Salutations favorite peeps! My incredibly good mood this morning could be blamed on several things. September is finally here and my anticipation of snuggly sweaters, flamboyant scarves, and leather boots is entirely too optimistic but is undeniably arrived. I am at the bottom of my first perfect cup of tea for the day. And I managed to stack up a total of five dead bodies last month.
It’s motivating.
I wasn’t that kid in middle school who could work a Rubik’s Cube. It crossed my eyes and when no one was looking, I peeled the little stickers off and pasted them back together on each side because my OCD was off the charts, seeing those colored squares out of place. I spent all of high school drama practice learning to french braid my own hair. It’s like underwater basket weaving, blind folded. These things can be done, but you have to access whole other parts of your brain to attempt them.
And I only have so much brain.
My official first Murder Mystery is accomplished, is what I’m trying to tell you, and writing it felt exactly like riding Mr Toad’s Wild Ride while attempting to french braid my curly hair and recite the alphabet backwards. There was a lot of lurching and laughing but also occasional shrieks.
The plot involves a fresh heroine, Loveda Brown, who races into the tiny town of Idyllwild, California in the Year of Our Lord 1912 and much mayhem and murder and mistaken identities occur. Technically classified as both a “historical” and a “cozy”, you won’t find violence or grisly bits on the pages but you will find humor and small town relationships because I am absolutely making this into a series. Hopefully, at least the first two will be available by Halloween. That just feels logical.
If you like things that go bump in the night, drop me a comment here. Let me know if you want to be on my list of super-sneaky, sworn-to-secrecy beta readers, the peeps who read my drafts and tell me which parts require tightening up. Like a noose. I’m currently taking auditions for my next villain and he or she must be willing to kill for all the right reasons and clever enough to get away with it. Tell me about your fave mystery, whether it’s a book, TV show, movie, or pandemic conspiracy theory. Some day, you might even find your name in one of my books.
Dead or alive.
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Hi Jolie,
I thoroughly enjoyed MMM so far. When can we expect the next chapter?
See you tomorrow.
In this month’s Newsletter. Be sure to add your email to this sign-up!
Jolie, you better have included me. I’m anxious to read it. What happened with Mary and Lazarus? Hope you didn’t give that up. Anyway, my favorite who-dunnit lately is the film “Knives-Out” and the book “The Killing of the Flower Moon”. I’ll be giving you feedback soon.
Thank you! I will private message you with details!
Nice! Sounds intriguing. I loved reading Agatha Christie novels when I was growing up. I also love a great historical novel. The turn of the century (well, the previous one) always seems like a great time for a mystery.
It turns out that 1912 was a FABulous year. A turning point for so many things. I will never run out of ideas!
Oooohhh I love mysteries. I am such a fanatic about death and destruction and I now have my mom hooked on Dateline! I am going to read this now. The excitement is hard to contain!
So excited! I really am a coward about scary movies and books. I have to keep one hand over my eyes. I love a smart puzzle though, and a hero full of common sense. I hope she wins!