Starting a New Book

I print out all my written work to save.

Last week I edited my last chapter of book eight in my Catherine Jewell mystery series – Amaryllis for Phyllis. I still need to reformat it into book size, do more editing and change a few things while I wait for my step-granddaughter to create the cover for it. I have already put in the beginning pages – title page, the page listing my previous books, the third page for dedication and acknowledgements, and a page of characters in my book leaving out those who aren’t as important. My readers like having a list of the characters with a short bit on who they are. When this is posted, I’ll probably already have some chapters in the book form.

Groundhogs can be quite annoying.

I have started writing notes and ideas for my next book. Each of my books reflects a month starting with June. My new book will reflect February. I need to come up with a title for it, but that may take some time. There’s Groundhog’s Day in February, but I can’t see how that would work in a title or even in a mystery. The Murder of Punxsutawney Phil? My mysteries don’t take place in Pennsylvania and animals can never be killed in cozies.

Of course, there’s Valentine’s Day, too, and I’m playing with that thought. I’m planning a Valentine’s Day dinner for a charity at a local restaurant. Could someone be murdered there? How?  There would be lots of people there which could provide more possible suspects.

I can’t see how Lincoln’s birthday would fit in, either, or Washington’s birthday, although I have a character named Lincoln –Linc for short. Almost every one of my titles has a flower in it which goes along with the month my book takes place in. The flowers can’t be one flowering during the month and would have to be one from a greenhouse.

As for the murder, I’ve used a garden fork, a shovel, poison, guns, an axe, a large candleholder, the antlers of a deer, and a few other ways I can’t think of right now, especially since I’ve used various methods in my short stories, too.  I like to introduce myself to people as the little, old, white-haired woman who murders people. You should see the raised eyebrows with that introduction.

I’m making a list of returning characters and some new ones I’ll bring in, and working on who will be the victim, and who the murderer will be. I have a vague idea about how the person will be murdered, but haven’t quite figured out the details yet. I write bios for each new character I bring in, and some returning characters are going to play a more important part than they have in previous books. One has been a character of interest. He’s a bit of a recluse with problems. I don’t write much of a bio for the victim or the murderer since they will never return. And, of course, my two main characters, Catherine Jewell and Police Chief John MacDougal will be back with major parts, too.

The Davis  family first appeared in this book.

I had planned to take a break from writing another Catherine Jewell mystery and return to working on a middle-grade book I’ve started, but then the night I started the reformatting of Amaryllis for Phyllis, I lay awake with the first chapter of the next Catherine Jewell mystery popping into my head and the voice of an adorable little girl, Hannah Davis, who readers of my books have loved. So what else can I do but start the new book?

Anyone who can help me with the title, I’d appreciate any suggestions. Or a new way to murder someone I haven’t used yet. I guess it wouldn’t matter if I use something I’ve used before if it was done in a different way. I do have a wonderful book on poisons. 

Happy Groundhog’s Day

If you’re a writer, how do you go about starting new books?

If you’re a reader what kinds of murder do you not like to read about?