’s very true when it comes to writing.
I received a copy of *Frenchman’s Creek*, by Daphne du Maurier, for Christmas, when I was eighteen years old.
Out of all the gifts I’ve received throughout life I always love the bookish ones. The most memorable of the book-related gifts I’ve been given was Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone.
Books given as gifts do so much more than just tell a story. They hold memories.
The activities in the book, which included writing a personal mission statement, led to major life changes including a new job, moving to a new state, an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction, and a career as a published mystery writer.
Our reading tastes change and evolve and I don’t want to lose the magic of getting lost in its pages many years ago. But, the book also sits front and center as a reminder that the best gifts come from the heart.
It’s that vividness that inspired me to create my own stories, first as a child, making them up in my head before I fell asleep at night, and later, as an adult, writing romances.
Even in this age of internet recipes, I still use my copy of THE JOY OF COOKING and wouldn’t dream of parting with it, despite the stained cover and pages, the broken spine, and the place-marker ribbons worn to shreds.
It’s obvious from the first page that MURDERESS INK was written by someone who savored a murder a day, in the privacy of heR reading chair.
When you receive a book as a gift, it’s unlike any other present.
