The Water Master

Here’s what Amazon says about Betsy Dickinson‘s new book, The Water Master, released February 15, 2016: A tale of murder, deception, survival and redemption. Susan Bradley, searching for spiritual renewal, falls in love with the spellbinding Jay Glasser—her Wiccan High Priest and mentor. After a whirlwind courtship and marriage in Illinois, she and Jay move to the desert Northwest community of Pasco, Washington. Their creepy and obnoxious landlord, Charlie Gottschalk, brags about being the local… Read More

Chasing Glory

DeeAnn Galbraith has released her newest book, Chasing Glory! Tal Kingston, an R&D genius who’s built a successful gourmet food company, wants to get married. He’s got a spreadsheet that covers all his requirements, but needs help executing his plan. Tal hires executive assistant Glory Danvers to help him put his best foot forward. His spreadsheet goes out the window. His company’s reputation is threatened when he learns his products are being… Read More

Mystery Story Structure, by Maureen McQuerry, based on Hallie Ephron

MYSTERY STRUCTURE — HALLIE EPHRON  ACT I ACT II ACT III Introduction of the crime (mystery) and the sleuth Direct the investigation toward a conclusion which later proves to be erroneous.Change of focus and scope of the investigation. This is the pivotal point in the story where it become evident that the sleuth was on the wrong track. Something unexpected occurs, such as the appearance of a second body, the death of… Read More

Plotting the Mystery Novel, from ticket2write

From: http://ticket2write.tripod.com/id28.html The classic mystery is popular fiction which follows a specific formula. Clever writers may try to change the formula, but the most clever will cling to it for a very good reason. They work within the bounds of the formula because it works! The following outline serves the modern mystery novel, as defined by editors and publishers. A typical story will contain 60,000 to 65,000 words (205 manuscript pages) and… Read More