The Villain's Side of the Story

Some days, writing murder mysteries takes you to a different reality. As I’m pounding through the final pages of my current manuscript (Zoe Chambers book #3…which still needs a title, but that’s a blog for another day), I need to crawl into the dark and disturbed mind of my villain. He’s made some huge mistakes and knows it. The police are getting closer, and he’s feeling the pressure. This makes him desperate and very very dangerous.


While the scenes I need to construct regarding how he reacts to his current situation will never end up on the page, they’re the scenes that drive the story. What my villain does determines what Pete and Zoe find and therefore what does end up in the book. I may be telling their story through their eyes, but it’s the villain who controls the circumstances.
It’s kind of like playing both sides of a chess game. Move. Counter move.
So today, I’m in Devious Mode. Look out.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mom Update

Image
It’s been a while since I wrote anything about my mom. If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed a number of posts recently about long nights in the ER with her. I appreciate the kind concerns and prayers from friends and family. But while I know they’re well intended, the “hope she gets well soon” sentiments cut like a finely honed blade. Mom isn’t going to get well. She has good days and bad. More and more of the latter. Today’s “good days” are about the same as the bad ones a couple months ago. She has vascular dementia. In addition to her mental slippage, her legs have grown weak and uncooperative, adding to her pre-existing balance issues. We plead with her to call for assistance to get out of bed. Unfortunately, she can’t remember that she’s had numerable falls lately, so she continues to try to get up and around on her own, resulting in more falls. And in more trips to the ER. She has dislocated her right hip twice now. She’s hit her head more times
Read more

Agatha Nomination for Fatal Reunion!

Image
I am over the moon to share the news that Fatal Reunion has received an Agatha nomination (my sixth!) for Best Contemporary Novel! You can find the entire nominee list here . You would think that six nominations in, I wouldn't be surprised by the news. But I am more stunned with each one. I never take it for granted and never assume I'll ever walk that path or wear that "NOMINEE" ribbon at Malice Domestic ever again. I'm beyond grateful to those who wrote down my name on the nomination forms. 
Read more

Catching Up...AGAIN...Part 1

Image
It's been so long since I last posted and so much has happened, there's no way I can fit it all into one post. Especially since I'm busy with the second draft of a new book. So I've decided to catch up a little at a time.  First up, HELPLESS , my 12th Zoe Chambers Mystery came out in May. It's my first foray into straight suspense, rather than whodunit mysteries, and the reviews have been outstanding. I'm so happy. And relieved.  Second, Where the Guilty Hide is FINALLY available in paperback in the US. It took a lot of trial and error and manually pushing buttons by my UK publisher, but it's out there! I won't go into the frustration involved in not being able to get my books into US bookstores. And I've been assured this won't happen when the second Detective Honeywell Mystery comes out in print early next year.  That would be Keep Your Family Close which has my absolute favorite cover of all of my books! It's up for digital pre-orders no
Read more