The sun is shining. The house martins and swallows are back, and I heard the cuckoo a couple of days ago down in the meadow behind the house. Bright mornings and long evenings lift the soul and guide us into the warmer summer months.
There is nothing new to report on the audible books but Joffee Books have given me a provisional publication date of 9th October for Shot in the New Forest. This, of course, may be subject to change.
Murder in the New Forest was published in November 2024. Last month it climbed to #1 best seller in the Amazon British Detectives list and stayed there for nearly 4 weeks. Thank you all for your ongoing support. It is much appreciated.
In lieu of any exciting new news, I thought the process of plotting a crime novel might be interesting. It will be different for every writer, but this method works for me.
How do you plot a crime?
I don’t mean a jewel heist or a murder, but the process of getting a plot for a book down on paper. First, I select a victim and a murderer. Next, I decide on a motive and a location; Where it is set, and who my murderer is will influence the cause of death and the weapon used. I would struggle to produce a plausible plot if my victim was stabbed with a hay prong inside the local library. Far more believable that, if we keep the library location, the victim is hit over the head by some weighty tome or stabbed with a knife in the crime section. Alternatively, if I want to keep the prong as a murder weapon, move the location to a farm, or stables and this will increase plausibility.
Having chosen my victim, I make a spider diagram of all the other characters involved. They will have links to each other as well as to the victim and the many cross-connections complicate the plot. In Murder in the New Forest the victim is Mary-Ellen Mitchell. She has a husband with secrets that have a bearing on his private life. She had recently ended her affair with a local man, and her lover was unhappy with that turn of events. She owned a business and her manager had aims and ambitions outside the ambit of his jurisdiction. Her sister has a long-standing grudge against Mary-Ellen, and this leads to conflict.
How a person is killed, and when and how the body is discovered help structure the story. If he has to be undiscovered for a period of time, then where he is murdered or the deposition site are important. The method of murder is also important as is the length of time he might take to die. My go to man for medical information is very helpful and thorough. Recently he was on all-fours on my kitchen floor whilst I simulated stabbing him. It was important to get the correct angle and position of the murder weapon to pass between the relevant ribs and puncture the liver. It is fortunate that my kitchen is not overlooked by any curious neighbours.
Having sorted out the medical stuff and method of despatch, I move onto a timeline for the victim, leading up to his death. Then do the same for the other players both before and after the dire deed. This is the exercise I find most difficult, but it is so important to get it right for the reader to have confidence in the plot. This is the stage where it is useful to check on the weather for ‘murder week’, what was happening locally and nationally – village fetes or cricket matches – and what was on the horizon. By that I mean big events of interest, football matches, space launches, coronations – things that would interest specific characters.
Visiting the main locations is also important. In Killer in the New Forest I went to each specific location. I made a note of the following; what I could hear, see, smell, touch and taste (if relevant), but only things specific to that location.
Then armed with a timeline for each character and all the above information it is committed to keyboard where hopefully it is hatched into a cohesive and believable plot.
Short story.
I have added another short story to the relevant section if you would like to have a read. It is set on the Town Path at Harnham, Salisbury at the end where the Old Mill pub is located.
Fairs.
This month we are in Downton at the Cuckoo Fair, Lyndhurst and then at the Verwood Book Fair. If you are in the area, do call in and say hello.
Happy reading, Carol