It’s a beautiful sunny morning in mid-July. You might wonder about two things: 1. why am I inside? and 2. why the Winter Wonderland photo?
The answer to #1 is that I’m working on the fourth book in the Secrets Series, tentatively titled Astrid’s Secret. When the story ideas flood my brain, there is just nothing to be done about it other than to get writing.
The answer to #2 is that the story takes place in November, in a snowstorm. So I have the above photo of my riding ring, fields, and the neighbours across the lake as my wallpaper to help me get in the mood. Brrrrrr!
This morning I had a bit of a chuckle when the thought came to me that I hope I am never accused of murder, because if they checked my browser history, I’d be damned! Since I started Astrid’s Secret, I’ve researched snowmobiles, whether there is DNA in urine, whether freezing a body destroys forensic evidence, how long it takes for a body to cool, how long it takes for a body in a snowbank to cool, if wounds bleed after death if CPR is administered, and shotguns v. rifles. The shotgun research took me to some pretty out there sites. I had no idea SHTF (shit hits the fan) was a thing, or the volume of information readily available about guns, specifically what’s the best kind of shotgun to keep loaded, even by your bedside, should you saw it off, and so on. I think there are SHTF characters crying for ink in a thriller.
As I said, I’m working on Astrid’s Secret, and as usually happens, it’s front of mind pretty well all the time. Then someone asked about the ending of The Feeder, the short story that’s a free .PDF download on this site or $.99 on Amazon. Apparently, it has an unsatisfactory ending, that is, it doesn’t have an ending. Of course, life is like that, and the reader should “write” their own ending. But it got me thinking maybe The Feeder isn’t a short story at all, but rather, the beginning of another thriller. Maybe Marlene ought to bump her abusive husband off. How she could do it in a way that fits with her timid personality, and also so she would get away with it.
A couple of friends have already mentioned that I scare them sometimes. Now, The Feeder. I see more damning research in my browser history.