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Short Story and Novel Writing with Series Characters – Part 4

22 May
Amazon.com link to Sharon A.'s short story collection

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.’s short story collection

It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.

– William Faulkner
When writing series fiction, particularly novels, how do you keep the continuity going with your main characters from novel to novel? As mentioned in last week’s post, you need to put some reference to previous novel(s) plot and characters or the reader is left confused.

For example, in novel No. 1, let’s say your main character, a police officer, is shot during the story’s climax. It is touch and go, but he wakes up in a hospital bed and is able to talk to his partner, his girlfriend, etc. However, he has been shot in the chest and it just missed his heart, but he still has a long recuperation period.

Unless you are skipping a period of time until he is up and around, you need to include this recuperation period in your next novel. Perhaps your detective is put temporarily on a desk job or he is still on sick leave. His (or her) colleagues get a case or two that he wants to be involved in and they need his help. But he is supposed to stay put. You can work around that by having him act as a consultant – his colleagues can drop into the hospital or recuperation facility (if he is not home yet) or his home to talk it over with him. He could be on the phone constantly to his colleagues or at least his partner. They can be doing all this behind the back of their supervisor and you know how that can pan out. You can hype it up with his shooter still out there (that would have to be clear at the end of the previous novel) and trying to get him. He has to get through the recuperation period but you don’t want a novel all about that if you are writing a mystery novel. You need to blend in what is happening with the characters, how they are developing based on what goes on in their lives. An injured detective recuperating and somewhat immobilized would have much to face, especially if he is used to being active.

The late Robert Parker in his Spencer series did this very well. His private detective, Spencer, was shot in the chest in one novel and the next novel incorporated his recuperation with how it affected his relationship with his girlfriend, Susan, a psychologist, plus the novel’s mystery. Parker was good at writing complicated.

Most of the TV series now follow the main characters’ development and well, private life, and incorporate these into the story. The hit series Rookie Blue (now back on for the summer, 22 episodes this year), does that very well, even if you don’t agree with what they do. The five original rookies are still there and each season they add one or more new rookies. One of the original rookies has been promoted to detective. But all have personal lives and with all these characters who work closely together, their personal lives become entwined and changes occur. It is complicated, but well done. I suggest you watch it. The Good Wife is another TV series that has work and personal lives intermingle with a lot of complications. This time the characters are lawyers, instead of police officers. They even killed off one of the series main characters this season. Rookie Blue did that a couple of seasons ago as well. Killing off a main character is not always a good idea, but if you do, you need to incorporate the repercussions from that and how it affects the other characters in future books or TV episodes.

All these things will affect your plot. It’s the chicken and egg situation. Which comes first – the plot or the characters? It is a combination of both – either can lead – but both are connected and drive each other.

Meantime, read any of the mystery series novels by Peter Robinson and see how he handles continuity and consistency in character and plot.
Also, you can read more about the characters and their stories in Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

Sharon A. Crawford’s prequel novel Beyond Blood, featuring the fraternal twins will be published fall 2014 by Blue Denim Press. Stay tuned.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 

 
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Posted by on May 22, 2014 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Credible Fiction Characters, Fiction Characters, Plot and Characters, Series Characters novels and short stories, Writing

 

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Short Story and Novel Writing with Series Characters – Part 3

15 May
Cover of Sharon A. Crawford's mystery short story collection

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford’s mystery short story collection

I have so many different projects, I hear voices in my head – the characters talking all at once – and I have to write to make them stop.
– Eli Roth
–
When transitioning series characters between novels and short stories, you need to keep the timeline and events straight. We touched on this issue two blog posts back. Remember that your mind will carry all the information to date about your characters, including their actions, including relationships. Your readers’ minds don’t.

Especially if your reader is not reading your short stories and novels in chronological order. As readers we (and I count myself in here) don’t always read series books in order. So, in the first novel in the series you read Alice is having a baby with Jack. Later you get to the first novel where Alice meets Jack. I’m doing this with the Deborah Crombie mystery series. I still haven’t read the book where the main character and her boss change their relationship from just business to personal but I’ve read books where they are living together and ironing out the kinks with a blended family, plus dealing with their respective outlaws, I mean in-laws, although sometimes they may act like the former.

Take this a step further with your series characters hopping in and out of short stories and novels. Which came first? And if you write a novel, then some short stories, then another novel, etc. with the same series characters, be careful. A character in a short story set in 2000 would not know what will happen in the following years, unless you want him or her to be psychic.

A character in a story set in an earlier time would not be as fully developed as in a later story. This can get a little confusing if you are back and forth in time with your story. Sometimes taking your character’s traits outline (remember that suggestion from last week’s post?) a little deeper by listing how they were then and later can help. Also listing the trigger (another character’s actions, something they experienced, etc.) that changed them after the first story, can help.

Again, you may not use all of this in your stories, but after writing out all the information, it is embedded in your mind – somewhere. The trick is to pull out the right characteristic for the right story.

This brings up another question. How much do you reveal about your main characters (and plot for that matter) in novels and short stories that has occurred in a previous novel or short story? You don’t want to give away character and plot from the previous. Yet you don’t want your reader kept wondering if your characters seem to appear out of the blue. Or family and friends and situations are mentioned briefly and in a way that leaves your readers scratching their heads and muttering, “Huh?”

With two of the linked stories in Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012) I am right upfront about what happened to David, Dana’s son in the prequel novel Beyond Blood (to be published by Blue Denim Press in the fall of 2014). I have to be, because in those short stories David is psychologically mute. Otherwise the reader will wonder why and if he has always been like that. So I state it but blend it into the main plot of the short story. Here’s an example from the beginning of “Gone Missing.”
The police can’t find her, Ms Bowman,” Robin Morgrave says.
Rosemary Morgrave has gone missing and I’m putting on a brave smile for her twin brother. Robin sits on the other side of the desk in The Attic Agency’s third floor office. Only my twin brother, Bast, nodding, stops me from losing it. Ever since David, my seven-year-old son, was abducted last August, I’ve been living in Panicville. Sure, we got David back, but how much of him returned? He follows Bast around like an investigator-in-training. His brown eyes stare right through my soul. I wish he’d just say how he feels. But since his return, David hasn’t opened his mouth except to swallow liquids and food. He doesn’t even cry. (Excerpted from Beyond the Tripping Point, Blue Denim Press, 2012, copyright Sharon A. Crawford).

Next week we will talk more about plot consistency and how much to reveal without giving it all away.

Meantime, read any of the mystery series novels by Peter Robinson and see how he handles continuity and consistency in character and plot.
Also, you can read more about the characters and their stories in Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

Sharon A. Crawford’s prequel novel Beyond Blood, featuring the fraternal twins will be published fall 2014 by Blue Denim Press. Stay tuned.
Cheers.
Sharon A. Crawford

 

 
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Posted by on May 15, 2014 in Beyond Blood, Beyond the Tripping Point, Blue Denim Press, Credible Fiction Characters, Plot and Characters, Series Characters novels and short stories

 

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Short Story and Novel Writing with Series Characters – Part 2

08 May
Amazon.com link to Sharon A.'s short story collection

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.’s short story collection

You learn by writing short stories. Keep writing short stories. The money’s in novels, but writing short stories keeps your writing lean and pointed.

– Larry Niven

 

After all my time-line tips last week I goofed. I put the wrong year for the four linked short stories in Beyond the Tripping Point. Ditto for the related series novel. It should be 1999 for the short stories and 1998 for the novel. At least I had it correct which came first. The years are now corrected on last week’s blog post.

Mea culpa, mea culpa.

This post will deal with length of short stories versus novels and start the discussion about series characters for both. The latter is complicated and we won’t cover everything today.

First length.

Short story length can be anywhere from the flash story of 50 words to longer stories of 8,000, even 10,000 words. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine stories tend to run in the upper word count limit. However, some authors take the short story up to 18,000 words. In this case, many are self-publishing – either e-copy or online or in print or all of those. To me, this is a variation of the traditional poetry chap book publications. This is all good. The only caveats I offer here are: if submitting to publications or short story contests, follow the submission guidelines; and watch you don’t make the stories too long or you will be writing a novella.
Novel lengths vary from 65,000 words to 120,000 words (think Elizabeth George for the longer novels). Most novels are somewhere in between and it depends on the publisher or the author if self-publishing. My publisher, Blue Denim Pressm tends to go for the lower page count. Personally I like any length as long as the story flows and doesn’t read as if it is padded with plot lines, character development and points of view that are way too much and detract from the story. Shorter novel requirements sure make the author learns how not to be overly wordy, as I’m finding out. But as a former journalist, I always wrote long and then rewrote to fit the editorial requirements. Writing too short here would create the dilemma of insufficient information and it is harder to add than to subtract – believe it or not.

Characters in novels versus short stories

This is a loaded one. Novels and short stories written in the literary vein are more about the characters than the plot. However, the trend today in commercial fiction (including genres such as mystery and romance, particularly in novels, is to develop characters more). While I like Agatha Christie mystery novels – they were what I grew up on, what got me interested in mysteries (along with the old Perry Mason TV series), her characters, although intriguing and original, were not fully developed. The exceptions are her two main series characters – Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.

So, how many characters do you put in a novel and in a short story? Obviously because of length, you wouldn’t cram many characters into a short story. War and Peace crunched down to a short story it is not. Take two or three main characters and a few minor characters and go from there, i.e., you will develop the three main characters fully but not the few minor ones. By “develop fully” I mean it wouldn’t hurt to do an extensive character sketch of your main characters before you start writing – with the caveat that they are not sealed in cement, granite or avalanche. When writing stories, characters sometimes take over and you as a writer have to respect that. Key question to ask here: is what this character is doing characteristic of him or her? That’s when you may have to return to your character sketch.

And you won’t use everything in your character sketch in your short story – or even in your novel, but you will use more in your novels. With a short story, every character element and development has to tie in with your basic story plot. With a novel you can add in the extras, although they have to tie in with the plot, but you have more leeway.

For example, in my prequel novel Beyond Blood, Dana Bowman has more space to show how she feels about a certain situation with her son as well as the conflict she has with being a mother of a six year old and a private investigator, especially when the two collide. If I didn’t do this, Dana would come across as shallow, one-dimensional and unbelievable. In the four linked stories in Beyond the Tripping Point (remember these are the year after the novel occurs), Dana is still reacting over what happened to David, but in the interest of space and plot, the whole story can’t be about her reaction. So I weave it in with the case she is investigating. In “Saving Grace,” while she is following a lead on a country road outside Goderich, Ontario, she stops the car and has a mini-break-down. But it doesn’t last long; she has to pull herself together and get on with it.

In the novel Beyond Blood, after the actual event that triggers all this has happened, Dana has many instances of having difficulty dealing with the situation. In one scene (without giving it away), she wakes up and is somewhat disoriented and depressed so she acts a bit strangely. She also has nightmares that act as a sort of premonition of what will happen. The time she spends with her son and her feelings about him there, as well as developing a possible relationship with Detective Sergeant Donald Fielding, all tie in with the plot. Without this character development, some of the future plot lines would have the reader saying, “This doesn’t make sense. How would she know how to do that? This action is not credible.”

These pointers are more for commercial fiction than literary fiction.

Next week we will delve more into the makings of series characters appearing in novels and short stories.

Meantime, you can read more about the characters and their stories in Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

Sharon A. Crawford’s prequel novel Beyond Blood, featuring the fraternal twins will be published fall 2014 by Blue Denim Press. Stay tuned.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 

 
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Posted by on May 8, 2014 in Beyond Blood, Beyond the Tripping Point, Credible Fiction Characters, Series Characters novels and short stories, Sharon A. Crawford, Short Story Collection, Writing

 

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Short Story and Novel Writing with Same Characters

01 May
Amazon.com link to Sharon A.'s short story collection

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.’s short story collection

You can’t write a novel all at once, any more than you can swallow a whale in one gulp. You do have to break it up into smaller chunks. But those smaller chunks aren’t good old familiar short stories. Novels aren’t built out of short stories. They are built out of scenes.

—Orson Scott Card, September 1980

Transitioning series characters from short story to novel or vice-versa presents challenges for fiction writers. It requires the combination of imagination and keeping facts straight.

Unless you are time-travelling with your stories or are deliberating putting them at an earlier or later age, time-lines can be tricky. Where in your characters’ story timeline do you want the short stories to appear? Or if the short stories came first, then your novel needs to be kept in the time-line. That can affect your characters development. For example, you don’t want one character to be divorced in the short story and newly married to the same person in a novel obviously set at a later date. You need to be consistent and realistic. If you mess up, your readers will find it.

My story situation has the timeline and consistency problem in spades (and I don’t mean the spade that digs the graves for bodies dead from murder). My short story collection Beyond the Tripping Point was published first. In it are four linked stories featuring fraternal twin PIs Dana Bowman and Bast Overture, Dana’s son David and a few other series’ characters. It is David I have to be concerned with because these four stories happened after the novel Beyond Blood, which I call the pre-quel novel. The four stories occurred in 1999 and the novel in the summer of 1998.

David is psychologically mute in Beyond the Tripping Point. In Beyond Blood, the reader finds out why. So, obviously he is talking at least for the first part of Beyond Blood.

Then there are the other characters, such as the ones I kill off in Beyond Blood. Obviously they didn’t appear in Beyond the Tripping Point.

Characters are supposed to grow and develop, so in a prequel novel, the characters have to be a few steps behind in that area. For example, in Beyond Blood, Dana could not be at the point where she is dealing with a mute David – that comes in BTTP. Things happen to characters and that’s what changes them one way or the other. But the event must happen before the change – something to keep in mind when transitioning from novel to short story or vice-versa.

To make the situation more complicated with me, I had actually written an earlier version of the pre-quel novel before those four linked short stories. So, when writing the stories, I had to keep the novel’s content in mind. When I returned to rewriting the novel for the publisher (after BTTP was published) I then had to make sure I was consistent – even though I was expanding the plot, making it more complicated. One of my base lines was why David became psychologically mute and when he is mute.

There is also the obvious difference in short stories and novels – length. The short story has to be more succinct because you do not have novel-length. You can’t have multiple plots in a short story or multiple points of view. How much about characters do you include?

Next week’s blog post will deal with some of those issues.

Meantime, you can read more about the characters and their stories in Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

Sharon A. Crawford’s prequel novel Beyond Blood, featuring the fraternal twins will be published fall 2014 by Blue Denim Press. Stay tuned.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on May 1, 2014 in Beyond Blood, Beyond the Tripping Point, Credible Fiction Characters, Fiction Characters, Plot and Characters, Writing

 

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Fiction Characters Interviewing Fiction Characters – Part 45

24 Apr
Amazon.com link to Sharon A.'s short story collection

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.’s short story collection

All fiction is about people, unless it’s about rabbits pretending to be people. It’s all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through time and changes taking place, and that’s what we call “the plot.”

– Margaret Atwood
–

The missing Bast has suddenly appeared at the dining room table with Robbie Stuart and the ghosts of Roger Stuart and Susan Stuart. Bast looks pale.

Dana, staring at the dining room table: Bast, are you okay? How did you get here?

Swan: Yeah, how? Did Robbie make you materialize somehow?

Fielding: Shut up Swan. You’re in no position to ask questions. Bast, answer your sister’s questions.

Dana, slightly agitated: Wait a minute. I need to ask Mr. Swan a question first. Who is sitting at the table with Bast?

Swan: Why Robbie Stuart of course.

Dana: Nobody else?

Swan: Who else would there be? The rest of us are over here. That’s why I want to know…

Fielding: I said shut up, Swan. Now, Mr. Overture, please answer your sister’s questions.

Bast: I’m fine, a little tired and weak. I had help getting here from Susan and Roger.
Swan: Wait a minute. You’re telling us that a couple of dead people helped you?

Bast: Yes. Susan and Roger are sitting right with me here. I gather you can’t see their spirits.

Susan’s Spirit: Bast, you’re right. Both Dad and I working together managed to keep you out of harm’s way temporarily and bring you back safely here. Sorry, Dana and you three cops, but we couldn’t say anything until you had Swan under control for Bast’s safety.

Dana: But you are really back, Bast?

Bast: Yes.

Fielding: Now, Mr. Overture, you have some explaining to do.

Bast: What Susan, Roger and Robbie said is true. Robbie has a memoir accepted for publication and I was to do another newspaper article on it with a sort of update. What you don’t know is Robbie also wanted me to write the Forward to the book. Both these, particularly the newspaper article, would give details of Swan’s shenanigans in the past and current. And he didn’t want that happening, so he took measures. Susan and Roger helped me. (He turns to them). Thank you. But you know me, Dana, the old crime reporter, I have to find out what is going on, so sorry, I had to disappear from Susan’s protection to find out and I couldn’t tell you for safety’s sake. Swan caught up with me and tried to use David’s and Aunt Doris’ safety as a lever. You know the rest.

Dana: So, you will be writing the story?

Bast: Oh yes, but maybe it will be delayed for a bit until Hutchinson or Fielding take Swan into custody.

Hutchinson (standing up): Get up Swan. I am arresting you for kidnapping, pointing a firearm, blackmail, uttering threats. And there will be more added later. You have the right to a lawyer…”

After Hutchinson finishes his spiel, Dana stands up and walks over to the table: Thank you Susan and Roger and Robbie, too.

Susan and Roger: You are welcome.

Susan: Now that we see justice is being done, we will leave you. But I will be keeping an eye on you Dana and Bast and your family. If you need me, just touch the painting in the library boardroom and I will appear.

Roger: Yes, it feels good to finally come clean with the full story. Now, as Susan said we must leave.

Susan’s and Roger’s spirits disappear. Dana sits down beside Bast.

Swan: What just happened? Are you all nuts? I see just Bast, Dana and Robbie at the table.

Hutchinson: Shut up, Mr. Swan.

Robbie looks up finally and glares at Swan: My sister and Dad didn’t keep you in the spirit loop because you are bad. And I’m glad I wrote the memoir to set the record straight.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

Dana, Bast and the others will take a rest for a bit. But they will be back with more original stories based on the stories and characters in Beyond the Tripping Point.

Next week’s blog will talk about fiction writing – short story versus novel, particularly when both use the same series characters. So, in a way, Dana and Bast will be back to illustrate some ideas here. Watch for upcoming posts with guest bloggers. Stay tuned. Meantime…

Sharon A. Crawford’s prequel novel Beyond Blood, featuring the fraternal twins will be published fall 2014 by Blue Denim Press. Stay tuned.

Meantime, you can read more about the characters and their stories in Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

 
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Posted by on April 24, 2014 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Freefall Writing, Interviewing fictional characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Short Story Collection, Writing

 

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Interview with Fiction Characters by Fiction Characters – Part 44

17 Apr
Amazon.com link to Sharon A.'s short story collection

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.’s short story collection

Make everybody fall out of the plane first, and then explain who they were and why they were in the plane to begin with.

– Nancy Ann Dibble

All the main characters, except the missing Bast Overture, are assembled in the dining room of the Stuart house in Toronto, Ontario. Will Bast show up? And if so, how? In physical person? Or in spirit. And what about PC Joseph Oliver? What is he going to do?

Swan (waving the gun he just fired): Next time I’ll hit one of you.

Fielding: Put that gun down, Swan.

Hutchinson: You heard him. Put that gun down.

Dana, still shaking from the gun’s noise: Better listen to them, Swan.

Swan: Or you’ll do what. I’m the one with the gun here. I…oh…

Roger’s and Susan’s spirits are creating havoc around Swan but they can’t seem to get the gun out of his hand.

Oliver (rushing forward to Swan and reaching up): I’ll take that.

Oliver knocks the gun from Swan’s hand, sending the gun flying. Hutchinson picks it up and points it at Swan.

Hutchinson: Cuff him, Oliver.

He does and Susan’s and Roger’s spirits return to the table where Robbie hasn’t budged. Robbie appears as if in a trance, as if he is talking to someone that no one else can see.

Dana, looking at Swan: We got you now. It might be in your best interest to tell me where my brother is. NOW.

Swan smirks: Of course. Look over there.

Dana follows his eyes. Sitting at the dining room table with Robbie, and the two spirits, is Bast. He appears to be talking to Robbie. The other two don’t seem to notice.

And Bast’s face looks very very pale.

Cheers.
Sharon A. Crawford

Sharon A. Crawford’s prequel novel Beyond Blood, featuring the fraternal twins will be published fall 2014 by Blue Denim Press. Stay tuned.

Meantime, you can read more about the characters and their stories in from Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

 

 
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Posted by on April 17, 2014 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Interviewing fictional characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Uncategorized, Writing Critique Groups

 

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Interview with Fiction Characters by Fiction Characters Part 43

10 Apr
Cover of Sharon A. Crawford's mystery short story collection

Cover of Sharon A. Crawford’s mystery short story collection

There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers. Your job isn’t to find these ideas, but to recognize them when they show up.
— Stephen King, On Writing

In the last post, suspect Cory Swan suddenly appeared pointing a gun at the interviewing/séance session with Dana Bowman, Detective Sergeant Donald Fielding, Detective Larry Hutchinson, Robbie Stuart and the spirits of Roger Stuart and Susan Stuart. PC Oliver is still present but has remained silent, as if in a stupor, from seeing the spirits.

Hutchinson: Put that gun down, Swan before someone gets hurt.

Swan: Why? So you can arrest me? No. I have something to say and I’m going to say it.

Dana: You’re going to tell us all.

Swan: That’s right.

Dana: You’re going to tell Detective Hutchinson, Detective Sergeant Fielding, PC Oliver, Robbie Stuart, and me.

Swan: Of course. You’re all here, all five of you.

Dana (looking at Susan’s spirit. They nod at each other as if in cahoots): Very well. Speak.

Fielding, clearing his throat: Okay, please sit down over there and put that gun down.

Swan: No, no, no, no. I remain standing and keep the gun. You three cops though, take out your guns slowly and put them on the side table over there. Or I start shooting you one by one and Robbie Stuart is first.

The three police officers comply.

Swan: Good choice. Okay, I heard you discuss my story – so far, but not all of it. And I want immunity before I go any further.

Hutchinson: We can’t promise you that.

Swan: Then I don’t talk.

Fielding: We can probably reduce the blackmail charges to a plea bargain.

Swan: A good start, but I expect more.

Dana: And I expect my brother back safe and sound and alive.

Swan: All in due time, Ms Private Eye. Okay. What you guys were talking about is somewhat correct as far as it goes. Sure I blackmailed Roger Stuart and made a pretty penny until he had the audacity to croak. (He looks at Dana). That’s your brother’s fault for interviewing him and getting a lot more details from him.

Dana: And were you there hovering and hiding for that interview.

Swan moves closer to Dana and waves the gun a few inches from her face: Shut up. This is my story.
Dana, her voice shaking: Very well. Continue.

Swan: Thank you. Yes, I was around when your brother interviewed Roger but not hiding. Bast and I arrived together as he wanted me to take pictures of Roger. But that’s not all I did. I took photos of her, too.

Dana: Her?

Swan: Yeah, the second bogus Mrs. Roger Stuart. She walked in right near the end of the interview. She was furious, ranting and raging about Roger blabbing family secrets. She threatened him and Bast if the story got printed and me if the photos got printed. Then the bitch grabbed my camera and pulled out the film. Too bad we didn’t have digital then but I guess she would have just smashed the camera. Then she went after Roger. She picked up a lamp and charged towards him. Bast and I managed to grab the lamp and stop her. We were going to call the police but Roger said, “No, please don’t do that. I can calm her down.”

Roger’s spirit is nodding “yes” at this.

Swan: Bast and I left when she appeared to be sitting calmly at the table. But… we should have stayed because Roger Stuart died later that evening of a heart attack.

Hutchinson: Are you saying that the second Mrs. Stuart scared her husband into a heart attack?

Swan shrugs his shoulders.

Roger Stuart is nodding again: She attacked me again that evening. She knew I had a heart condition. She hated my first wife and my kids. I couldn’t take it and so I died.

Hutchinson: So, you wanted all this to be suppressed in Robbie Stuart’s memoir? And so that’s why you kidnapped Bast Overture?

Swan: No, you got that all wrong. I wanted the memoir to be published. But Mrs. Stuart No. 2 got wind of it and…

Dana: She’s in prison.

Fielding: Ms Bowman, you should know that doesn’t stop anyone.

Swan: You got that right Detective.

Fielding: So, where does Bast Overture fit into all this?

Dana: Yes, why did you kidnap my brother after he returned from his first disappearance?

Swan: I didn’t kidnap your brother. He suddenly appeared in my office demanding answers. He didn’t want to co-operate with me…
Dana: So you tied him up and kept him prisoner?

Swan: What choice did I have? He was going to have me arrested? And that didn’t fit in with my plan.

Dana: But he got away.

Swan: Yes, damn him.

Fielding: But that’s when you started threatening Doris Bowman and David Bowman?

Swan (smiling): Of course. Nothing like a little family pressure to get someone to come round.

Dana (standing up): You scum.

Swan: Sit down Ms Bowman or you’ll meet the same fate as your brother.

Dana: What’s that? What have you done to Bast?

Swan: Not telling right now. First, I need police co-operation – no charges against me and you put me in witness protection – or whatever you call it here in Canada.

Hutchinson: No, you’re wrong. First you tell us where Bast Overture is now because it is obvious you have him somewhere.

Swan: Not yet. I still need him.

Dana: What for?

Swan: Why he is going to come out of retirement and write another newspaper story about the Stuart saga, sort of a preliminary to Robbie’s memoir and also with some updates about what really happened during that other interview.

Susan’s spirit, looking at Dana: Time for Dad and me to step in.

Roger’s spirit, Robbie and Dana nod. Detective Sergeant Fielding and Detective Hutchinson both stand up. Swan raises the gun and fires into the air.

PC Joseph Oliver suddenly becomes alert to what is happening.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

Sharon A. Crawford’s prequel novel Beyond Blood, featuring the fraternal twins will be published fall 2014 by Blue Denim Press. Stay tuned.

Meantime, you can read more about the characters and their stories in from Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

 
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Posted by on April 10, 2014 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Blue Denim Press, Interviewing fictional characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Short Story Collection, Writing

 

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Interview with Fiction Characters by Fiction Characters – Part 42

03 Apr
Amazon.com link to Sharon A.'s short story collection

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.’s short story collection

But first an announcement from Sharon A. Crawford.

My prequel novel, Beyond Blood, is being published By Blue Denim Press this fall (2014). That means readers will find out what really happened to David Bowman before he became psychologically mute. Dana Bowman, Bast Overture, Great Aunt Doris Bowman, Detective Sergeant Donald Fielding, PC Joseph Oliver will be “back” as well as a few other characters including the mysterious “Him.” Stay tuned. Meantime check out my other blog for the post about getting another book published http://onlychildwrites.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/only-childs-novel-to-be-published-fall-2014/
Now back to our current story (and I promise it will be resolved by Easter – this year).

In the previous posting, Detective Hutchinson, Detective Sergeant Fielding and Dana Bowman were interviewing a couple of spirits (Roger Stuart, Susan Stuart) and a live one (Robbie Stuart) to get information on where Bast is and why he was kidnapped. Susan Stuart has just announced that her brother Robbie has written a tell-all family memoir being published this year.

Fielding: This payback isn’t just against Bast, is it Susan?

Susan: That’s for you to figure out.

Hutchinson: Quit playing games.

Susan: Or you’ll what? Do I have to keep reminding you I’m already dead and so is Dad?

Dana: Again, let me talk to them. My guess is you are also after Cory Swan, but I have a question. How did he find out?

Robbie: I told him about the memoir – I needed permission for some of his photos from the newspaper story.

Dana: And I suppose you contacted my brother for a similar reason – permission to use his story?

Robbie: Well, I called him, but after I talked to Swan. Bast had disappeared before I had a chance to talk to him.

Susan: Like I told you Dana, I really was trying to protect your brother from Cory Swan so brought him over to our side. But he got away and came back. And I really don’t know where he is now.

Fielding: Do you Roger?

Roger: No.

Fielding: Robbie?

Robbie: No.

Voice from behind: But I do. And I’m not telling where until you do as I say.

Dana, Fielding and Hutchinson turn around. Cory Swan stands inside the dining-room door. He is holding a gun.

Cheers.
Sharon A. Crawford

You can read more about the characters and their stories in from Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
More info on Sharon A.’s upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

And stay tuned for more goodies on Beyond Blood.

 
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Posted by on April 3, 2014 in Beyond Blood, Beyond the Tripping Point, Blue Denim Press, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Uncategorized, Writing

 

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Interview with fiction characters by fiction characters – Part 41

27 Mar
Click on the book cover to go to amazon.com

Click on the book cover to go to amazon.com

If you will practice being fictional for a while, you will understand that fictional characters are sometimes more real than people with bodies and heartbeats.
– Richard Bach
In last week’s post, Dana Bowman and PC Oliver are just getting ready to leave the Thurston Public Library boardroom to head down to Toronto to Roger Stuart’s place.
The scene shifts as PC Joseph Oliver and Dana Bowman meet Detective Sergeant Donald Fielding and Detective Larry Hutchinson at the Stuart residence in Toronto. Dana doesn’t listen to Fielding’s instructions to wait until the three police officers check out the place, but follows them right in. They find Robbie Stuart, his sister Susan’s spirit and a third spirit sitting around the dining room table, as if involved in a séance.
Hutchinson: Detective Larry Hutchinson, Toronto Police Services.
The three at the table ignore them.
Hutchinson: We received a call there was a commotion going on here.
The three at the table still ignore them.
Fielding: Detective Sergeant Fielding, Cooks Regional Police.
Still no acknowledgement from the table. All three seem to be in a trance.
Dana (whispering): Let me try. (She raises her voice.) Dana Bowman here. Bast Overture’s twin and business partner. Susan and Robbie, we’ve met before and I’m guessing you (she points to the third figure) are Roger Stuart, in spirit of course.
Susan’s Spirit: Very clever Ms Bowman. But don’t think you coming here will help you find your brother or change anything.
Fielding: We just want to ask you some questions.
Susan: Questions, questions. We’ve had too many questions hurled at us and we’ve had enough.
Roger’s Spirit: I haven’t. And I have something to say to all.
Fielding: Very well. In your own words.
Roger’s Spirit: Boo. Hah, hah. Well, isn’t that what ghosts do?
Fielding: Very funny.
Hutchinson: Don, let me try. Now a couple of you are in serious trouble and it is in your best interests to answer our questions.
Susan’s Spirit: And if we don’t you’ll what? Two of us are already dead and you can’t hurt us. Hah. Hah. Hah.
Hutchinson: Robbie Stuart isn’t dead.
Susan’s Spirit: You’re sure of that.
Dana: Oh for Christ’s sake. Let’s stop playing games and put our cards on the table. We are basically looking for my brother Bast and also for Cory Swan. You should be interested in both, especially Swan as he didn’t exactly treat you in your best interests.
Susan: That’s putting it mildly. Nice try, but I can’t see how we can help each other –I gather that’s what you are after.
Dana: Look, Susan and Roger, you probably want some peace and maybe by sorting all this out, you can get that.
Hutchinson, raising his arms: All right. That’s enough dodging around. Fielding and I have some questions and you are all going to answer them.
Susan and Roger: Hah. Hah
Robbie suddenly stands up and glares at his father and sister: Cut it out you two. Let’s get this done for once and for all. Detective Hutchinson and Fielding? Ask your questions. I’m willing to answer anyway.
Hutchinson: Okay, we’ll start with you. What do you know about your father’s and Cory Swan’s dealings?
Robbie: Swan was blackmailing Dad about marrying his secretary while still married to Mom.
Hutchinson: Yes, we know that. But what else?
Robbie, looking over at the two spirits as if for confirmation: Well it was later, when Dad and his secretary returned to Toronto, just before Dad died. He knew he had a heart condition and he wanted to see Susan and I again before he died.
Hutchinson nodding: Yes, go on.
Robbie: Dad found out that Mom had died from cancer and he blamed himself. He wanted to make it up to us. But his second wife was jealous and turned on him. Dad met up with Susan and I – it was when Susan was just starting to make it as an artist and she was getting interviewed by various newspapers. He didn’t tell his second wife this. Dad, well, he seemed afraid of her for some reason.
Dana: Not surprising, considering what she did later.
Fielding: Dana, let Mr. Stuart tell his story.
Robbie: Not much more to tell. Dad told us what happened, but while he did so, that photographer Cory Swan was snooping around outside taking preliminary photos or so he said. But he was inside the house and Susan and I didn’t let him in.
Susan: But you left the damn back door open, Robbie.
Hutchinson: And so Swan heard your dad’s story and something in it got his attention. (He turns to Roger’s spirit). You told Robbie and Susan about the blackmail.
Roger’s spirit: Yes, and that bastard Swan was going to tell the reporter – Bast Overture – and make sure the whole world knew, knew I was back and well the whole sordid story. I couldn’t have that happen, she…she would come after me and my kids if she knew I’d told.
Hutchinson: Who would come after you?
Roger: My second wife.
Hutchinson: And what didn’t you want your second wife to know?
Roger’s spirit: What she was really like.
Hutchinson: And what was that?
Roger: I can’t tell. I can’t
Fielding: So Cory added to the blackmail?
Roger’s spirit: Yes.
Dana: That’s not it, is it? Cory, did tell my brother, didn’t he?
Roger: No, not that I know of.
Susan: Dad… Oh very well; Robbie blabbed Dad’s story to Bast, so your brother knew Dad was alive and back in Toronto.
Dana: And did Bast interview your Dad?
Susan: Yes, and it killed him. Dad had his heart attack and died right after your precious twin brother interviewed him.
Dana: So this is payback? But why now.
Susan: Because my precious brother, Robbie is writing a tell-all memoir about our family and it’s being published this year.

Cheers.
Sharon A. Crawford
You can read more about the characters and their stories in from Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at http://www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.
This Saturday, March 29, 2014,Sharon A. hosts and reads at another Crime Writers of Canada Murder and Mayhem at Du Cafe in east end Toronto, Ontario, Canada.. If you are in Toronto, drop in – the food is to die for and so are the stories read by crime writers Howard Shrier, Lynn Albrecht, Rob Brunet and Rosemary McCracken.
More info on this and Sharon A.’s other upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

 
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Posted by on March 27, 2014 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Interviewing fictional characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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Interview with Fiction Characters by Fiction Characters – Part 40

20 Mar

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.'s short story collection

Amazon.com link to Sharon A.’s short story collection

I always have a basic plot outline, but I like to leave some things to be decided while I write.

–          J.K. Rowling

Susan Stuart’s spirit has finally manifested and Dana and PC Oliver learn that she is not to be trusted. There is also another spirit involved and the missing Bast has just phoned his fraternal twin, Dana. Dana and Oliver remain in the Thurston Public Library boardroom. All characters, except Cory Swan, are from Beyond the Tripping Point by Sharon A. Crawford (Blue Denim Press, 2012).

Dana (on her cell phone with Bast): Bast, where are you?

Bast: Can’t tell you right now. It’s not safe for you to know.

Dana: But Oliver and I could come and get you.

Bast: It’s better that you don’t know where I am right now.

Dana: Okay, but I’m worried.

Bast: I know you are, but it is also a safety measure for you and David.

Dana: David? Where does he fit into all this? He wasn’t even born when…

Bast: I know, but CS is very cunning and determined and will go after family members if he has to.

Dana: All this just to keep a blackmailing scheme quiet? Bast, the police know and have a document showing that Roger Stuart was illegally married to his secretary while still married to Susan and Robbie’s mom before he and the secretary disappeared.

Bast: I know. But it’s more than this.

Oliver interrupting: Dana, let me speak to Bast.

Dana (covering her cell with her hand). Just a minute Oliver.  (Dana holds her cell out a bit so Oliver can hear the conversation).Yes, Bast you were saying.

Bast: Is Oliver with you?

Dana: Yes.

Bast: Okay, I’ll talk to him in a minute but as I was saying, it’s more than just Roger Stuart’s bigamy.

Dana: I gather that. And Susan Stuart – or rather her spirit is not what she seems. Do you know what she’s up to?

Bast: Partly. That’s what I’m working on and to do so I must remain “undercover.” What I have found out is Susan’s spirit is conspiring with her Dad’s spirit to get revenge on Cory Swan for the blackmail scheme.

Dana: What are they doing?

Bast: That I don’t know. But they must be meeting somewhere but I don’t know where.

Dana: I can answer that. Susan said her Dad’s spirit is tied to their house. So it’s there. And Bast, Roger is living there I think. Is he in danger?

Bast: He might be. That might be the other part of the puzzle. But I don’t know what if anything he had to do with all this. He always seemed to disappear himself.

Dana: Right…

Oliver, interrupting: Bast, Cooks Regional and Toronto Police Services have  some info on where Roger has been living when not in Toronto and you are correct Dana, Roger is living in the house now.

Dana: Can he see his sister’s and father’s spirits?

Bast: I don’t know. Oliver, do you know what Roger’s been up to when away?

Oliver:  Like I said, we have some idea but need more information.

Bast: Then I need to talk to him.

Dana: No, let me. You have to stay safe.

Bast: I also need to get some answers.

Oliver: So do the police. Bast, I need you to tell us where you are.

Bast: Can’t do that – it’s a safety issue.

Oliver: Bast, for your own good and your sister’s, you need to come in. We can give you protection.

Bast: No. It’s better I stay underground for now.

Dana: What did you actually write about Susan Stuart and her painting and where was it published?

Bast: In the Toronto Herald. There’s a print copy in the office where I keep all my published story clips.

A loud noise, like a siren comes over Dana’s cell phone.

Dana: What’s that?

Oliver: Bast, where are you?

Bast (his voice getting weaker). Gotta go. Talk to you lat…

Dana: Bast, are you there?

Silence on the other end.

Oliver pulls out his cell and starts punching in numbers: Fielding, you and Hutchinson better meet with us. Bast has called and…what? Okay…

Dana: Where? I’m coming too.

Oliver into his cell: Did you hear that? Dana’s coming too. She has info. I’ll bring her.

Dana: Where?

Oliver: The Stuart residence. Something’s going on there with Robbie Stuart.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

You can read more about the characters and their stories in from Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012). Click on the book at the top and it takes you to Sharon A. Crawford’s profile – including book reviews – at www.amazon.com. The book is available there in print and Kindle. For Kobo e-book  go to http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/beyond-the-tripping-point or go to any bricks and mortar store and order in a print copy. Spread the word.

Sharon A. Crawford will be returning to Aurora where she lived for 23 years. If you are in the Toronto area (GTA) and in particular just northof Toronto in York Region, join Sharon and four other Crime Writers of Canada authors reading from and talking about their crime books in A Shot in the Dark at the Aurora Public Library, Monday, March 24, 2014 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

More info on this and Sharon A.’s other upcoming gigs, workshops, guest blog posts, etc. at http://www.samcraw.com/Articles/BeyondtheTrippingPoint.html

 
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Posted by on March 20, 2014 in Beyond the Tripping Point, Credible Fiction Characters, Interviewing fictional characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford, Writing

 

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