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I attended the January Wine Dinner at Carrabba’s Altamonte Springs recently along with Shelly & Joe Isom. The first course was Fennel Sausage Arancini accompanied by a Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc. The risotto balls had fennel sausage, mozzarella, grated parmesan and romaine cheeses. Breaded and fried, they were crispy on the outside and savory on the inside. A splash of marinara sauce gave it some moisture. The fruity wine was a proper pairing.
Next came Shrimp Fra Diavolo, which was linguine pasta and shrimp tossed in a tangy sauce. This was okay but not one of my favorite pasta dishes compared to other ones I’ve had at previous events. I did like the Goldeneye Pinot Noir that accompanied this dish.
The entrée was Sirloin Spinach Ardente, a tender sirloin steak topped with a spinach mixture and served with garlic mashed potatoes. I enjoyed this one and the paired Postmark Cabernet Sauvignon. The steak was done just right.
Chocolate Panna Cotta was a superb finale. With fresh berries and whipped cream, this confection was like a deluxe chocolate mousse. I wanted to eat every bite but was too stuffed to finish. It came with a Decoy Merlot.
The best part, aside from being with friends and enjoying the ambiance, was that I took home leftovers enough for two more meals.
As a writer, setting goals each year gives us a path to follow. Each item we cross off our list provides a sense of accomplishment.
Last year, I felt I hadn’t done much since my last novel release, Star Tangled Murder, came out in March 2023. While there were reasons for this lag, I accomplished more than I had thought. Let’s take a look at what happened.
I revised Books 1-3 with new covers for Hair Raiser and Murder by Manicure and some minor changes in the text. This necessitated making the same changes in Box Set One, the free Book Sampler I offer to newsletter subscribers, and the audiobook covers for those two titles. All of these had to be reuploaded to the various distributor sites.
The Bad Hair Day Mysteries Box Set Six was published in January. This set includes books 16-18 in the series. A new release is always accompanied by posts and other hoopla online and this was no exception.
In February, I set the price on Permed to Death to Free. To promote this new pricing, I scheduled social media ads and posts.
Also in February, my husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This stole my creative energy and time through May when he passed away.
I was lucky to snag a couple of BookBub international deals along the way. That brought me to the summer, when my daughter and her family moved in while an a/c leak was being repaired in their home. This stay stretched to four months wherein my daily routine was shattered with a four-year-old in the house. It was great to have them with me, but I also began to yearn for peace and quiet.
Fortunately, I got in a couple of Caribbean cruises in the late summer and fall amidst this turmoil. I also finished my Work in Progress and hired a new editor. Brainstorming sessions with my critique partners led me to plot my next mystery, a Bad Hair Day holiday novella.
And then December arrived along with a baby watch for my soon-to-be granddaughter. She was born mid-month just before Hanukkah and Christmas.
It had been an emotional rollercoaster of a year. And while I may not have published another full-length novel, at least I published another box set, finished a book, and plotted the next story.
So what’s up for 2025? I’ll need to do the editorial revisions on my new mystery novel. Write the holiday novella. Explore doing more audiobooks. And get back into the swing of marketing, which took a low priority last year.
What were some of your accomplishments in 2024? Do you keep a tally? It helps to see where you’ve been so you can set new goals going forward.
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What is the difference between Story versus Plot? A plot gives you the bones and structure for a novel, while the story is actually what takes place. Unless you’re a full-on Pantser, you won’t start the writing process until you have an outline or synopsis for what will occur.
Before I begin writing a novel, I’ll consider the following questions. We’ll start with the overall setting. Where will your story take place? What is the protagonist’s role in this environment? How will this setting contribute to the story?
It helps you to build a cast of characters if you have a setting within a setting. Let’s say your series is centered in Small Town, America. But the action takes place during a conference or a competition at a specific venue. The people attending this event have a common interest. This close-knit group will provide the suspects if you’re writing a mystery.
For a cozy, I’ll choose the victim next. How is the person killed? Where does the crime take place? When does it happen? What is this person’s relation to the sleuth?
Regarding your protagonist, what will motivate her to get involved? What are the stakes if she fails?
Some of these questions can’t be answered until you know whodunit. So next come the suspects. Who are the victim’s family, friends and associates? Or, in your setting within a setting, who among those present had a relationship to the deceased? Which characters have the most to gain from this person’s death? Who had the means and opportunity to do the deed? What other secrets are the characters hiding that may or may not relate to the murder? Why did the murder happen now? If everyone appears to have a motive, which one is the actual killer? Who can possibly serve as a red herring?
If you’re a Plotter, you may do a chapter-by-chapter outline that takes you logically through each step in the story development. Or you might write a narrative synopsis instead. Either one will give you a path to follow and help you see if the flow makes sense. You’ll also need a personal thread for the protagonist who should grow or change by the end of the book.
It’s okay if you’re a Plotser. In other words, you may know Point A and Point C but want to fill in the rest as you write. Even if you have an outline, it will change as the story develops. You can go back and revise your synopsis or outline later.
If you come to a lull in the middle despite your planning, go back and read through what you’ve written. Often you can flush out characters, add more dialogue to a scene, or follow a loose thread you’ve forgotten about along the way. If all else fails, throw in another dead body, have an unexpected character show up, or make an item go missing. If you’re surprised by what happens next, your readers will be, too. Story magic may take your book in a new direction but that’s the joy of writing.
Whichever way you approach writing a novel, plotting it out first will give you a sense of direction. Then you can begin writing the story. Hopefully, this will help you avoid writing yourself into a dead end. But hey, your method is whatever works for you. If you want to start writing and wing it, go ahead. These definitions are my interpretation.
For more in-depth advice on plotting a mystery, check out my book Writing the Cozy Mystery.
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