The Route To Writing

Tell Me a Story

The Route to Writing

Let’s face it, the majority of people will never write a book. Those who aspire to do so, tend to be curious about those who’ve actually done it - such as how they managed to create an entire book.

I thought it might be fun to ask any of you out there who’ve hit the spot, to share in a small way, how you go about it.

• How do you select what you are going to write about - where did you get the idea for your heroine’s lifestyle?
• Why did you choose to set your latest novel where you did?
• How you physically write - Do you write with a pen or pencil, or do you sit in front of a computer?
• Do you outline a detailed plan, or just jump in with writing?
• How do you know when your book is complete and ready for public consumption?
• Do you picture film stars in your story while you write?
• Where do you put those magic words down - in a study at home, in a corner of a bar, or while your partner watches TV.

Come on. Share your secrets with all the struggling people out there.

Crossbow - Gordon Kirkland

Tell Me A Story

Author - Gordon Kirkland

Someone is killing the residents of a small Kansas town. Although the victims appear to have been randomly chosen, the killer has, in fact, decided that they must die for transgressions he believes they have committed. Among the first to be slain is the County Sherriff, leaving two deputies to try to solve the case before the killer can achieve his ultimate goal. 

The deputies are far from seasoned police professionals. Dave Simmons, the senior of the two, is doing his best to improve by learning new police techniques. He'd like to bring geographic profiling to the department, but a serious impediment to that goal is his propensity to get lost whenever he gets behind the wheel of his police cruiser.  

Chuck Wilson the other deputy would like to be a police dog handler. Unfortunately, the County cannot afford a properly trained police dog, so he is trying to make do with Duke, his own Springer Spaniel, a dog with an intelligence quotient just slightly lower than the average head of cabbage.

Added to the mix is a missing romance author who arrived in town to interview the first murder victim just before his death, an ambitious small town newspaper reporter who gets her leads across the pillow from the junior deputy, and the grieving father of one of the victims. 

Just as it seems that the case has been solved, the deputies learn that the killer was not acting alone, and that other, seemingly upstanding citizens of the town, had set the whole process in motion. As the evidence unfolds it becomes obvious that the case is going to hit the deputies much closer to home than they could have imagined. 

“Like Fargo without the wood chipper!”

“Like taking an intensive course in plot development!”

“Filled with quirky characters and plot twists.”

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