Y’know, it truly sucks to discover that 60,000 of 64,000 words are going to have to dumped because I’ve tried to cob together several ideas for the third Witches of Aba Nam book, so far named: The Librarian. That, of course, means I have to create instead of patch it together. The end result will no doubt be better. At least I hope so.

Sisters in Crime has asked the question about why write mysteries. I’ve decided to give it a shot.

First off, I have to admit that I haven’t finished my ‘Ed O’Malley’ novel, tentatively titled, “The Bombing of the LaMarque Boutique,” although there are two ‘Ed O’Malley’ short story mysteries on this site; “WebCam” and “The Black Leather Jacket.” There are several other stories here as well, most have twists, if you will. I grew up with O’Henry and Saki, both masters of the twist, and no, not the dance. 😉

So…let’s answer a few questions.

1. Which authors have inspired me? Arthur Conan Doyle, Poe, John Sandford, Lee Child, JD Robb, David Baldacci, Kerry Greenwood and Agatha Christie among others. I’ve read all of their books and short stories and hopefully gleaned a bit from them.

2. What’s the best part about writing, and the most challenging? The best part of the process is asking a ‘what if’ question, then creating characters and seeing where they take me. The most challenging? Keeping up with the characters and what to do about the inevitable wall. The easiest answer is to just walk away. Work on something else. It works because I know whatever I stuck on will vanish given enough time. I can NOT force the words to come.

3. Do I listen to music while I write? Absolutely. Any and everything from Alison Krauss to Mozart, to Los Lonely Boys to Nora Jones, Ottmar Leibert to Marshall Tucker. Lots of jazz, of course. Pandora is an absolute must as far as I’m concerned and worth the annual fee. No commercials and NO JUSTIN BIEBER.

4. What books are my nightstand right now? None. I use my iPhone almost exclusively. Right now I’ve just downloaded the newest JD Robb, Festive in Death and I’m working my way through Kerry Greenwood’s Phrynee Fischer Mysteries. And, of course, awaiting the newest “Mina” book from Maria Grazia Swan.

I appreciate the heads up about this Sisters in Crime September Blog Hop from Lala Corriere at:

http://www.lalacorriere.com

Please take a look at these very good blogs for more interesting comments and ideas about mysteries:

http://www.sistersincrime.org

http://mariagraziaswan.com/marias-blog

http://suspensenovelist.blogspot.com

Also check out my books on Amazon.com. The links are on this blog.