Ever wondered how to write a mystery? Or how I write the Q.C. Davis crime novels/mysteries? I use key plot turns as a basic structure. This video shows how I wrote and revised based on those turns for my latest Q.C. Davis novel, The Skeptical Man.
Scrivener, the program I used, made it easy to both follow the overall plot I sorted out in advance and vary it where needed. (No spoilers, though, if you haven't yet read the book.)
Intrigued by The Skeptical Man? Learn more by clicking here.
ht...
Read More
mystery
Book Launch The Skeptical Man
Join me October 9 on my author Facebook Page for the book launch of the new Q.C. Davis crime novel The Skeptical Man.
Peek behind the scenes of the new release and all the Q.C. Davis crime novels throughout the day. There'll be videos, location photos, book excerpts, quotes, and, of course, the traditional all-important book launch quiz.
Win and get a character named after you in the next novel!
Hope to see you on October 9! Click here to join.
The Skeptical Man Book Launch
Just...
Read More
The Forgotten Man Book Group Questions
Below are suggested book group questions for crime novel The Forgotten Man (A Q.C. Davis Mystery).
What Quille learns about her father's past deeply disappoints and angers her. Is she being fair to him? Do his explanations satisfy you?
Does knowing more about what Quille's mother went through when Quille was a baby make you more sympathetic to her? Could she do more to improve her relationship with Quille?
Do you think Quille will be more understanding with her mother from now on? Sh...
Read More
Prague And Krakow Spark Supernatural Ideas
My recent travels to Prague and Krakow sparked all sorts of ideas for novels, including for a new supernatural thriller series.
A Non-Supernatural Mystery In Prague
First, though, private investigator Quille C. Davis will travel to Prague to question a psychic medium, who is also a murder suspect, in my Q.C. Davis mysteries.
While the Q.C. Davis mystery series is not supernatural, Prague's long history of mysticism and alchemy make it an ideal home for the psychic medium character. And ...
Read More
A Break For New Books
Thank you to everyone who helped make the launch of my new book The Forgotten Man (A Q.C. Davis Mystery), a success by buying early copies, posting reviews, and sharing about it on social media!
It was great to see so many people at the book release party as well.
Now I'm taking a much needed break and traveling in Europe. Along the way, though, I'm getting tons of ideas for a new book that will begin a series that spins off of my Awakening supernatural thriller series. And some possible ...
Read More
New Release: The Forgotten Man
Chapter One: A Likely Suspect
It’s not every day you interview the man who might have murdered your sister. I leaned into the airport restroom mirror and dotted concealer over the dark circles under my eyes, then brushed lint from the jacket of my suit. It was my best suit. The one I saved for appellate arguments and pitches to gain new clients. Its warm brown color set off my olive skin and nearly black hair nicely.
I wanted the man I was meeting to answer questions about his daughter’s d...
Read More
This Lawyer Writes Crime Novels To Find Justice
I didn't start out writing crime novels. A need for justice in real life sent me in that direction. As some readers know (though I never wrote about it in my novels), in 2007 a drunk driver killed my parents.
The court proceedings against that driver marked the first time I directly experienced the criminal justice system. I learned about it in law school. But as a lawyer, at that point I'd handled only civil cases. (Meaning cases about recovering money, not prosecuting crimes.)
These ...
Read More
Detectives At The Edwardsville Public Library
Recently I visited the Edwardsville public library in Southern Illinois as part of my book research.
I discovered the value of researching in person, American Girl dolls, and an outdoor bandshell.
While my Q.C. Davis mystery series mostly takes place in Chicago, the detective/lawyer main character was born in Edwardsville. In the next book in the series (working title The Forgotten Man) she'll strive to solve two 1980s murders. For that, she needs 1980s yearbooks, newspaper articles, and ...
Read More
Investigating A Difficult Woman
The Q.C. Davis mysteries are not message books. They're plot-driven, follow-the-clues detective mysteries. But I do begin each with a core idea.
In The Worried Man, it was the pain of death by suicide as well as Quille’s family history. In The Charming Man, the concept of friends, many of whom are like family, trapped in an apartment complex during a blizzard sparked the story. And for The Fractured Man, I focused both on long-lost childhood friends and how the urge to recruit others to a cau...
Read More
Sneak Peek At Mystery In Progress
It's not every day you meet a man who might have murdered your sister.
That's how the next Q.C. Davis mystery starts. This is the one where Quille looks into the murder of the sister for whom she was named: the original Q.C. Davis.
No working title yet, but I am about two-thirds through a first draft.
And I'm doing something new. Chapters in the earlier books were cleverly titled Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc. Creative, right?
Quite a few readers told me, though, that you prefer c...
Read More
