Have you ever had a writer friend who talked about how sometimes it felt like they weren’t writing the story – their characters were? I know. It sounds absurd. But sometimes – it really does feel that way. Last week, I had rounded 80K on the first draft of my murder mystery novel, and IContinue reading “Rogue Characters: Murder Mystery Edition”
Category Archives: 89 Days
UW Madison Arboretum
I spent my entire life with no idea that the city of Madison was home to a 1,200 acre arboretum (with an addition 513 acres in outlying properties). It shouldn’t surprise me, given most cities have large parks and my own UW campus houses an arboretum, as well. I’d just never stumbled upon it –Continue reading “UW Madison Arboretum”
Hello, Detective
If you’ve read past posts about my books, then you will know how much thought and time I put into naming my characters. I like the names to mean something – to tell a little bit more about the person they’re given to. When I started writing my murder mystery, I decided to take aContinue reading “Hello, Detective”
Kickstarter Update
Back when I did the Kickstarter for Wherever Would I Be, one of the ‘add ons’ was to have a character named after them in my work in progress (a murder mystery). Because writing and publishing books takes a long time, I thought I’d give an update on how that’s going. I should note –Continue reading “Kickstarter Update”
Killing Friends (on paper, of course)
When I opted to do the Kickstarter to raise funds for the cover of Wherever Would I Be, I was able to include some add ons to the project. This is a way for the project to earn extra money. I spent a lot of time checking out other projects to see what was commonContinue reading “Killing Friends (on paper, of course)”
Research: Murder Mystery Style
When I made the decision to pursue writing my murder mystery story I’d been kicking around for a few years, I knew that I wanted to take the time to make sure everything was written correctly. I’ve spent so many hours watching detective procedurals on TV, but I’ve also heard about instances were said showsContinue reading “Research: Murder Mystery Style”
Killing Friends is Never Easy
I am, of course, referring to on paper. As part of my Kickstarter for Wherever Would I Be, there was an add on for having a character named after them in my next book. I probably should have thought that through better given that said next book is a murder mystery. [strained smile] The detectivesContinue reading “Killing Friends is Never Easy”
Moments of Character
For the last few months, I’ve been rewatching some of my favorite detective procedurals as “research” for the mystery I am working on. (I use the air quotes around research because it’s also just because I enjoy them.) At the moment, I’m working my way through Bones, and I love the bits of character developmentContinue reading “Moments of Character”
I’m Definitely on Some Lists
I recently sent an email to the police department in Madison, WI (USA). After I hit send, my first thought was…this is going to land me on a list. [strained smile] I sent a request to the South District Office in the hopes that they might allow for a tour of their facilities – asContinue reading “I’m Definitely on Some Lists”
Lifelong Learner
I love being a student. I can’t say I have always loved school, but I’ve always loved learning from people. One of the perks of being a college professor is that I get a tuition waiver at my school (we still pay fees, and if we audit, it’s another hundred bucks – but still wellContinue reading “Lifelong Learner”
Ami Maxine 