Romantic Suspense: Sugar and Spice and Things Not So Nice

by Kassandra Lamb and Kirsten Weiss

Both of us have ventured a bit into the realm of romantic suspense lately. Since we already had romances as subplots in many of our mysteries, we thought it shouldn’t be that hard to make the romance a bit more central and call it romantic suspense.

It’s turned out to be a little more complicated than that. So we thought we’d explore for you, our readers, and also for ourselves, our motives and challenges as we’ve ventured into this cross-over genre.

The first of the Witches of Doyle In-Betweens, romantic suspense novellas “written” by Karin Bonheim, Kirsten’s fictional character.

So first up, Kirsten answering the question:

What motivated you to try your hand at romantic suspense?

Kirsten: Crass commercialism! But seriously, I’m in the Romance Writers of America and have been slowly improving my romance writing chops. So I thought I’d try my hand at some novellas, ostensibly written by Karin Bonheim, a character in my Witches of Doyle cozy mysteries.

Then of course, I had to go and complicate everything by adding in a second story about Karin, woven between the chapters…

Kass: I also have to admit to a monetary motive. Mystery is the second largest genre, but romance is number one, with many avid readers who devour several books a week. What I didn’t realize is that the readership of romantic suspense is a somewhat different group.

First story in Kass’s Unintended Consequences Romantic Suspense series.

But now I’m hooked, with multiple story ideas buzzing around in my head, so Jessica Dale (my romance-writing alter ego) will be continuing to produce romantic suspense stories for the foreseeable future.

What surprised you the most about this cross-over genre?

Kirsten: A lot of people sneer at romance, but writing good romance ain’t easy. I have huge respect for the romance writers I know. They tend to start their books from the perspective of emotion and character. As a mystery writer, who looks first at character and plot and then figures out the emotion later, this “emotion-based” approach has been a useful way of developing my plot outline.

Kass: I’ve never particularly cared for straight romance stories, because they all seem to follow the same formula. Girl meets boy, they are attracted to each other but there is tension between them—often due to some misunderstanding that seems a little artificial to me—the tension eventually reaches a climax (no pun intended), and boy and girl finally get together.

What I found pleasantly surprising when writing romantic suspense is that the conflict in the story doesn’t have to be BETWEEN the hero and heroine. The conflict can come from the mystery component. Something bad has happened and/or is going to happen, and the hero and heroine must work together to come through the other end intact.

Book 2 in the Unintended Consequences series.

Certainly the early stages of the relationship won’t be all sweetness and light, but the tension doesn’t have to be sustained or exaggerated in an unnatural way. The mystery component of the story provides plenty of tension and obstacles for them to overcome, and also opportunities to cement their love.

What have you found most challenging writing romantic suspense?

Kirsten: There’s a lot more romance to deal with! In my mysteries, the romances tend to be a slow burn. Especially in novella format, you have to get to it much more quickly, and still make it seem realistic. I hope I succeeded.

Kass: Having read some of “Karin’s” stories, I’d say you have, Kirsten!

My biggest challenge is similar. Pacing is always tough for me, especially at the beginning of a story when I’m setting things up. But in mysteries with a romantic subplot, one just has to set up the mystery initially. You can bring in the attraction between the hero and heroine later.

But in romantic suspense, you’ve got to get the hero and heroine feeling things toward and about each other more quickly. The sparks have to fly pretty early on. And yet not slow down the story and kill the suspense about the mystery component.

How do you maintain the balance between the romance and the mysterious elements? Do your stories lean more toward one or the other?

The 2nd Witches of Doyle In-Between

Kirsten: In the Witches of Doyle In-Betweens, the paranormal romances that “Karin” writes, romance and mystery are woven together, so I think those elements get fairly equal play. The hero and heroine generally start out with mutual suspicion battling mutual attraction, and then moving toward cooperation and mutual respect as they work together to stop the bad guy.

Because they’re working together to solve the crime, and when they’re apart, they’re thinking of each other (and the crime), there’s always some romantic tension on the page. Or at least, that’s what I try to create. But for me, mystery still comes first!

Kass: I’d say in terms of space on the page, the two components get equal time. The romance maybe a little more initially as the suspenseful events build up to a realization that something really bad is going on. Then as things start to break loose in the mystery component, it gets more page time, and the couple is mostly hanging on for dear life. But also the negative events are exposing flaws in each other and challenges between them.

The tricky part is trying to portray those quick flashes of insight and the fears that go along with them, without distracting from the build-up of the suspense toward the grand reveal.

Like Kirsten, I hope I’ve met that challenge well. And yes, if I have to choose, the mystery takes precedence.

How do you feel about romantic suspense? Who’s your favorite author in that genre?

And here’s Karin Bonheim’s *cough Kirsten’s * newest release:

lone wolf book cover

LONE WOLF, A Doyle Witch Supplement

A San Francisco homicide detective with a secret.

Christy Pavenic is a werewolf with the strength and speed to make it in her macho police precinct. But when her power takes a turn to the dark side, she fears she might be the killer responsible for a series of savage homicides she’s been called to investigate.

FBI agent Jason Shepherd is hard on the trail of a serial killer whose kills mimic animal attacks. A specialist in the paranormal, Jason hides a secret of his own—he can see the true nature of werewolves in their human form, and he’s certain one is at the bottom of the killings.

Battling both suspicion and attraction, the two must work together to solve the crime. Desire wars with distrust as they race to stop the killer before he strikes again.

A mystery within a mystery, Lone Wolf is novella three in the Doyle Witch supplements, and the sequel to Shaman’s Bane by fictional witch, Karin Bonheim.

And Karin has gone missing…

AMAZON NOOK iBOOKS KOBO

Kirsten Weiss worked for fourteen years in the fringes of the former USSR and deep in the Afghan war zone. Her experiences abroad gave her glimpses into the darker side of human nature but also sparked an interest in the effects of mysticism and mythology, and how both are woven into our daily lives. She is the author of the Riga Hayworth Metaphysical Detective urban fantasy/mystery series, the Sensibility Grey steampunk mysteries, the Rocky Bridges mysteries and the Witches of Doyle cozy mystery series.

Kassandra Lamb is a retired psychotherapist turned mystery writer. She is the author of the Kate Huntington psychological mysteries, set in her native Maryland, and the Marcia Banks and Buddy cozy mysteries, set in Central Florida.

We blog here at misterio press about twice a month, usually on Tuesdays. Sometimes we talk about serious topics, and sometimes we just have some fun.

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A Few Quick Goodies on Our “Off” Week

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by Kassandra Lamb

Marcia Banks and Buddy paperbacks

First, did you know yesterday was Paperback Book Day? I was trying to get Patches In the Rye‘s paperback out in time for this auspicious day, but glitches happened.

Second, Kirsten Weiss had what I think is a very clever idea. She has a fictional character, one of the Bonheim Witches of Doyle triplets, who is a romance writer.

So she’s publishing in-between novellas in her Doyle Witches’s series that are romantic suspense novellas “written” by her fictional character, Karin Bonheim.

Isn’t that cool!

On Saturday, she released the 3rd novella is this In-Betweens series. Check it out below!

And also please stop back next week when Kirsten and I will both talk about our reasons for and adventures with dabbling in romantic suspense.

And the third goodie for today is a review of my newest release, Patches In The Rye, by Barb Taub. And a bonus feature is Barb’s delightful humor. Check it out HERE.

lone wolf book cover

LONE WOLF, A Witches of Doyle In-Between #3

A San Francisco homicide detective with a secret.

Battling both suspicion and attraction, the two must work together to solve the crime. Desire wars with distrust as they race to stop the killer before he strikes again.

A mystery within a mystery, Lone Wolf is novella three in the Doyle Witch supplements, and the sequel to Shaman’s Bane by fictional witch, Karin Bonheim.

And Karin has gone missing…

AMAZON NOOK iBOOKS KOBO

We blog here at misterio press about twice a month, usually on Tuesdays. Sometimes we talk about serious topics, and sometimes we just have some fun.

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How Do You Feel About Controversy? (And a New Release)

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by Kassandra Lamb

Nyalas literally locking horns Some people don’t mind controversy; a few even thrive on it.

And with social media, these two groups seem to have found their voices more and more lately.

A friend of mine loves political debates online. She finds them stimulating.

But I’m in the group that pretty much hates controversy. I sit on my hands at least once a day, resisting the temptation to get into it with someone on Facebook or Twitter. It just isn’t worth the stress.

Zero Hero book cover In my Kate Huntington mysteries, I have often touched on somewhat controversial social issues. I’ve been fortunate that they have been well received.

I really enjoyed writing those books, but more recently I’ve been having fun with a lighter cozy mystery series about a service dog trainer.

I thought I had left the somewhat darker topics behind. My muse, however, had a different idea. She spun out a story in my head that involves two less than likeable members of groups that normally inspire high levels of sympathy in people.

In my new release, launching today (Yay!!), I have a crabby paraplegic veteran, who has an unhealthy obsession with his sister’s love life, and a brash, hard-to-like sexual assault survivor.

My main character, Marcia Banks, doesn’t particularly care for either of these people when she first meets them. And she feels guilty about that. How can you dislike a veteran in a wheelchair? she asks herself.

But the reality is that people in most groups come in all sizes, shapes, and personality types. Some of them aren’t going to be likeable. And my early readers have told me that I have handled these delicate topics well. I appreciate that reassuring feedback.

Nonetheless, I’m feeling a bit of trepidation as this book releases. I know I will get blow-back from some folks. I hope it doesn’t get too nasty.

Because there’s a lot of good, fun stuff in this book as well, as Marcia gets herself in a few scrapes that have her detective boyfriend tearing his hair out. And there are, of course, cute dogs and some humor, and horses. And a couple of romances…

So I do hope you will check it out!

How do you feel about controversy? Do you hate it like me, or does it get your juices flowing like it does for my friend?

Patches in the Rye cover

Patches in the Rye, A Marcia Banks and Buddy Mystery, Book 5

Nothing about her new client is what service dog trainer Marcia Banks expected—from the posh house that says family money to his paranoid preoccupation with his sister’s love life—but when he dangles a thousand-dollar retainer under her nose, she can’t resist playing private detective.

In between training sessions, Marcia digs into the sister’s boyfriend’s sketchy past. But the deeper she digs, the more questions arise. How is a disastrous fraternity party five years ago linked to blackmail, prostitutes, and murder today? And who’s driving the black SUV that keeps trying to turn Marcia and her dog Buddy into roadkill?

She can’t let it go, not when there are innocents at risk who are depending on her to find the truth. But the deepest, darkest truth is the one she wishes she never uncovered.

Just $0.99 for a limited time on AMAZON US AMAZON UK AMAZON CA AMAZON AUS NOOK APPLE KOBO

Posted by Kassandra Lamb. Kass is a retired psychotherapist turned mystery writer. She is the author of the Kate Huntington psychological mysteries, set in her native Maryland, and the Marcia Banks and Buddy cozy mysteries, set in Central Florida.

We blog here at misterio press about twice a month, usually on Tuesdays. Sometimes we talk about serious topics, and sometimes we just have some fun.

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A Crime Writers Interview: Mary Feliz

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Crime Writers logo

We are very pleased to bring you another crime writers interview, this time with Mary Feliz, who writes the Maggie McDonald Mysteries featuring a Silicon Valley professional organizer and her sidekick golden retriever.

Mary Feliz

Mary has led an interesting life. She’s worked for Fortune 500 firms and mom and pop enterprises, competed in whale boat races and done synchronized swimming.

She attends organizing conferences in her character’s stead, but Maggie’s skills leave her in the dust. Address to Die For, the first book in her series, was named a Best Book of 2017 by Kirkus Reviews.

Kass Lamb (on behalf of misterio press): To start things off, tell us one or two interesting things that will help folks understand who you are and why you write what you do?

Mary Feliz: When I started writing these books, which are set in Silicon Valley, I’d lived there for more than 30 years. I felt the image portrayed by Hollywood and TV focused only on the mega-rich.

The area boasts an extraordinarily diverse population representing all 50 states and all corners of the globe. All major religions have a visible presence, along with those who follow a number of less-well known spiritual paths.

I’ve tried to give readers of the Maggie McDonald Mysteries a feel for what it can be like to be a thread in such a rich tapestry.

Mary’s 1st book, which Kirkus named a Best Book of 2017.

Kass: Why crime fiction? What is the appeal of mysteries for you, rather than say romance or science fiction?

Mary: Crime Fiction is based on the age-old battle between good and evil. In the fantasy world of cozy mysteries, ordinary people win and justice is always restored. That doesn’t always happen in the real world, but we all need to escape reality from time to time.

Kass: What type, i.e. subgenre, of mysteries do you write?

Mary: My books are marketed as cozy mysteries and follow the dictates of the genre regarding no swearing, overt violence, or sex. But I think my characters might be more comfortable being considered the cast of a traditional mystery, in which small groups of clever friends and strangers combine forces to bring bad guys to justice and restore the community to an even keel.

Kass: What was your favorite book/author as a child? Why was it your favorite?

Mary: I loved Meg in A Wrinkle in Time, along with her mother’s lab and the family kitchen. I liked that the characters were unabashedly smart. Meg and her little brother Charles Wallace had trouble fitting in at school, but they were able to use their intelligence and their quirks to save their family and the world. And in the end, good wins out over evil.

I also gobbled up every Madeline L’Engle book I could find and loved them all.

We never know who will pop by for a visit at our home on Monterey Bay. In this case, it was a snowy egret.

Kass: Where are you in your writing career? And what’s next?

Mary: I’m writing the sixth and, for now, final book in the Maggie McDonald Series, and working on a new series that will take place on Monterey Bay, a National Marine Sanctuary often referred to as the Serengeti of the Sea due to its diverse and abundant wildlife.

Kass: What was the oddest thing you’ve ever had to research?

Mary: For Disorderly Conduct, I had to thoroughly research the social, economic, and devastating ecological problems associated with the South American drug cartels growing marijuana on state and federal lands. It was fascinating, but I’d hate to have anyone judge me by my search history.

Kass: Ha, I hear that! My search history’s pretty scary as well. Thanks so much for joining us today, Mary, and please stick around for a little bit in case any of our readers have questions for you in the comments.

And folks, be sure to check out Mary’s new release, Book #4, in her Maggie McDonald series, Disorderly Conduct. You can connect with Mary at her website, on Facebook or on Twitter @maryfelizauthor

Disorderly Conduct cover

Professional organizer Maggie McDonald manages to balance a fastidious career with friends, family, and a spunky Golden Retriever. But add a fiery murder mystery to the mix, and Maggie wonders if she’s finally found a mess even she can’t tidy up . . .

With a devastating wildfire spreading to Silicon Valley, Maggie preps her family for a rapid evacuation. The heat rises when firefighters discover the body of her best friend Tess Olmos’s athletic husband—whose untimely death was anything but accidental. And as Tess agonizes over the whereabouts of her spouse’s drop-dead gorgeous running mate, she becomes the prime suspect in what’s shaping up to become a double murder case. Determined to set the record straight, Maggie sorts through clues in an investigation more dangerous than the flames approaching her home. But when her own loved ones are threatened, can she catch the meticulous killer before everything falls apart?

Available now on AMAZON NOOK KOBO

We blog here at misterio press about twice a month, usually on Tuesdays. Sometimes we talk about serious topics, and sometimes we just have some fun.

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Where our research takes us, and a new release!

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by K.B. Owen

I hope everyone in the northern hemisphere is enjoying the summer season! For your leisure reading enjoyment–whether it’s the beach, pool, back porch, or a comfy chair in an air-conditioned room…the next Penelope Hamilton adventure is ready for you! Yes, our lady Pinkerton is at it again, facing her toughest assignment yet, in The Case of the Runaway Girl:

Lady detective Penelope Hamilton must navigate a labyrinth of 1880s politics, high society, and murder.

On a January night in 1887, trouble comes knocking at Pinkerton detective Penelope Hamilton’s door in the form of a sulky young runaway. The girl turns out to be the grandniece of an influential senator, who hires Pen to escort her and her friend from Chicago to his Washington, DC home.

What seems a simple assignment takes an alarming turn when a hired thug shadows them on the train, and Pen stays on the case in Washington for the girls’ safety. But in the days that follow, the senator’s home is broken into, his driver goes missing, and she is pursued along dark city streets and nearly captured. Obviously, Miss Hamilton is thwarting someone’s plans, and such an encumbrance must be removed.

In a search for answers to keep herself and her young charges safe, Pen must tread carefully within the confines of 1880s back-room politics and business tycoons with a lot to lose, while resisting the attentions of an attractive but not-quite-reformed jewel thief who knows far too much about her.

She’ll need more than her lockpicks and derringer this time, if she is to save them all.

THE CASE OF THE RUNAWAY GIRL is the third adventure in the CHRONICLES OF A LADY DETECTIVE series featuring 1880s Pinkerton detective Penelope Hamilton.

Available now as a $2.99 ebook! Kindle, iTunes, Nook, and Kobo.

The Research

As with all of my books, the writing of this story required extensive research (but it’s fun!), specifically into 1880s Washington DC, the workings of the Senate, and the details surrounding the passage of a key piece of legislation at the time. I found all sorts of intriguing details….

Read the rest here, at K.B. Owen Mysteries.

Posted by Kathy Owen (aka K.B. Owen).

K.B. Owen signing books at Prospero’s Books (Manassas, VA)

K.B. Owen taught college English for nearly two decades at universities in Connecticut and Washington, DC, and holds a doctorate in 19th century British literature.

A mystery lover ever since she can remember, she drew upon her teaching experiences in creating her amateur sleuth, Professor Concordia Wells…and from that series came lady Pinkerton Penelope Hamilton.

There are now six books in the Concordia Wells mystery series thus far, and three novellas in the Penelope Hamilton series.

We blog here at misterio press twice a month (sometimes more often), usually on Tuesdays. Sometimes we talk about serious topics, and sometimes we just have some fun.

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Posting On Thursday This Week

Happy Independence Day!

A Cool Infographic from Kirsten Weiss (and a new release!)

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Kirsten Weiss is one of our more prolific authors and has several series going. Three of them are intertwined in that they are all set, more or less, in the same world—the fictional town of Doyle.

One of these, The Doyle Witch Supplements, are romantic suspense stories “written” by one of the main characters in the Witches of Doyle series, Karin Bonheim. (Isn’t that an awesome idea?)

Karin/Kirsten has a new release coming up in two days, Shaman’s Bane. Scroll down to check it out! Available for preorder now.

And to help readers keep the characters straight, she made a cool infographic. So for Witches of Doyle fans (or graphics geeks who just like infographics), ta da…

characters in the World of Doyle

shaman's bane cover

And here is Shaman’s Bane, Book 2 in the Shamans and Shifters series

Katherine never expected to become a shaman for a pack of werewolves, but when she needed a place to shelter for a while, it seemed her best option. But now the pack leader who recruited her has been murdered and every alpha in the pack wants her to pick his replacement yesterday. To top it all off, she desperately wants to give in to her desire to have scorching sex with Dean, the late leader’s son and her boss. Nope, nothing complicated here…

The only thing Dean wants more than finding his father’s killer is to make love to Katherine. In a tree, on the beach, bent over his desk at the bar where they work. But she’s holding something important back, even as their lives—and the pack—are threatened by the murderer.

Reader Advisory: This story has graphic sexual language and scenes—no closed bedroom doors (or other rooms) here!

Currently available for preorder on AMAZON, Kobo, B&N, and iBooks

Karin Bonheim is a fictional romance writer and witch who inhabits the world of Kirsten Weiss’s Doyle Witch Cozy mystery series: Bound, Ground, Down, and Spirit on Fire.

Kirsten Weiss headshot

Kirsten Weiss is the author of the Riga Hayworth paranormal mystery series: The Metaphysical Detective, The Alchemical Detective, and The Shamanic Detective. Kirsten worked overseas for nearly fourteen years, in the fringes of the former USSR and deep in the Afghan war zone. Her experiences abroad not only gave her glimpses into the darker side of human nature, but also sparked an interest in the effects of mysticism and mythology, and how both are woven into our daily lives. Now based in San Mateo, CA, she writes paranormal mysteries, blending her experiences and imagination to create a vivid world of magic and mayhem. Kirsten has never met a dessert she didn’t like, and her guilty pleasures are watching Ghost Whisperer reruns and drinking good wine.

We blog here at misterio press about twice a month, usually on Tuesdays. Sometimes we talk about serious topics, and sometimes we just have some fun.

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Going Short

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by Vinnie Hansen

Circa 1979? Golden Gate Park.

Way back, when I was in the graduate writing program at San Francisco State, I had short stories published in the campus literary magazines every semester. This instilled confidence in my writing, but also inflated my ego. I launched into the world thinking I might set the literary world on fire. Instead, after a few years, I realized I needed to eat and went back to school for a teaching credential.

While I still aspired to write books, short stories buoyed me during my teaching career. I could squeeze these manageable bits into my holidays and summers. The manuscripts found homes, won contests, and kept my writing dream alive.

Short stories even have their own OPI nail polish. This color is called Short Story. 🙂

But I didn’t stop longing to write books and eventually hit on my Carol Sabala mystery series.

This year, after writing seven books in the series, as well as a stand-alone novel, I find myself back, full circle, concentrating on shorter works. I enjoy being able to envision the whole arc of the story from the get-go, certainly not something that happens for me with a 300-page manuscript. I like the time to fuss at the sentence level, weighing each word.

Last August, I added a novella prequel to my Carol Sabala series, which became one of the works in SLEUTHING WOMEN II: 10 MYSTERY NOVELLAS. It may have been at this point that I began seriously to contemplate the other advantages of going short.

While short fiction may mean fewer readers, it means more cohorts. In SLEUTHING WOMEN II, I rubbed shoulders with 10 other authors (one of the authors being a team)—meaning ten others to help market the product. We pooled our resources to buy advertising and took turns posting on blog tours. We amplified one another’s voices. Our e-anthology sells for only $.99, but I’ve been making money, and remember, that’s splitting the profit with 10 others.

Working collaboratively also creates connections and friendships. This year I headed off to Left Coast Crime in Reno armed with the cell number of the Guest of Honor, Naomi Hirahara. This only came about because we are both in Akashic Books’ SANTA CRUZ NOIR.

Clowning with Peggy Townsend and Naomi Hirahara. We all have stories in SANTA CRUZ NOIR.

Because Akashic Books’ Noir Series is world famous, encompassing over 80 titles from BALTIMORE NOIR to ZAGREB NOIR, their $200 payment for my story “Miscalculation,” qualified me to become an active member of Mystery Writers of America as did the earnings on the Sleuthing Women e-anthologies. This is not a benchmark I’d reached with my individual book-length works. To consider the financial reward of short fiction, for one flash-fiction piece (200 words), I garnered the Golden Donut Award, which came with free registration to the Writers’ Police Academy. The registration is currently a $425 value. That’s over $2.00 a word remuneration. Think about that in terms of a full-length book of 60,000 to 80,000 words!

As part of a well-established brand, SANTA CRUZ NOIR

received reviews in Publishers’ Weekly and Kirkus. In Kirkus Review, I received my own little paragraph: Though many of these stories are more interested in evoking a voice or mood than pursuing a plot to its conclusion, Vinnie Hansen’s “Miscalculation” provides a textbook example of how many twists can fit into the simple tale of a bank teller’s adventures with the Guitar Case Bandit.

Short stories also seem like the most probable way for me to be considered for an award. Edgars, for example, are awarded for short stories. Stories in collections like SANTA CRUZ NOIR, or the upcoming Sisters in Crime Guppies’ anthology, FISHY BUSINESS, (to which I’ve had my story “Room and Board” accepted), can be put before the Edgar Committee. Once an author wins an Edgar, he/she does not have to qualify that the award was for short story. One’s info can simply say, “Edgar Award winning author.”

Finally, short works are a way to keep my name in front of readers. I’m an incredibly slow writer. It takes me a couple of years to turn out a book-length manuscript. But between books I can announce other publications. My last book, my novel LOSTART STREET, was published in May, 2017, and I don’t see another book release until summer 2019. However, in the meantime, my novella SMOKED MEAT came out in August, 2017, my story in SANTA CRUZ NOIR released in June, 2018. Another story will come out in a local anthology titled SANTA CRUZ WEIRD in August, 2018. FISHY BUSINESS will reach the copy-editing stage about October, 2018, and I just learned that my story “Last Word” will be in FAULT LINES, the NorCal Sisters in Crime anthology. These stories fill the breech until my next book-length work.

Going short assists my going long.

How do you feel, as a reader and/or writer, about short stories and novellas?

Vinnie Hansen fled the howling winds of South Dakota and headed for the California coast the day after high school graduation. She’s now the author of numerous short stories, the Carol Sabala mystery series, and LOSTART STREET, a cross-genre novel of mystery, murder, and moonbeams. Still sane(ish) after 27 years of teaching high school English, Vinnie has retired. She plays keyboards with ukulele bands in Santa Cruz, California, where she lives with her husband and the requisite cat.

We blog here at misterio press about twice a month, usually on Tuesdays. Sometimes we talk about serious topics, and sometimes we just have some fun.

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The Murky Middle

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On our “off” week, something interesting for the writers among our followers…

But readers, you may be curious about this too. Do you ever feel like a book slooows down some in the middle and gets a bit draggy.

It’s not your imagination. The middle of a story is the hardest part to write. The writer has to give all the details that will allow the story to unfold and make sense as it moves toward the climax, but also keep the pace consistent with the rest of the book.

Not an easy task. Indeed, the murky middle is the bane of our existence. Here are some tips for writers from Joanne Guidoccio on ways to deal with it.

On Navigating the Murky Middle by Joanne Guidoccio

Joanne Guidoccio

(Note: when you click the link above, you have to scroll down some to see the post)

I love beginnings—in life and on the page. Anything and everything is possible whenever a blank slate appears before me. That momentum can last for days, weeks, months, and sometimes even longer.

At least, that’s what I like to think whenever I begin a new writing project.

A linear pantser, I write brief character sketches, plot the first three chapters and the last, and then let the words flow. At some point, usually around Page 80, I encounter the murky middle, that nebulous place where I find it difficult to continue or sustain the tension of the novel. In short, I’m lost with no clear trail or direction in sight.

In the early days of my writing career, I struggled to regain my motivation, wondering if I should abandon the novel. Thankfully, I have discovered three strategies that have lifted me out of the abyss. READ MORE…

(Note: when you click the link above, you have to scroll down some to see the post)

We blog here at misterio press about twice a month, usually on Tuesdays. Sometimes we talk about serious topics, and sometimes we just have some fun.

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