Developing a Plot by Paty Jager

bowls made by Paty

I've wrapped up another Shandra Higheagle mystery. Artful Murder will be available in March. The setting for the book came about on a subconscious thought that had my amateur sleuth Shandra Higheagle using the excuse of volunteering at a high school to get information on a suspect in the book Haunting Corpse. 

Artful Murder opens with her volunteering at the high school.

Deciding who would be murdered, I came up with a teacher no one liked. That gave me endless possibilities for suspects. I laid all of these possibilities out on my suspect chart and then started populating the school with teachers and drawing the layout of the school.

I discovered putting Shandra in a new location required more work than having her stay in Huckleberry.  But it was all fun.

Thinking up why the teacher would be disliked, I came up with a teacher from my past who, while not being as "slimy" as the teacher in my book, he gave me the creeps, but it was known throughout the high school that if you wore a dress and sat in the front row you received an A that day. I made my murder victim, more creepy and slimy than the one I encountered in school.

When I finished with the book, Warner High is not a place you would want to send your students due to misplaced principles of the principal, teachers who didn't push for change, and the lecherous art teacher.

I'm just glad Shandra volunteered at the school and helped to bring all the secrets and shadiness out in the open.  ;)

Here is the cover and blurb. The book will release next month. As always, there is the ongoing romance between Shandra and Detective Ryan Greer.

Book ten in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery Series

Secrets… Scandal… Murder…

An autistic boy and his brother need potter Shandra Higheagle’s help, or so she believes. One of the teachers at the school where Shandra volunteers is found dead after a confrontation with the older brother. Shandra knows the boy is innocent. Digging into the teacher’s life she and Ryan turn up scandal.

Detective Ryan Greer has believed in Shandra’s dreams in the past, but she can’t always be right. When his investigation uncovers a principal on the take, females being harassed, and parents kept in the dark, he discovers more suspects than the brothers. Shandra’s time at the school is coming to an end, and the killer has struck again.

 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 32 novels, 6 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. This is what Mysteries Etc says about her Shandra Higheagle mystery series: “Mystery, romance, small town, and Native American heritage combine to make a compelling read.”


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Position & Positioning

Position and Positioning

First of all, apologies to the Sherman Brothers for using their song title for a title, but it fits, if only in it’s surface.  The original song is in their 1976 Movie version of the Cinderella story and talks about class and rank in a feudal society…

But me?

Umm…

I’m going to talk about sex.   (Baby – seriously, they used to call me the human jukebox in college, I have a thing for song lyrics jumping into my head… sorry)

But seriously, I’m talking about sex in my books… and the positions that I choose for certain scenes and certain characters.

The default of course is the Missionary. 

Face to face, straightforward. And as ‘staid’ as the name suggests, probably the one I associate most with connection. Two people looking at each other as they share a physically intimate moment.

There is nothing wrong with this position in a story, but sometimes it doesn’t get the job done in certain scenes… at least not for my muse…

When I wrote Playing With Fire about Roman and Finley… they had some issues. (Don’t all romantic couples?) But Finley had this car, and she and Roman had their memories and their childhood friendship that had always been there. But, Finley also had issues. She had never felt comfortable connecting with anyone, except for Roman and that wasn’t something she wanted to ruin back in High School. She didn’t want to jeopardize the one relationship that meant the most to her in the world, so she kept her true feelings hidden… but now she’s back in town, and driving that silly little Gremlin car.

As things move along in the story, *cough* they’re out driving one night, an old scenic overlook abandoned over time draws them into their own little world. But what happens when they decide to see what it would have been like to ‘park’ back in the day. Instead of Roman’s old car, he’s managed to squish his 6 ft plus frame into her teeny Gremlin.

What do we do?

Well, research. No, really. Research.

The search – Sex Positions in a Car

Wow… apparently there are a LOT of on-line articles about sexual positions possible and/or recommended in cars. Some go into description of which positions for which models of cars and… AND…  at least one article I remember offered for suggestions of songs to play…

But I found what I was looking for, a way for Roman and Finley both have their fun… even a man who couldn’t possibly fit… in the car! 

That's what I meant... Fit in the car!

I wanted a way for them to share this intimate moment with each other, to feel a connection and for Finley to find some of the fire inside of her that she’d lost over the years.

So while it might not be a lesson in the Kama Sutra, it’s a little bit of insight into what goes through my head sometimes… it’s a crazy waiting room in there most days…

Playing With Fire - Roman & Finley Story

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Happy Planning Everything! By Carolyn Hector

Happy Almost Valentine's Day, y'all!

I recently did one of those FACEBOOK thins where it was like a magic 8-Ball that predicted my forecast for Valentine's Day. It said the person I love will forget it is Valentine's Day. And ya know what? It's probably true AND I'm not going to be mad or angry. We've been together lifetime... I know how he operates. He really doesn't need ONE day to prove. Althoughhhh... lol I wouldn't mind if  a plate of chicken wings arrived.

I'm over the flowers. I am not the one with the green thumb.


Don't get me wrong either. Just because I love and accept my DH ..doesn't mean I'm not trying to raise uber romantic-thoughtful young men.
Before the 4 nephews moved in, I was always active in making sure that my son does something for everyone in his class. He attended a small private school and we were able to still do something for the young ladies. Now he's in high school and he will probably roll his eyes if I suggest it.

My nephews on the other hand! Let's just say my oldest has learned that his Aunt Carolyn writes romances... so that means she knows how to create heroes women love. I once mentioned how women are not above objectifying men and pointed out the 1/2 naked men on romance covers. He started devoting himself to push-ups and crunches. lol

Speaking of funny cover.. Did I ever post a few of these?

 I am aware that my mentality can sometimes rival that of a 13-year-old teenager.


When you get a chance .. you have GOT to check out worldoflongmire.com

Back to what I was saying..... I feel like with raising 5 boys... I owe it to the world to create young gentlemen. My latest thing the 3 oldest are going to do is volunteer for this event around town. Night to Shine sponsors a prom for kids with special needs. My oldest is going to be a buddy and the 15 and 14 year old are going to volunteer to help. And the cool thing is... they don't mind helping!




So this goes along with my planning.
I plan on my kids coming out to be good humans (sometimes they are on the alien side).


I plan on my books being best sellers (Still waiting on that one). The last weekend in January I was able to spend time with a group of fabulous authors. I still can't believe they let me in!





Anyway.... I had... as we all ,.. ENVY... this time it was Planner Envy. Do you use a planner?


We're talking some serious organization! I wanted one. I got home and started filling my cart. I got to about $110 bucks in my car...because of course you need stickers and pens and extra stuff to help keep you organized. I am a copycat.. I will admit it! They are so cute.
So my daughter... and if y'all can remember.. she's the mature one.

But anyway... I have deadlines and goals. If I can reach my deadline at the given date... I can then treat myself

And get an original one along with stickers if I reach my other goals as well. I spent this weekend using binders, washi tape and all that to make my own generic binder.








I have days set aside for contracted work. My best story-ideas come when I'm in the middle of working on another project. And then my characters in the 1st book get all jealous of the ones I want to start writing. Or is that just me?

So... tell me again....do you plan?

Wish me luck! I PLAN on reaching these goals!


Alright... gotta run and do PTO... it's on the schedule.

In the meantime... Happy Black History Month! Check me out on Instagram 


xoxo
Carolyn

There's still time to order and read my latest tiara series....

Order here!

When the Villain Won't Cooperate @JacquieRogers #western #HeartsOfOwyhee #amwriting

Not "TheEnd." Yet.

by Jacquie Rogers

Good News: Caroline Clemmons finished Daniel McClintock and I'm bouncy-happy that I'll finally get to read that book!  You can read about her new release in her last SGRR post, Typing the End of the Book!
Bad News: My next book, Much Ado About Mail-Order Brides (Hearts of Owyhee #6), which was supposed to release this week, is only half done.

I know, I know--it's killin' me! 

But sometimes stories pour onto the page and sometimes it takes a jackhammer.  This one's taking a jackhammer.  But first it ran over me with a steamroller.  Even bruised and battered, I'm rethinking and finally this book is revealing itself to me.  If there's one trait that a writer absolutely must have, it's tenacity. 

That's a nice word for stubbornness.

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." 

Romeo and Juliette, Act II, Scene II

It all started when I realized that my villain's name didn't sound like a Manhattan dance teacher, so I found the perfect name for him.  But then that character absolutely refused to be a bad guy.  Maybe a medium bad guy, but not intentionally even at that. 

So then I needed a bad bad guy.  Really bad.  He barged in like nobody's business--he must've been waiting for his casting call all along.  This fellow is nasty baaad.  Perfect!

But...two villains?  That don't know each other?  Suddenly I have too many coincidences, and that's not good, either.

Ripple effect.

You'd think changing one character's name wouldn't be that big of a deal.  Just do a search and replace.  But it turns out that names are too powerful to be dealt with in such a flippant manner.  If they can be, then you have the wrong name for sure. 

The act of search and replace turns the ripple effect into a tsunami.

Now I have to go back through the entire first half of the book and find places where I can interject a little foreshadowing, plus both the bad guy and the bad bad guy need to have backstories and even more important--viable reasons for being in Silver City at the exact time the story is set, which is October, 1885.  This will affect at least six chapters and over a dozen scenes.  Some of them will have to be tossed and written anew.

I'm not a fan of rewriting.

But hey, I do feel great that I now know why writing the first half of this book has been a slog.  I feel energized!  My Muse has finally visited me, the story is unfolding, the characters are letting me in, and all that makes me a very happy gal.

So the book will be late, as will Honey Beaulieu #4, since I haven't even started on it yet.  Here it is, February 4, and I'm already two months behind on my publishing schedule.  LOL.  Maybe I should reassess, ya think?

Stay tuned for the new release announcement for Much Ado About Mail-Order Brides (Hearts of Owyhee #6) sometime in March--maybe even by my next schedule blog post!

Until then, happy reading and/or writing!

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Honey Beaulieu - Man Hunter series

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TYPING THE END OF THE BOOK!

The End

I don’t actually write those words at the conclusion of one of my books, but I definitely think them, followed by “Yay!” I recently completed DANIEL McCLINTOCK, book four of the McClintock series. (Which can be preordered at http://a.co/37QmqYD. Hint, hint) I am excited about this book and hope readers will be entertained and love Clara and Daniel as much as I do.

But that’s not The End. Now I dive into my next project. Or projects. At the end of 2017, I made a plan for 2018’s writing. Sticking to the plan is not always easy.

You see, writers hear voices in their head. This is not a bad thing—unless the voices tell us to go haywire and engage in violence. Fortunately for me (and those around me) the violence in my life is committed by the villain in my latest book. And, I get to make sure he pays for his crimes. Writing is the best job!

I suppose each profession or hobby is the same. As soon as one project is completed, up pops the next to consume our time and engage our creativity. Here I go, diving into a new trilogy. This one is a time travel series in which women from the past come forward to today.

In my opinion, coming forward is more of an adjustment than going back in time. To go back, you would retain the knowledge about that era. You could definitely cash in on stocks and real estate, right?

Imagine coming forward. Almost everything is new. I did this with OUT OF THE BLUE, available at http://a.co/7M8vrt6, in which the heroine was an Irish lass from 1845 . She helped a contemporary detective solve a series of murders. Writing that book was fun.

Whatever your passion, I hope you are able to engage in that activity this year. Be kind to yourself.

Caroline Clemmons is an award-winning and Amazon bestselling author. Find her books on her Amazon Author Page. Join her newsletter list for a free book, contests, and news of new releases.