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Saturday, August 27, 2022

#WeWriWa ~ The Case of the Wedding Wrecker: A Shark, White Teeth and All

 


Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. Apologies for missing last week. My computer died (or so I thought) last Saturday, and since I'm a confirmed procrastinator, I couldn't put up my post. Turns out I'd plugged in the wrong charger cord. No wonder my batter didn't charge. Glad it was only that instead of needing a new computer. Anyway, on to my post for this week.

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. This snippet picks up where we left off last time. (BTW, thanks for all your comments, esp. those about Alex running her mouth.) The police chief, Dan Hoesen, is interviewing Alex. The lawyer, Hans Bogardus, is with her. The last line was: What happened after you got dressed for the rehearsal."


Snippet:  

“Nick and I went to the church. After the rehearsal, we had dinner at the Golden Fleece.” The chef at the popular restaurant was a friend of Nick’s.

“And then?” Dan prodded.

“Maria, Nick’s mother, hustled me out to a limo, where my best friends were waiting.”

“Who?”

“Dottie, Ellen—”

Dan tore off a sheet of paper from his pad and shoved it across the table to me along with a pen. “Write down their names—first and last. And where you went.”

 

And a little more:

I did as instructed, before pushing the paper back to him.

Dan glanced at it. “Did Nick go with you?”

I shook my head. “Our party was Girls Only.” I grinned thinking about Nick coming along. Until it hit me. Nick was in jail. I sobered quickly.

“What time did you leave the restaurant?”

“Seven? Or a little after. Maria would know. Do you want me to get her?” I started to rise, but Hans drew me down with a hand on my wrist.

“I will talk to her later,” Dan said. “What did Nick do?”

“I assume he went to his bachelor party.”

Hans tapped the table next to my arm. “Only speak to the things you know. Don’t assume or guess.”

The chief glared at him. “When did you return to your apartment?”

“Eleven forty-five.”

“You know that exactly?”

I grimaced. “Yes. Maria made a point of telling me to tell Nick to drive her home because the limo and driver were done at midnight.”

“Nick was in the apartment when you returned?”

“Yes. We talked for—”

Hans tapped my forearm. “Remember what I said. Only answer the questions. Don’t volunteer any more information than what the chief asks.”

Dan pursed his lips. “Is that really necessary, Counselor? She isn’t accused. I’m just trying to find out where Palzetti was.”

Hans didn’t say anything, just stared at Dan. That look. OMG, I’m glad it wasn’t directed at me. His dad might be elegance personified. Hans looked like a shark, white teeth and all.

 

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay safe and have a great week.



 

Saturday, August 13, 2022

#WeWriWa ~ The Case of the Wedding Wrecker: Don't Volunteer Any Info

 


Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release.

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. This snippet picks up where we left off last time. The police chief, Dan Hoesen, is interviewing Alex. The lawyer, Hans Bogardus, is with her.


Snippet:  

The chief cleared his throat. “I apologize for my former deputy’s insensitivity. We will restart the interview.” He nodded behind me, waited a second or three, then repeated my name and date.

Former deputy? I wasn’t touching that. I wanted to get this interview over with.

“State your name and relationship with the accused.”

“Alexandra O’Hara, uh, Palzetti—” Holy shit. I’d never called myself that before. “—wife of Nicholas Palzetti.”

“Tell me what you did yesterday.”

 

And a little more

“Everything? After the rehearsal and dinner, my girlfriends had a bachelorette party that started—”

“Only when and where you saw Nicholas Palzetti,” the chief said.

Oh, good. He didn’t need to know how foolish we all were.

“In the morning, we went sailing, had a picnic, and came back to my apartment about four-thirty.”

“Only answer the question,” Hans said. “Don’t volunteer any more information than what the chief asks.”

Chief Hoesen glared at him before making a note on his legal pad. “So, you both went back to your apartment. Then what did you do?”

“I got ready for the rehearsal.”

“And Nick?”

“After I finished my shower, he took one.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “I don’t need every detail. What happened after you got dressed for the rehearsal?”

 

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay safe and have a great week.







Wednesday, August 3, 2022

#IWSG: August


 Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Day. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. We are rockin' the neurotic writing world!

The awesome co-hosts for the August 3 posting of the IWSG are Tara Tyler, Lisa Buie Collard, Loni Townsend, and Lee Lowery!

OMG, I forgot today is the 1st Wednesday. I saw a couple of notices from people I follow and thought, Wow, they are really jumping the gun, a whole week early. LOL Just goes to show how unawake I am this morning. Hubs, get me another cup of coffee! Please!

July was a pretty good month. I wrote almost 4k words. The best part of July is I read about the coolest way to outline a story. Well, many cool ways. I'm not an outliner. Tried it once and thought, "I told the story, don't need to write it now." Outlining the whole story doesn't work for me. I always have a beginning, and I know the end. I might have an idea for a twist but that's it.

Back to the outline that struck me. The flashlight method. I've also heard it described as the headlights method. Write the points to the story only as far as the light shows. Does that make sense?

I tried it. I thought of three key things that need to happen next in my WIP (The Case of the Wedding Wrecker). Once I've added those points, I shine the flashlight again for the next however many points that need to happen. I'll let you know next month if it works.

August 3 question - When you set out to write a story, do you try to be more original or do you try to give readers what they want?

That is a tough question. I write what I want to write. I take into consideration what readers expect from the genre, whether it's a cozy mystery, romantic suspense, or a sci-fi adventure/romance. Every genre has certain tropes. Readers know when they pick up a romantic suspense they'll find two people who either dislike each other or don't know each other or are best friends. They'll have to put their feelings toward the other aside to solve a major problem. Readers expect the story to end with the problem solved and the two with a happy-ever-after or a happy-for-now. I know that's rather simplistic. 

Whew. It's 9:09. I got this post done in record time. Have a great month.


Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.