Are you a pantser?

Are you a pantser? Someone who doesn’t outline their story, or at most partially outlines it. I fall into the latter category.

My current YA novel started life as a 250-word flash mystery story submission to a pulp magazine. It was a runner-up, and I liked it, so instead of lengthening it some and submitting as a short story, I decided to use it as part of a scene and build my novel around it.

I didn’t try to blow that story up to become the novel, but instead to use it as a seed. It turned out to be around one fifth of Chapter 3.

Since I had designed the character and given her the attributes I wanted in the short-short story format, it was an easy task to write the first few chapters, and create a suitable ending. Doing it that way made it a lot easier, since I knew exactly where I was going.

The novel has been through its first pass with an editor and sits at a little more than 55,000 words. A decent number for YA.

Let me know your method.

Review of Alexandra Sokoloff's Huntress Moon

5 Stars to Alexandra Sokoloff's Huntress Moon

FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke heads to an emergency meeting with his undercover agent when he sees him killed in a gruesome accident. That is, if it was an accident. He sees a beautiful blonde standing quietly behind his dead agent staring at him.

I really can't tell you anything more without ruining the many surprises in the book. I can tell you that Huntress Moon gets a grip on your mind and won’t let go.

The book is very cinematic which is not surprising, as Ms. Sokoloff is also a screenwriter. And not only does it play visually, it gets you at a gut level, making you think of human monsters and the things they do.

Ms. Sokoloff has created a stew of memorable characters, beautiful settings, and a tight plot. Into this, she has ladled generous amounts of terror, guaranteed to keep you up at night.

Be prepared, Huntress Moon is one hellava ride.

Last Call - Flash fiction for April

LAST CALL

I had terrible bruises, and it hurt to sit on the little wooden bench in the phone booth. I was trying to stay out of the chill wind that was blowing in off the ocean. My eyes had finally adjusted to the dark, and I looked out over the dunes, waiting for my husband.

I’d been on a walk with my friend Jill, and when we finished, her ride came. Mine didn’t. Leaving me stranded was one of Tony’s favorite pastimes. I could have ridden with Jill, but if I did, he would hurt me. I touched the stitches in my lip. In the past few months, he’d added physical abuse to his repertoire. I would have to call him and plead for a ride.

I dropped some change into the coin slot. It was an old rotary phone and the receiver clicked through each number.

“Hello?” His voice sounded cold and flat.

“Please, Tony. I’m freezing.”

“It will all be over soon.” There was a crackle, then silence.

Minutes stretched into an hour. I heard a sound and he appeared at the phone booth door, his face twisted with rage. He hammered on the glass, yanked it open, and lunged at me with a knife.

Even standing close, I doubt you would have heard the three pops over the crashing waves. Tears ran down my cheeks as I slipped the little .380 automatic into my pocket.

I took a deep breath and made a last call to 911.

Cover Reveal for "Street Crimes"

Here is the cover created for my mystery anthology "Street Crimes." by Carl Graves of http://www.extendedimagery.com/.
Hope you like it!

German shepherd dog

Took Lily to dog school last week. She completed a six hundred foot track over blacktop, ice plant, concrete, and dirt at Fort Ord. She tracked the bad guy to a building where I sent her on a building search. She cleared the first floor and found him on the second.  All this in about four minutes. GSD's noses are amazing.

A little 500 word story

Had a little flash mystery published on http://www.orchardpress-shortfiction.com/ In another form, it was runner-up in an Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine contest.