What Do I Love in a Good Mystery?

When I decided to enter Heartless into the contest for this anthology, I didn't have a clue about how to write a mystery/thriller. However, I'd read a lot of them: Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen King, and lots of the ever-so-dark Mr. Poe--so I said, well, how hard can it be?

I can be naive even at my advanced age.

I started by asking myself, "What do I love in a good mystery?" Here's what I came up with.

I love it when I feel as if I'm right there. I can hear the scream. I can see the blood. I can taste the acrid burning of cyanide on my tongue. The spider webs netted across the path stick to my skin, and I can smell the electrical short that's about to erupt into flames and destroy those helplessly trapped in the basement. 

I want to hear the scream.

I love it, when on page one, my eyes fly open and my brain goes on alert--even if I'm lying in bed and thinking about sleep. I want page one so irresistible that I have to turn to page two and see what happens.

I love it when the guy or gal whose in charge of bringing justice into this unjust world is someone I can relate to. They're human but they have a few quirks and definitely a few flaws, but above all they're determined to do the job no matter the cost to themselves.

I love it when I'm half way through a page and exhausted, but still I can't put down the book to sleep. 

I love it when after the chase through the cemetery, the moor, the deep and dangerous cavern, I get something to smile or laugh at. And it must have the sharpness of wit about it. Don't give me prat falls.

I need a laugh after the spooky parts.

I love it when there's a labyrinth of clues that intrigue and confuse me, but keep me making my way through to the end.

I love it when a bigger--even more dangerous event--looms in the background. I want a race against the clock for the guilty, but also the innocent.

I love it when there's an end that wraps up all of the threads to my satisfaction and brings a sense of "ahhh."

All of this makes for what's called a TALL ORDER, so, of course, I tried. I didn't write a book, but I took some baby steps and wrote Heartless. 

Book Sales

by Mary Aalgaard

Like most authors, I struggle with self-promotion. While I am proud of my writing, classes, and work, and want people to support them, I am also a Midwesterner, and we are a little shy about tooting our own horns. However, when asked, I cheerfully start tooting away, and find that people are interested. Also, changing up your day to day activities can have positive results.

I am a member at our local YMCA health club. I enjoy the group fitness class at noon on Mondays and Wednesdays. I also teach piano lessons, and on Wednesdays, my students started arriving by 2:30, which made that noon class a little tight for me to go home, each lunch, clean up and be ready to teach. So, I started going to the earlier group fitness class. Sue, who I had met at the noon class, but switched to the earlier time, saw me there and asked about my writing. I told her about my short story "One More Minute" that is included in the Tick Tock Anthology.

"How can I get that book?" she asked.

"I can sell you a copy," I said, as I loaded up my weights.

"Great. I'll be volunteering at the library on Friday morning."

"Thanks," I said, feeling a little stronger, "I'll bring a book over."

Not only did Sue buy a book, but also another person who walked in while we were doing the transaction did as well. I was thrilled because it was Meg, the editor of the local women's magazine, who was the first person to publish my work and call me an author.

I set a couple books out in my piano studio, thinking that maybe one of the parents would ask about it when they were dropping off or picking up their kids. Turns out, the kids were interested in the book. The sweetest moment was when a boy, then later the girl (pictured below), came with their money clutched in their hands, asking me to sign their book.

Of course, all the authors are sharing the book with friends and family, asking local bookstores and libraries to buy a copy, sending out tweets, and promoting on all their social media. It feels great to have created something that other people are interested in, and that might inspire a young writer, too.

If you'd like a copy of Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime, you can find it at these various locations.

 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Want to join the community of people talking about Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime? Add the book on Goodreads or like our Facebook page. 

Mary Aalgaard is a playwright and piano/theater teacher, living in the heart of Minnesota. She writes theater reviews and supports the arts through her blog Play off the Page. She teaches youth theater workshops in the Brainerd lakes area, writes articles for regional magazines, and works with both seniors and youth in multi-generational programs to enhance quality of life and build community. Her website is PlayoffthePage.com. You can follow her on her Playoff the Page Facebook page, @MaryAalgaard on Twitter, and email her at Mary@playoffthepage.com.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Mary Aalgaard, Play off the Page!

MYSTERIES & MOTIVATION

by Yolanda Renée

Edgar Allan Poe, considered the Father of the mystery genre is one of my favorite authors. His first mystery The Murders in the Rue Morgue is the book where he introduced Detective D. Auguste Dupin.

He continued to use Detective Dupin in The Mystery of Marie Roget, and The Purloined Letter. But more importantly, he shifted the focus from the situation to the study of the criminals the motivation?

Understanding motivation is the reason I write the mysteries.

If I were to write my top ten favorite mysteries. I’d have to start with Poe’s three, from there I’d move on to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes Series, and then the Agatha Christie’s mysteries.

To pick just one is near impossible and if you add to that the fact that Gone with the Wind is one of my favorite books. It doesn’t add up because GWTW isn’t a mystery. Unless you consider the fact that this book covered several decades, had numerous plot twists, (OMG how much does this woman (Scarlet) have to overcome. I mean wasn’t that the mystery – a dilemma.). Besides, it was superbly written. To me, that’s what puts it up there with some of the best stories ever told. It kept me turning the page. I’ve always admired the author; Margaret Mitchell and I aspire to write such a tale!

Getting back to motivation, when I wrote Cypress, Like the Tree, it was important that the motive was clear, but it was also crucial that there be several suspects.

Here’s an excerpt for your enjoyment:

“Then tell me, Mata Hari.” Cypress leaned even closer. “If you didn’t convince one of these men to kill the bastard, which one do you think did it?”

I sucked the wetness from my finger, brought the glass to my lips, and gazed into his dark brown eyes. I couldn’t believe what he was saying, and yet…. I shook my head dismissively. “No, that doesn’t make any sense. Why would any of those men kill Bill? They don’t even know me.”

He sat back in his chair. “Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t. But I’d bet my last dollar it’s one of them. That is if it isn’t you.” He stood. “Whether you did it, or one of your admirers did it for you, I promise I will get to the bottom of it.”

“You’re wrong.” I faced him. “You’re wrong about me, and them. Have you investigated his girlfriends? Maybe there’s a jealous husband or boyfriend.”

“We’re checking, but I’ve talked to all these men, and they all said your husband deserved to die.”

***

I hope you’ve got your copy of Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime and if not just leave a comment telling us what your favorite mystery is along with your email address, and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime. You’re choice of paperback or eBook. Good luck!

To read more about Edgar Allan Poe go HERE!

If you'd like to win a copy of

Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime

let me know in the comments what your favorite genre is? Or who your favorite mystery author is?

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