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By Anna Simpson
Well, first off thank you for letting me loose on your site. Very nice. Very nice indeed.
So you want to know how I do it. Come in. A little closer. Closer.
*looks around for eavesdroppers*
I put one word down. *clears her throat* Then I do it again.
Hey, put that water balloon down. Or better yet throw it at Stephanie. She’s the one that asked.
Enough fun. But I’m warning you some of this is a little dry.
I do a lot of planning. Try these questions on for size. What’s your genre? Got some character ideas? How many words do you want to write? After jotting down some answers, I cut the word count into four parts, using the Three Act Structure, and decide what is going to happen at the inciting incident, half-way point, the showdown.
Imagine your cast of characters. The louder, less organized and demanding the better. Have them all want to be the hero or villain. They all have agendas. Think cattle call on Broadway. So there will be fighting/upstaging until there are only two left standing. The hero will carry most of the load, so need to be as fleshed out as you can make them. The villain must be as smart and in-the-hero’s-face as possible without alienating your readers. Note: This part of the process can be a time suck.
Then write: Chapter One Scene One. Point in everyone in right direction and let your characters loose…
Okay now the rest is up to you. And remember if you give them weapons wear a helmet. Smile. :-)
Blurb:
Emma never dreamed of being a super-sleuth. In her mind, she’s more Scooby Doo than Nancy Drew and when her nosy neighbor, Mrs. Perkins, drags her to an anniversary party to solve a mystery, she rolls her eyes, buys a box of chocolates and hops in the car.
What’s a party without an attack on its host—or more accurately on the host’s grandson, sparking an allergic reaction and moving the party to the hospital waiting room. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect. Emma and Mrs. Perkins, along with Great Aunt Alice (a spirit with boundary issues who keeps stepping into Emma’s body like a new dress and playing matchmaker), dive into an investigation that almost gets Emma killed along with the man they are trying to protect. With so many reasons to kill him and so much to be gained if he died, Emma and Mrs. Perkins must unravel the tenuous ties that point to every member of his family as potential killers.
Even if it means going back to the psych ward, Emma will protect her friend and this innocent man. What good is freedom if it's haunted with guilt?
What’s a party without an attack on its host—or more accurately on the host’s grandson, sparking an allergic reaction and moving the party to the hospital waiting room. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect. Emma and Mrs. Perkins, along with Great Aunt Alice (a spirit with boundary issues who keeps stepping into Emma’s body like a new dress and playing matchmaker), dive into an investigation that almost gets Emma killed along with the man they are trying to protect. With so many reasons to kill him and so much to be gained if he died, Emma and Mrs. Perkins must unravel the tenuous ties that point to every member of his family as potential killers.
Even if it means going back to the psych ward, Emma will protect her friend and this innocent man. What good is freedom if it's haunted with guilt?
Bio:
Anna Simpson lives near the Canadian-US border with her family. Even though she's lived in several places in British Columbia, her free spirit wasn't able to settle down until she moved back to her hometown.
The woman is easy to find though, if you know the magic word -- emaginette. Do an internet search using it and you'll see what I mean. :-)
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