Thanks for having me here today! I love visiting blogs and talking to readers.
One of the questions I (and other authors) get asked a lot is where we get our ideas. Iโm
always tempted to quote Stephen King, whose answer to that question is Utica. (For those
who donโt know, Utica is a small city in central New York State, west of Albany and east of
Syracuse) In fact, Utica is only a hundred miles from my fictional village of Bonaparte
Bay. So maybe Utica actually is a pretty good answer for me!
The truth is, and I think most authors will tell you this, ideas come from everywhere.
People we meet, things we see, or hear, or read, or feel, or experience, any of it is fair
game. But we donโt always recognize the thing right away.
Sometimes, of course, thereโs a direct correlation between the thing and a specific story
idea. But most of the time, at least for me, the connection doesnโt come until much later.
And itโs usually not when Iโm sitting at the keyboard, either. And it never happens if Iโm
specifically trying. Just because something is interesting doesnโt mean you can force it
into a story.
When Iโm stuck for what happens next in my manuscript, I quite often have to go do
something else. Vacuuming. Dishwashing. Laundry. A long walk. Crocheting or knitting (not a
complicated pattern, though). For whatever reason, doing something fairly mindless and
repetitive gets those creative juices going for me, and it still sort of amazes me when
suddenly the answer to my plot or character problem pops into my headโwhen Iโm thinking
about or doing something else. It can be hard, when a deadline looms, to trust the process.
And yet, if I do, the answer always appears.
As for the storyline in
OLIVE AND LET DIE, I canโt say too much without spoiling for you. But I
will say that the motive for the murder came directly from a news story I read a few years
ago. I remember reading it and thinking, โWow! That is a great motive for murder.โ But at
the time, I had no idea how I would use it. It wasnโt until later, when I was doing
something else, that I suddenly understood why I had filed that news article away in my
subconscious. I needed it for this story, and now I knew why.
Do you second-guess yourself, or have you learned to trust your instincts?
Susannah Hardy is the author of the Greek to Me Mysteries from Berkley Prime Crime.
If you like your mysteries cozy, culinary, and a little bit crazy, youโre going to love
Georgie and the gang at Bonaparte Bay.
Suze is a member of the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime, the Romance Writers of
America and the Connecticut Chapter of RWA. Susannah is originally from Northern New York
State (Way north! Only a few miles from the Canadian border), graduated from St. Lawrence
University, and now lives in Connecticut with her husband, teenaged son, and Elvira the
Wonder Cat.
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The second Greek to Me Mystery from the author of FETA ATTRACTION
As manager of the Bonaparte House, a historic landmark and Greek restaurant in upstate New
York, Georgie Nikolopatos knows her local legendsโand her traditional Greek recipes are to
die for.
Between her soon-to-be ex-husband Spiro coming out of the closet and her budding romance
with Captain Jack Conway, Georgieโs life is beginning to feel like a soap opera. And
thatโs before a surprise visit from her estranged mother Shirley, better known as soap star
Melanie Ashley. But the dramatic family reunion takes a chilling turn when another long-
lost relative turns up dead.
Just outside Spiroโs new restaurant, Georgie and Melanie find the body of Doreen Webberโa
cousin Georgie never knew she had. With Spiroโs partner Inky on the list of suspects,
Georgie begins to wonder what else her mother may be hiding. Is the dead- broke diva
capable of murder? Sheโd better find out before someone adds a new twist to the family
plot.
Includes delicious Greek recipes!
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