KILLING YOUR DARLINGS: Guest Post by John Edward Mullen

JOHN EDWARD MULLEN: Killing Your Darlings
 

In writing classes and seminars, we are told to kill our darlings, to cut scenes that don’t advance the story. Of course, this, like all such absolute commandments, must bow to Rule One of Writing: Does It Work? 

Sometimes, it’s obvious that a scene doesn’t carry its weight. In my most recent novel, Nell: Marshal of Bodie, I wanted to bring a Paiute character, Little Thumb, into a scene to paint the way things were in the gold-mining town of Bodie, California, in 1892. But his presence didn’t advance the story, and so he was cut from that scene. In an unfinished novel, I have a scene where Dr. Watson, yes, that Dr. Watson, and his wife, visit Winston Churchill’s mother. An editor who reviewed the novel told me the scene wasn’t necessary, but the idea of cutting the scene grates on me. In that scene, readers get to see interactions between Watson and his wife that help shape their characterizations. That has value, even if the scene may not advance the mystery aspects of the story. I’m not sure if I am right and I should keep the scene, or if the editor is right and the scene should be cut. The result of my hesitation is that that novel is back in the drawer. 

As a result of these recent quandaries, I pondered what happens to banished characters who are like snippets of movie film left on the cutting room floor. Will I or another author pluck them up and use them in some new tale? Will they ever get to strut the stage, if only briefly? 

I am reminded of Arthur Conan Doyle’s preface to The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes. “[Holmes]…must go the way of all flesh, material or imaginary. One likes to think that there is some fantastic limbo for the children of imagination, some strange, impossible place where the beaux of Fielding may still make love to the belles of Richardson, where Scott’s heroes still may strut, Dickens’s delightful Cockneys still raise a laugh, and Thackeray’s worldlings continue to carry on their reprehensible careers. Perhaps in some humble corner of such a Valhalla, Sherlock and his Watson may for a time find a place..,” 

Indeed, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have found such a Valhalla. In the imaginings of authors such as Nicholas Meyer, Laurie R. King, Bonnie MacBird, and many others, the adventures of Holmes and Watson continue. My Paiute character, Little Thumb, may yet find a life in one of the sequels of my historical mystery. May it be so for all our darlings.

Have you agonized over cutting a character or a scene? How do you decide whether or not to kill one of your darlings?

***

John Edward Mullen is the author of the award-winning mystery, Digital Dick. His recent release, Nell: Marshal of Bodie, is set in a gold-mining town in 1892 California and is centered around an 18-year-old young woman with a wooden leg who becomes the town marshal in order to track down her father’s killers. Nell was selected as a finalist for the 2022 Claymore Award for Best Historical.

How A Rescue Dog Spawned a Character: Guest Post by Melinda Leigh

Melinda Leigh: 
How A Rescue Dog Spawned a Character

Readers who are familiar with my work know I usually include a dog in my books. Cross Her Heart introduces Ladybug, a chubby pointer mix my heroine is manipulated into adopting in order to help her overcome her fear of dogs. This entire character storyline grew from my adoption of the actual Ladybug.

We had lost our bulldog mix to a heart attack while I was finishing up the Morgan Dane series. Roxy had been treated for heartworm when she first came to live with us. Despite treatment, she likely had suffered permanent heart damage. We were all devastated, but our other dog, a spaniel/dachshund mix we adopted ten years earlier, was devastated at the loss of his companion. This proved to be a challenge. Bandit is um… feisty. Ironically, he does not get along well with other dogs, especially males. But he clearly needed another strong female in his life. So, the search began.

There were several candidates who didn’t make the cut. Bandit hated all of them. That’s hate with a capital H.

Then we found Ladybug at a local rescue. She had just finished her own heartworm treatment, which made me hesitate in setting up a meet. We’d just lost a dog to these terrible parasites. I didn’t know if I wanted to take that risk again. But most of the strays in the South seem to be afflicted, and ultimately, my husband and I decided we would give a home to dogs that needed one, and if she had health problems, we would deal with them.

We are so very glad we made that decision. The first time Ladybug and Bandit were introduced, he growled and snapped at her. She had zero reaction. Zero. She didn’t even seem to register that he’d been a jerk. She was pleasant and happy and completely unbothered by his bad attitude. She was also cool with screaming kids, skateboards, and bouncing basketballs. She wanted to make friends with every dog and person in the park. Her tail was docked, but she wagged her whole butt. Her disposition was so lovely, I knew we’d gotten very lucky. She was perfect!

We had several more meetings, just to make sure Bandit would accept her. Once we got her into our house, he bonded with her almost immediately. We all did. I am happy to report, more than a year later, that the dogs are the best of friends. They do everything together. Bandit has even grown calmer. Some of Ladybug’s chill has clearly rubbed off on the little maniac.

Having Ladybug in my life made me think about how unintimidating she is, despite being a rather large dog. She has a goofy expression and almost never barks. Because writers are weird, it was then that the opposite situation occurred to me, and the idea of a main character with a deep-seated fear of dogs was born. How much would a fear of dogs interfere with a police detective’s job? She would be forced to work with large, aggressive K-9s in a police department. She would run across dogs in both her personal and professional life.

I already had the basis of my character. Bree Taggert was the survivor of the murder-suicide of her parents. But Bree needed a more concrete challenge to overcome, something more than a terrible past, something that would carry over into her present and make her life difficult on a daily basis. So, I gave her a childhood mauling, a terrible mental and physical scar to go along with her fear. To complicate matters further, I gave her a former K-9 cop as a counterpart.

And I gave her Ladybug. You’ll have to read Cross Her Heart to see how this all works out.

***

Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker. After joining Romance Writers of America, she decided writing was more fun than analyzing financial statements. Melinda’s debut novel, She Can Run, was nominated for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers. She’s also garnered Golden Leaf and Silver Falchion Awards, along with two nominations for a RITA and three Daphne du Maurier Awards. Her other novels include She Can Tell, She Can Scream, She Can Hide, She Can Kill, Midnight Exposure, Midnight Sacrifice, Midnight Betrayal, Midnight Obsession, Hour of Need, Minutes to Kill, Seconds to Live, Say You’re Sorry, Her Last Goodbye, Bones Don’t Lie, What I’ve Done, Secrets Never Die, and Save Your Breath. She holds a second-degree black belt in Kenpo karate, has taught women’s self-defense, and lives in a messy house with her family and a small herd of rescue pets. For more information, visit www.melindaleigh.com.

Death in Focus: The Start of Something New: Guest Post by Anne Perry

ANNE PERRY:
Death in Focus: The Start of Something New

I have just started to write a new series. There are only so many days in a year, so why undertake something so risky by abandoning the old and trusted characters, settings and general format? For adventure, to leave the familiar before I grow tired of them, and so do others. For the fun of creating new characters with new relationships, challenges, strengths, and weaknesses. And even more appealing to me: to address other and different issues, perhaps even more relevant to today.

Where do I begin? With a subject I have wanted to address for about 9 years and has become more immediate through the time between. Setting? One that has fascinated me for a long time: the 1930s. Place? England and Western Europe. Situation? The rise of Hitler and Nazism. The issue? How did this happen then, and can it and will it happen again? How much are we responsible for what we see and do nothing about?

But of course it needs a specific plot, and that was far more difficult. I struggled with it for quite a long time. It must move swiftly and every change must be believable, all the way to a climax that satisfies. I made more than one false start. But I learned, went back and began again. Finally, I found the plot that was international in one thread and completely personal in another. And believable, because on the international level it actually happened.

Next, I needed characters. I always had the main ones: a young woman who had disgraced herself by falling in love inappropriately with someone who betrayed her. Who hasn’t done something like that? A thread that drew her inexorably into the plot, her danger, her resolve, and ultimately the courage and the intelligence to play the winning hand.

Then I needed to make her personal, not just a collection of characteristics. Absolutely vital, she must have passion, vulnerability, humor, and something that made her unique. And you have to identify with her sufficiently to like her. I never know whether I have got that or not. How much of myself do I put into her?

There must be other characters too of course. For a start there must be an individual villain whose point of view is understandable and believable. Weak villains ruin a story, like trying to run a race with a wooden leg. I changed him several times.

I gave my heroine a background and a family drawn in bits and pieces from my own family, with all their idiosyncrasies and crosscurrents of emotion. Consequently I loved and understood them all, or felt as if I did. They were all changed, of course, set back in time, altered in occupation. But the idiosyncrasies remained, the humour, the care. It was great fun and I think it worked. Settings! What a dream exclamation this is, where I can indulge all sorts of daydreams. I can use some of the most beautiful places. So I began in Amalfi, on the Italian coast a little ways south of Naples. You can visit any time of year. I chose May because of the world events, one of which was a turning point in my story.

From Amalfi, I moved by train. I love the 1930s trains, especially the Orient Express. But rather than the full journey, I only went from Naples to Rome and Milan, then most of the way to Paris. Anybody taking a trip on one of those gorgeous trains would mingle with glamorous and dangerous people, dressed in chic 1930s clothes, at a time when the world was still haunted by the terrible losses of World War I, and yet still dancing to fabulous music along the razor's edge between light and darkness, inching closer towards World War II.

Crisis number one. Train stations in the night. Violence and danger.

Crisis number two. Tragedy and an unexpected diversion to Berlin. As a writer, I wonder what big scenes I can place there. Which has a bigger impact: masses of people questioning a huge event or a pivotal change of direction? I think the latter. It’s equally important to have characters who grip the imagination with terror, admiration, love, grief…anything that changes the stakes and brings the reader major fear and even gut wrenching horror, because we know the terror and the violence that is to come.

Horror means different things to different people. One thing that has always haunted me is madness. I don't mean purely mental distress, but the realization that someone is unreachable by any sort of reason, pity, or other humanity. People you thought were basically more or less like you, but who you discovered that you have no meeting point whatsoever. Those people are more frightening than animals for the primary reason that you think they are human until you look in their eyes, and there is nothing looking back at you.

If you are going to frighten other people, first frighten yourself. I think of how the war ended and how it still haunts all of our imaginations.

I created a series of mounting tensions, physical danger, and a climax which resolves the whole story—I hope. I left a few threads that tie this book to the next one in the series, featuring the same characters that my heroine loves, fears, laughs with, and grieves for. Did I succeed? I don't know yet, but it stretched every writing muscle I have. I have written the second, and i'm thinking about the details of the third.

Did I enjoy it? Oh yes! I feel excited, renewed, and highly nervous, but not for a moment do I regret it. The possibilities are immense.

***

New York Times bestseller Anne Perry sheds light on the writer’s process as she dives into a brand new series featuring her first, most fearless heroine, Elena Standish.

How Honey Became a Character: Guest Post by L.C. Hayden

L.C. HAYDEN:
HOW HONEY BECAME A CHARACTER

In order to understand how Honey, the dog, came to be a character in my latest thriller When Memory Fails, one must first know a bit about the story’s basic plot.

Sandy Sechrest, her boyfriend Daniel, and retired Detective Harry Bronson head for Sechrest Falls, a ghost town in Colorado, which houses an alluring ledger that the three seek. The sole resident in this ghost town is a character simply known as The Hermit.

In order for this story to work, I knew that the Hermit needed to be a strong character, one that the readers would identify with. However, when I read the first draft of When Memory Fails, the Hermit was definitely not memorable. The story needed something that would give the Hermit a boost. I considered adding another character. I quickly eliminated that idea as it would only detract from the story.

What then? I thought and thought. Then it hit me.

The Hermit would have a dog. Yes, the right type of dog would be ideal.

Once I had decided this, my next step was to create such a dog. That meant first finding the right kind of breed. I felt overwhelmed when I realized that a lot of types of breeds exist, not to mention the sub-breeds. Which one should I choose? And how could I narrow this list down?

As I’m brooding over this, my dog, a Basenji named Honey, nudged me.

I looked at her.

She nudged me again. Feed me. 

“Later,” I told her. I wanted to finish my research.

She gently hit my hand with her nose. No, now.

I glared at her. She nudged me again. I sighed and stood up. “Okay, dog, you win.” I went to the kitchen and prepared her food. For any other dog, this would be the end of the task. But not for Honey. She insists on me being present when she eats. If I simply put her food down and walk away, she will follow me and not eat. She’d rather starve. Consequently, I crossed my arms and waited until she finished eating.

Once she did, I quickly headed for my computer to finish my work. Honey ran in front of me, blocking my way. I stopped and looked at her.

Aren’t you forgetting something? her eyes seemed to ask.

I gave myself a mental tap on my forehead. Oh, yeah. Her after-dinner treat: a dental chew stick we call Greenie. Thank God she is willing to eat this by herself without me being present. I gave it to her and made a mad dash for my computer.

Minutes later, she stood by me and yelped. Basenji’s don’t bark as their ancestors used to live with the Egyptian pharaohs in their castles. Therefore, the dogs were not allowed to bark. To guarantee that there would be no barking in the castle, the king ordered the dogs’ vocal chords removed. Through generations, this breed of dogs lost their ability to bark, but they are definitely not one-hundred percent quiet. They learned to yodel and make all kinds of other noises. Thus the reason Honey yelped instead of barked. I knew what she wanted. “Let me finish this first, and then we’ll take you for your walk,” I told her.

She let out another high pitch yelp.

I ignored her.

She yelped again.

I did my darnest to ignore her.

She yelped.

I stood up. “Okay, okay, you win. I get it. You want your walk now.”

Rich, my husband, put her harness on and the three of us went for the walk. Half-an-hour later, as we headed home, I treasured the idea that Honey likes to take a nap after her walk. Good. Finally, I’ll find the time to continue editing my novel.

We reached our house, and Rich said that he was a bit tired and was also going to take a nap. Great! A picture of a quiet house danced in my head. I could finally focus on my research.

That lasted a whole five minutes.

Honey let out a loud whining, not once, but a constant sound that sent a chill running down my back. I bolted out of my chair, nearly knocking it down, and ran down the hallway and into our bedroom.

Thankfully, being hard of hearing, my husband remained sound asleep. Honey stood beside the bed by his head, looking up at him, whining.

“Honey, what’s wrong? You’re going to wake Daddy up. Hush.” I pulled her toward me.

She worked her way free and resumed her stance by Rich’s head. Once again, she whined. I grabbed her again and the entire incident repeated itself.

In spite of my efforts to keep the dog quiet, my husband woke up. He opened his eyes and looked at her. “What’s wrong, Honey? You ate, you got your treat, and your walk. What do you want?”

Honey whined.

Rich sat up on the bed.

“Honey?”

She continued to whine.

“Do you want to play? Is that it?”

Her answer came in the form of another whine.

“Okay, okay. We’ll play.” Rich got up and reached for his shoes.

Soon as he was out of bed, the dog jumped up and occupied the same spot Rich had just vacated. She curled up and went to sleep.

Rich and I stood looking at her. She wanted his spot, and she got the spot.

I shook my head. “What a dog,” I told my husband.

Rich agreed.

I went back to work on my computer.

Now, let’s see, where was I? Oh yeah, I was about to decide on what kind of a breed the dog in my story should be. I considered the qualifications I needed for my fictional dog to have.

First of all, the dog shouldn’t be too big or too small. It had to be just the right size. An image of Honey popped in my head. I nodded. Yeah, a dog about her size would be ideal.

Second, I needed basically a quiet dog, like a Basenji. Same image popped up.

Honey. 

I needed a dog that had a cute personality.

Honey. 

I needed a dog that had a strong personality that always found a way to communicate with the humans in the story.

Honey. 

I shook off the images and began the research. I typed in on the Google bar dog breeds. I heard Honey gently snoring, happy that everything had gone according to her schedule.

Honey. 

I closed the search bar. I didn’t need to do any research. I had everything I needed here at home.

And that’s how Honey became a character in my book—and will continue to be a character in future Bronson books.

Honey. What a dog.

***
Read Honey’s first adventure in When Memory Fails at www.tinyurl.com/LCHaydenMemory  
L. C. Hayden's real name is Elsie Hayden. Hayden loves writing mysteries, inspirational books, and children's picture books, although she's written other genres. She is also a popular speaker who has done presentations all over the world. She currently has three mystery series going: the Harry Bronson, the Aimme Brent, and the Connie Weaver series. The books have been finalist for the Agatha Award, the Left Coast Crime Award, Best of the Best Award, and others. 

When Worlds Collide: Jonathan Stride, Meet Cab Bolton: Guest Post by Brian Freeman

BRIAN FREEMAN:
When Worlds Collide: Jonathan Stride, Meet Cab Bolton

Fans of my Florida detective Cab Bolton have been asking for some time when they would meet Cab again in one of my books. So when I wrote those words in my new thriller ALTER EGO – “Jonathan Stride, meet Cab Bolton” – I got a shiver of excitement down my back. Yes, ALTER EGO is not only the tenth novel to feature Duluth police lieutenant Jonathan Stride, it’s also the third novel to feature Cab Bolton.

Readers love the idea of fictional characters crossing over from one world into another. Agatha Christie reported that readers were always urging her to write a book where Hercule Poirot met Jane Marple. I noticed that as soon as Cab made his first appearance, readers at library events and book clubs began asking if Cab and Stride would ever come together.

But writers don’t necessarily share the enthusiasm that readers have for crossovers. (Christie said Poirot and Marple would have hated each other if they’d met.) Before starting ALTER EGO, I thought long and hard about the creative challenges of two of my series detectives meeting in one book.

The Series That Almost Wasn’t 

From 2005 to 2010, I wrote five novels featuring Jonathan Stride, starting with my Macavity-winning debut novel IMMORAL and continuing to THE BURYING PLACE, which was a finalist for Best Hardcover Novel in the ITW Thriller Awards. I felt like I’d put Stride through such hell over the course of five books that he needed a vacation.

So I wrote what I intended to be a stand-alone – one of my most popular books, a novel called THE BONE HOUSE. It was set both in Florida and in the remote Wisconsin region known as Door County. The heroes of the book were a married couple named Mark and Hillary Bradley, but the novel also introduced a supporting character – a quirky Florida detective named Cab Bolton. Cab was six-foot-six, with spiky blond hair and a wealthy Hollywood pedigree thanks to his actress mother. His ironic sense of humor made him a lot of fun to write.

I never intended this book to launch a Cab Bolton series, but I began getting notes from readers almost immediately after THE BONE HOUSE to ask when I’d be doing another Cab novel. And I admit, I liked the idea of writing another story featuring this distinctive hero. It took me a few years, but eventually, I released SEASON OF FEAR, set entirely in Florida, with Cab as the star.

Now I had two series, with Jonathan Stride and Cab Bolton.

The Pros and Cons of Crossovers

For writers, the advantage of multiple series is that it gives us the opportunity to go in new creative directions. Stride and Cab are so different as heroes that I can tell stories with one that I could never tell with the other. Cab is a more glamorous figure than Stride, and he travels in wealthier circles. His emotional baggage is very different. And he has a much more casual outlook on life than the intense, determined Lieutenant Stride.

Cab also gives me the opportunity to explore new settings. Most of my books have been set in the bitter winters of the Midwest, but Cab took me to the heat and storms of central Florida. And giving readers a “you are there” feel in my settings is a vital part of my thrillers.

However, the differences between the two series also argue against bringing the two characters together. If they are such different men, living in different worlds, you run the risk of having a crossover feel artificial. So when readers asked me about Stride meeting Cab, I usually responded – probably not. But I also knew that if there was one character who might somehow bring the two series together, it was Stride’s partner, my sexy, snarky Chinese detective, Maggie Bei. Maggie, I said, would get along just fine with Cab.

And that’s exactly what happened.

ALTER EGO 

The plot for ALTER EGO actually started in my mind as a novel for Cab. It features a Hollywood actor with a dark side, and given Cab’s Hollywood connections, it seemed like a natural book for him.

But as I thought about the next steps for Stride, I realized that I could do a lot with the idea of a Hollywood actor playing Stride in the movies (ahem, film agents). I turned this actor into Stride’s “alter ego,” and that’s how the dark plotline began to take shape.

However, Cab still lingered in my mind. If there were one book where the two heroes might meet, this was it. And I thought about Maggie acting as a creative bridge to bring Cab into Stride’s world.

So when a murder investigation takes Maggie to Florida, she finds herself talking to the detective who handled a case with ties to the crime in Duluth – in this case, a tall, glamorous man named Cab Bolton. Soon enough, Maggie and Cab are romantically involved – and they’re heading back to Minnesota for a rendezvous with Stride.

Never Say Never 

Stride and Cab have met now, and the dynamics of ALTER EGO advance the characters in both series in profound ways. After saying for years that I thought Stride and Cab would never get together, I’m glad they did. Their differences as men are actually what make ALTER EGO work.

Of course, now I have a third series for readers, too: my San Francisco-based series featuring Homicide Inspector Frost Easton that includes THE NIGHT BIRD and THE VOICE INSIDE (with the third book, THE CROOKED STREET, arriving next January). I know the questions I’m going to get.

Will Frost ever meet Stride?

Will Cab ever meet Frost?

Or will the three of them ever find themselves together in one book?

My first thought is to say – probably not. Then again, I’ve said that before, and look what happened in ALTER EGO. So I’ve learned to never say never.

Brian Freeman released two new thrillers in 2018, THE VOICE INSIDE (featuring Frost Easton) and ALTER EGO (featuring both Jonathan Stride and Cab Bolton). His stand-alone novel SPILLED BLOOD won the award for Best Hardcover Novel in the ITW Thriller Awards. Find out more about him and his books at bfreemanbooks.com.