Susannah Hardy | Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

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. I’m
always tempted to quote Stephen King, whose answer to that question is Utica. (For those
who don’t 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 don’t always recognize the thing right away.

Sometimes, of course, there’s a direct correlation between the thing and a specific story
idea. But most of the time, at least for me, the connection doesn’t come until much later.
And it’s usually not when I’m sitting at the keyboard, either. And it never happens if I’m
specifically trying. Just because something is interesting doesn’t mean you can force it
into a story.

When I’m 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 head—when I’m 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 can’t 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, “Wow! That is a great motive for murder.” But at the time, I had no idea how I would use it. It wasn’t 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?

About Susannah Hardy

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, you’re 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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About OLIVE AND LET DIE

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 legends—and 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, Georgie’s life is beginning to feel like a soap opera. And
that’s 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 Spiro’s new restaurant, Georgie and Melanie find the body of Doreen Webber—a
cousin Georgie never knew she had. With Spiro’s 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? She’d better find out before someone adds a new twist to the family
plot.

Includes delicious Greek recipes!