Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

My guess is that every author has been asked that question many times. And I would suspect that most of them have more ideas than they'll ever have time to develop into a story or book.

Sometimes something that happens in life will trigger an idea for a story. That has happened to me more than once. I used a murder that actually happened in our area for three different books. The female owner of a mountain lodge was murdered in one of the cabins while asleep in bed with her Indian employee. (The handsome employee lived though he was shot too.) Her husband was in the southern part of the state tending to his automobile sales business giving him an airtight alibi. As the years passed, the man hired to do the murder decided to blackmail the husband and got killed for his trouble. That's when the husband was found out and arrested for the murder of his wife.

I used the murder of the owner of an inn, rather than a lodge, for my firs Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, Deadly Trail. The story wasn't much like what actually happened, the murder victim was the male owner of the Inn, not female, and he wasn't killed in bed, but that real murder is what triggered the idea.

For another mystery in the Crabtree series, Intervention, I used the lodge in the real murder as the setting for a completely different story.

And once again, in a later Crabtree tale, Kindred Spirits, I lifted some aspects of that first real murder.

I like to save newspaper articles of interesting crimes and murders too. The story I write won't be exactly like the real happening, but often will give me a jumping off point for a plot of my own.

We recently had two deaths in our community that are far too coincidental. Female friends were found dead in their homes within hours of each other. No autopsies were done. One lady had no family at all and the other's family didn't acknowledge her until after her death. Of course I will work that into one of my mysteries.

And my latest book, Lingering Spirit, a romance with a touch of the supernatural, was inspired by a tragedy in my own family when my son-in-law was killed in the line of duty. I must add that it was only the inspiration, what happened after that is fiction.

You can learn more about any of these books on my website http://fictionforyou.com

What about you? Where do your ideas come from?

Marilyn

Me? A Marketing Role Model? You Gotta Be Kidding!

Recently, on one of the many social blogs I’m a part of–can’t tell you how many because I can’t keep track of them all–someone commented on one of my tales that I was a role model for marketing.

That was surprising. I do a lot of marketing or promotion, but I certainly don’t feel like a role model of any kind. What I’d written about was some interesting things that had happened recently. While I was at the antique store doing an all day book appearance, a young woman reporter (a June graduate from high school) came to interview me for the newspaper. She was cute as she could be and asked me several questions, disappeared for awhile, then came back to ask me a few more. Monday morning her article was on the front page of the paper. It was about all the things that were going on in town that Saturday. The paragraphs about me were on the second page. She did a great job and I suspect she’d go far in the journalism business.

Monday, hubby and I played hooky and went to the movies. When we got home there was a message on the answering machine from another reporter (males this time) who wanted to know if I’d be interested in being interviewed for a feature on local writers. When I finally managed to reach him, we set a time when he’d call. He called on time, but said he’d have to call later as there’d been a huge pile-up on the main highway due to fog and he had to cover it.

That’s neither here nor there, my point was that I wondered if maybe I was finally getting some name-recognition even if it is localized.

One thing I’ve learned though, about events of any kind if you can be friendly, chat with folks like you know them (sometimes I do and just didn’t remember), answer all their questions, be sure to know where the bathroom is because that will be one of the questions, and after you’ve spent a little time talking to you, they most likely will purchase one of your books. Always ask the spelling of a name if they want it personalized–people do spell names all sorts of unusual ways–and if you think you know them but just don’t remember for sure, it’ll save some embarrassment.

When I’m having an event in a town, besides putting it on my email groups and anywhere else that lists events, I also mail or email invitations to people I know who live near the venue. That worked well for my event in the back room of the antique store. I also served cookies and hot cider, so that tended to make people sit down and visit for awhile.

I’ll be doing the same thing for two days at the Art Gallery in the next town, only this time I’ll be with a lot of artists selling their wares and crafts. And yes, I am bringing more cookies–as I think everyone else is doing. If nothing else, we’ll have a great time munching out.

Once I’m through with this, I’ll be able to relax and prepare for Christmas. (Oh yeah, that means finishing wrapping presents and preparing dinner for Christmas Eve and Day celebrations.)

And then there’s the New Year. My promotion for Kindred Spirits will be winding down, but folks, I’ll have a new Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel coming from Oak Tree Press, NoSanctuary–and I need to start gearing up for that one. Oh my!

We’ll see just how much of a marketing role model I’m going to be then.

Take time out to enjoy the holidays with your friends and family.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

What's A Sweet Old Lady Like you Doing Writing Mysteries?

Actually no one has ever quite worded the question in that manner, but I do get similar questions all the time.

Saturday, I had a table at a Book Festival in Bakersfield and numerous folks stopped to browse and visit (yes, a few bought) but nearly everyone wanted to know something about why I wrote mysteries, where I got my ideas, and studied me with wonder. Since I'm a great grandma--and look like one--I can understand their curiosity.

One of my Rocky Bluff PD crime novels, Fringe Benefits, has a wicked knife on the cover. My elevator pitch is--"This is about a very bad cop who kills his wife and nearly gets away with it." Amazingly, those who purchase it are often sweet grandmother types.

My psychological horror, Wishing Makes It So, has a photo of a little girl on the front. I always warn people, "That's a very scary book about a really bad little girl." Some people put it down quickly, yesterday a woman asked me a lot of questions and bought it to put in her library for people considering becoming foster parents. Another young woman purchased it who told me she was a school teacher. Interesting.

Frankly, I really was pushing my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. Kindred Spirits is the latest. For those of you who don't know, my heroine is Native American. I even brought an Indian doll along to decorate the table. Yes, I did sell some of those books--but more of the others.

Because I never know what books are going to appeal to people, I bring some of both series, and one of my older books.

This was an interesting venue. All of the lesser known authors (like me) were situated in the foyer of the ballroom. Inside the ballroom were two bookstores, an independent and Barnes and Nobel. The two authors who spoke were Earlene Fowler and Ray Bradbury. Mr. Bradbury didn't arrive until 1:30 p.m.--though the event lasted until 2, it was time to close-up shop as everyone who'd been perusing the books went inside to hear him.

As you can see, I'm not smiling in the photo, that's because my husband was using my Blackberry to take the pic and he doesn't know how to use it. He kept asking me questions about what to do, then snapped the pic without warning. Most of the time I smiled at everyone.

So, this sweet old lady is now back home and will be until next weekend when I'm headed down to Old Town in Temecula to participate in a writers conference. With fellow author Sunny Frazier, I'll be talking about preparing your marketing plan and alternative ways of getting published. Between now and then I hope to get some mystery writing done.

Celebrating My Anniversary

Today we're jumping in the car and heading for Las Vegas. No, we don't go for the usual gambling and shows. My sis and her hubby live there and we're going to spend our anniversary with them. They're taking us out to dinner.

On Saturday, I'll be giving a talk at the most wonderful bookstore, Cheesecake and Crime, in Henderson NV. I'm going to tell what I do to research for my Native American elements in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series--and most especially the latest, Kindred Spirits, which has a lot about the Tolowa people in it.

We plan to spend the whole weekend with them, won't be doing much writing related stuff.

Now the mystery is, how did the cute sailor I met 57 years ago on a blind date and I actually make it for 57 years as a married couple? (Everyone said it wouldn't last.)