Head-Hopping

by Lois Winston

 

This blog is not meant to be controversial. It’s more about my confusion and trying to understand why a style of writing is verboten in one genre but seems perfectly acceptable in others. Let me explain.

 

I began my writing journey thirty-one years ago in the romance genre. The mantra that was beat into us newbies in countless workshops and conferences was that head-hopping is a sign of lazy writing, a no-no that leads to swift rejections. You absolutely MUST stay in one character’s point of view for an entire scene and preferably an entire chapter. If you needed to give another character’s point of view to the events, do so in a new scene or a new chapter. You also needed to keep to a very limited number of POVs – the hero, the heroine, and maybe the antagonist for romantic suspense.

There was one author exempted from the head-hopping rule because she “did it so well.” Or so we were constantly told. We were also told no one else should ever attempt to head-hop. As you can imagine, I was thoroughly confused. I bought one of this author’s books to try to understand what it was she did that no other romance author was allowed to do.

 

Confusion clouded my brain early into the book. Was I reading the thoughts of the hero? The heroine? Both at the same time? I reread the paragraph several time. I flipped back a page and reread. I read beyond the paragraph in question.

 

If I couldn’t figure out who was thinking what, how was this the one author entitled to head-hop? And why was it considered successful? I continued reading to the end of the book, hoping for better insight and understanding. I found none. I felt like the equivalent of the little boy who blurted out that the emperor was butt-naked, but I kept those thoughts to myself. After all, I was a rank amateur. Who was I to question a rule presumably set in stone?

 

As I continued to learn and hone my skills, transitioning from wannabe to published author, I adopted the philosophy that any given scene should be in the point of view of the character with the most to lose at that moment. Doing so raised the stakes and built tension.

 

Still, the warning about head-hopping had become so ingrained in me that I began seeing it in many other books. I found it prevalent, not only in rereading classic literature but in every literary novel and many non-romance novels I’ve read since. 

 

For instance, I’m currently reading a book that landed on multiple Best Books of 2025 lists. (I’ll refrain from mentioning the title.) Many chapters include two, three, or more POVs, often without transitioning with a scene break.

 

And then there’s the insertion of omniscient POV where a disembodied narrator adds his two cents. This also occurred in the above-mentioned book with an unnamed narrator periodically inserting himself into the narrative. There are times when this anonymous POV tells the reader the thoughts of two characters at the same time in the same sentence. To me, that’s both author intrusion and lazy writing, but this book is not an anomaly. I’ve seen it in other contemporary literary novels. Why is this archaic style of writing perfectly acceptable in literary fiction but not in genre fiction?

 

Nowadays, I find the head-hopping more annoying than confusing. I understand whose thoughts I’m reading most of the time. What’s annoying is that head-hopping still stands out like a blinking stop sign due to the indoctrination I received all those years ago. It pulls me from the scene, and when a reader is pulled from a scene – for any reason – it’s never a good thing.

In my own writing, I no longer worry about head-hopping. Since transitioning to writing cozy mysteries years ago, I now write exclusively in first person. Head-hopping is a non-issue because I’m always in my sleuth’s head. I just wish my brain didn’t zero in on head-hopping every time I come across it in a book I’m reading for pleasure. It’s funny how certain lessons, even when filled with misinformation, continue to flit around like gnats in our brain.

Meanwhile, yesterday marked the release of Embroidered Lies and Alibis, Book 15 in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series. As in many of the books in the series, the plot was inspired by current events. And although so much of our current events are wrapped around politics these days, I can assure you there’s absolutely nothing political about the plot of Embroidered Lies and Alibis. There’s also no head-hopping.

 

Post your thoughts on head-hopping for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook download of any of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.

 

Embroidered Lies and Alibis

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 15

 

A Stitch in Time Could Save a Life…

 

When Anastasia’s mother Flora is offered a free spa vacation from Jeremy Dugan, a man connected to her distant past, Anastasia and husband Zack suspect ulterior motives. After all, too-good-to-be-true often spells trouble. Their suspicions are confirmed when the FBI swoops in to apprehend Dugan. However, Dugan isn’t who he claimed to be, and his arrest raises more questions than answers.

 

The Feds link Dugan to a string of cons targeting elderly single women across the country, but his seemingly airtight alibi leaves investigators stumped. Then, shortly after his release on bail, he’s kidnapped. A certain segment of New Jersey’s population is known for delivering deadly messages, and the FBI believes Dugan received one of them.

 

Meanwhile, bodies begin showing up in the newly created public garden across the street from Anastasia and Zack’s home. With two baffling crimes, no clear suspects, scant evidence, and every possible motive unraveling, both the FBI and local law enforcement are once again picking Anastasia’s brain. This time, though, her involvement is far from reluctant. Will she stitch together enough clues before she or someone she loves becomes the killer’s next victim?

 

Craft project included.

 

Buy Links

Amazon

Nook

Kobo

Apple Books

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com. Sign up for her newsletter to receive an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery.

Lord Byron, Mark Twain, and Me

 by Lois Winston

The expression, “Truth is stranger than fiction” has been around for a long time. In 1897, Mark Twain published the travel book Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. Chapter Fifteen included the epigraph, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t. — Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar.”

 

However, Twain wasn’t the first to come up with some version of the saying. Seventy-four years earlier, Lord Byron had Don Juan opine, “’Tis strange — but true; for truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction; if it could be told, How much would novels gain by the exchange!”

 

I’m the first to admit I’m a news junkie. I’m also a diehard eavesdropper, a skill I developed at a very early age. It was how I learned all sorts of interesting stories that the adults in my life whispered about behind closed doors.

 

And there was lots of whispering. Grandpa was the captain of a major metropolitan east coast police force. He was responsible for the apprehension of many mobsters back in the day. But one of his brothers was a bootlegger, and my grandmother’s brother was romantically involved with a woman whose family was in the Mafia.

 

With such a background, is it any wonder that the plots and characters in my books have drawn on elements of real events and people I’ve heard about, observed, or read about throughout my life? Case in point, Seams Like the Perfect Crime, the fourteenth book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, which recently released.

 

For this book, I didn’t draw on memories of conversations heard in my childhood, though. Instead, I looked no further than across the street from a former house my husband and I bought in 1998. Over the years, I’ve had some very strange neighbors, but the couple who lived in the house across the street from us back then tops the list.

 

This past year, when I was mulling ideas for my next book, these neighbors came to mind. I wrote about them in one of my author newsletters and asked my readers if they thought I should put them in my next book. All who responded said I should go for it. So I did.

 

In Seams Like the Perfect Crime, readers will meet the very odd Barry Sumner, a half-naked man who spends hours each day mowing a small yard of weed-infested packed dirt until his mower runs out of gas. Truth is stranger than fiction. The character of Barry Sumner is based on the neighbor who lived across the street from us. That man had the same strange mowing habit. But lucky for him, he didn’t meet the same fate as the character in Seams Like the Perfect Crime.

 

Seams Like the Perfect Crime

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 14

When staffing shortages continue to hamper the Union County homicide squad, Detective Sam Spader once again turns to his secret weapon, reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. How can she and husband Zack Barnes refuse when the victim is their new neighbor?

 

Revolutionary War reenactor Barry Sumner had the odd habit of spending hours mowing a small patch of packed dirt and weeds until his mower ran out of gas. He’d then guzzle beer on his front porch until he passed out. That’s where Anastasia’s son Nick discovers his body three days after the victim and his family moved into the newly built mini-McMansion across the street.

 

After a melee breaks out at the viewing, Spader zeroes in on the widow as his prime suspect. However, Anastasia has her doubts. There are other possible suspects, including a woman who’d had an affair with the victim, his ex-wife, the man overseeing the widow’s trust fund, a drug dealer, and the reenactors who were blackmailing the widow and victim.

 

When another reenactor is murdered, Spader suspects they’re dealing with a serial killer, but Anastasia wonders if the killer is attempting to misdirect the investigation. As she narrows down the suspects, will she jeopardize her own life to learn the truth?

​

Craft projects included.

 

Buy Links

 

Lois Winston, a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, middle-grade, and nonfiction, sold her first book to a NY publishing house in 2005. Currently she writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack, along with a supporting cast of characters that include Anastasia’s communist mother-in-law, her self-proclaimed Russian princess mother, and Ralph, the Shakespeare-quoting parrot. Learn more at www.loiswinston.com where you can sign up for her newsletter and receive a free Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery.

Standing Out in a Crowded Genre

We are delighted to welcome Lois Winston as our guest on Writers Who Kill.

 

Standing Out in a Crowded Genre

by Lois Winston

 

Life is often about pivots. No matter how we think our life goes, it rarely goes as planned. Sometimes we need to pivot, and sometimes that pivot becomes life-altering. My career as a cozy mystery author was a major, life-altering pivot, thanks to a conversation my agent had with an editor. The editor was looking for a humorous crafts-themed amateur sleuth mystery series. Based on my day job as a crafts designer and Talk Gertie to Me, my award-winning humorous first novel, my agent suggested I try writing such a series.

 

Before I began what was to become my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, now at thirteen books and three novellas, I embarked on extensive research. I read dozens of crafting cozies to get a feel for the genre. I discovered most centered around a craft shop in a small town. The amateur sleuth was either the shop owner, an employee, a customer, or a close friend or relative of the owner. 

For years I had heard an author should never follow trends. If you want your book to stand out in a crowded genre, you need to put a unique spin on the conventions of that genre. So I began to brainstorm as to what I could do differently but still produce a series which readers of crafting mysteries might embrace. 

 

I decided to take my protagonist out of the shop and stick her in a different crafting profession. I made Anastasia the crafts editor at a women’s magazine. To my knowledge, no other author had ever featured a crafts editor as an amateur sleuth.

 

Then, I went a step further. Another observation I made in studying amateur sleuth and cozy mysteries, was that most of the protagonists were busybody snoops who channeled Nancy Drew or Jessica Fletcher, often believing they knew more than the professional investigators assigned to the crime. 

 

In real life this would never happen, but fiction—especially genre fiction—is all about the suspension of disbelief. Readers of amateur sleuth and cozy mysteries are happy to suspend disbelief for a good whodunit. However, once again, I wondered what I could do differently to make my series stand out, while still giving readers the satisfying read they expected.

 

What if I made Anastasia a reluctant amateur sleuth? 

 

My amateur sleuth would like nothing better than to turn back the clock to a time not so long ago when she led a typical middle-class life with a devoted husband, two great kids, and a job she loved. But that’s not going to happen. For one thing, I’m not writing time-travel mysteries. Also, writing an ongoing series means the protagonist needs a reason to keep sleuthing. In all books, no matter the genre, the main character needs goals, motivation, and conflict. What better conflict for an amateur sleuth than having her conflicted about sleuthing?

 

A successful book needs a story arc with a protagonist who is not the same person at the end of the book as she was at the beginning of the book. This is called character growth. But in an ongoing series, you can’t resolve all the protagonist’s goals, motivations, and conflicts at the end of the book. Doing so will end the series. You want to keep the reader coming back for more of your character’s adventures. But at the same time, you need your character to learn from her experiences, moving closer toward her goal with each book.

 

In Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in my series, I set the stage for what will be Anastasia’s ongoing goals, motivations, and conflicts. The series opens with her discovering that her recently deceased husband led a double life, more devoted to Lady Luck than his family. When he drops dead at a roulette table in Las Vegas, Anastasia discovers he’s gambled away all their savings and left her with huge debt and a loan shark demanding she pay off her husband’s gambling debts—or else. In each book she tries to find new ways to earn extra money to whittle down that debt. But since this is an amateur sleuth mystery series, she also winds up dealing with unsavory characters on the wrong side of the law, not to mention constantly tripping over dead bodies.

However, no amateur sleuth operates in a vacuum. She needs friends and family in her life. Creating conflict within a protagonist’s personal life adds another layer of depth to a series. Not only does the amateur sleuth need to figure out whodunit in each book, but she also needs to deal with life’s normal problems. Adding fully developed secondary characters that readers will enjoy will keep them coming back for more. 

 

In my series, Anastasia deals with a nasty Communist mother-in-law. Lucille is the character readers love to hate. I receive the most fan mail about her. Some readers wish I’d kill her off. Others (many of whom have difficult mothers-in-law of their own!) hope I never do because she’s so much fun to hate. However, since I’m writing a humorous series, I went further. In addition to a Communist mother-in-law, Anastasia’s mother is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and both mother and mother-in-law are often forced to share a room in Anastasia’s home. Conflict. Conflict. Conflict. You can never have too much.

 

Whether you’re writing a crafting mystery series or any ongoing series in any genre, the same advice applies if you want your books to stand out:

 

1. Give a unique spin to your protagonist, her profession, and/or the setting of your series.

 

2. Set up an overall situation that will allow the protagonist to make progress toward reaching her goals and resolving her conflicts as the series progresses from book to book.

 

3. Develop secondary characters that add depth to your series and create additional problems for your protagonist. 

Sorry, Knot Sorry, the latest book in my Anastasia Pollack Mystery series, is currently on preorder. In it, Anastasia continues to be motivated toward reaching her goals and resolving her conflicts, but the dead bodies keep coming.

What is it about a series that keeps you reading? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook of one of the first nine Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.

 

Sorry, Knot Sorry

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 13

 

Magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack may finally be able to pay off the remaining debt she found herself saddled with when her duplicitous first husband dropped dead in a Las Vegas casino. But as Anastasia has discovered, nothing in her life is ever straightforward. Strings are always attached. Thanks to the success of an unauthorized true crime podcast, a television production company wants to option her life—warts and all—as a reluctant amateur sleuth. 

 

Is such exposure worth a clean financial slate? Anastasia isn’t sure, but at the same time, rumors are flying about layoffs at the office. Whether she wants national exposure or not, Anastasia may be forced to sign on the dotted line to keep from standing in the unemployment line. But the dead bodies keep coming, and they’re not in the script. Craft tips included.

 

Buy Links (preorder ebook now. Available June 4^th, along with paperback and hardcover editions)

Amazon

Kobo

Nook

Apple Books

 

Bio:

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website where can also sign up for her newsletter and find links to her other social media: www.loiswinston.com

An Interview With Lois Winston

by Grace Topping

I love audiobooks. Most of the books I read are in audio. I download them to my iPhone and take them with me wherever I go, even to bed. Take a look at recently published books and you’ll find that a good many of them are now being released in print, digital, and audio simultaneously. It’s no wonder audio production is the fastest-growing sector of publishing. That’s great for recently published books, but what about books that are already out there? It’s taking backlists a while to catch up. So when I saw that Lois Winston had recently released an audio version of Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in her hilarious and long-running Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, I was pleased to see that old favorites are slowly becoming available in audio. It was a pleasure talking to Lois about her experience producing her first audiobook.

Lois will give away three free download codes for an audiobook of Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun (US and UK only). To enter the random drawing, leave a comment on the blog. Winners will be announced on Saturday, November 5. Please check back. 

 

Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun

 When Anastasia Pollack’s husband permanently cashes in his chips at a roulette table in Vegas, her comfortable middle-class life in New Jersey craps out. She’s left with two teenage sons, a mountain of debt, and her hateful, cane-wielding Communist mother-in-law. Not to mention stunned disbelief over her late husband’s secret gambling addiction and the loan shark who’s demanding fifty thousand dollars.

Anastasia’s job as crafts editor at American Woman magazine proves no respite when she discovers a dead body glued to her desk chair. The victim, fashion editor Marlys Vandenburg, collected enemies and ex-lovers like Jimmy Choos on her ruthless climb to editor-in-chief. But when evidence surfaces of an illicit affair between Marlys and Anastasia’s husband, Anastasia becomes the prime suspect. Now she's in a race to find the killer, not only to clear her name but before he strikes again.

 

                                                                                         www.amazon.com

 

 

Welcome to Writers Who Kill, Lois.

 

 

You independently reissued the Anastasia Pollack series. That was quite an undertaking. What motivated you to go indy? 

 

Thanks for inviting me, Grace. Shortly before the third book in the series was scheduled to release, my agent was in contract negotiations with the publisher for additional books in the series and a second series I had started writing. When an agent negotiates a contract with a publisher, that contract becomes the “boilerplate” for all contracts going forward between any agency clients and that publisher. My publisher had decided not to honor this longstanding industry norm and was insisting on changes to certain clauses that sent up red flags for us. This was around the time that many authors were walking away from their publishers and going indie. We had some interest from a few smaller publishers to pick up the series, but my agent suggested I might be better off going indie. Turns out, she was right. The rest is history.

 

After so many years, you recently produced an audio version of Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun? Why audio?

 

Why not? Many of my indie author friends have begun producing audiobooks of their series. I thought about it for quite some time before I decided to take the plunge, but I had the benefit of their experiences, and that made it much less intimidating.

 

Please tell us about the process of independently producing audiobooks. Did you have total control?

 

There are several companies you can use, but I chose to work through ACX because they offer an option where you don’t have any financial outlay if you opt to split royalties 50/50 with your narrator. Otherwise, it costs $1500 or more (depending on the length of the audiobook) because you pay the narrator, who is also the producer, upfront. I wasn’t willing to gamble on whether I’d ever recoup my initial investment.

 

As it turns out, the process is relatively easy. You start by uploading a short excerpt of your novel to the site. There’s a menu for selecting the type of narrator you want. Interested narrators record an audition from your excerpt. You can also listen to excerpts from narrators who have produced other audiobooks and directly invite them to audition.

 

ACX distributes to Audible, Amazon, and iTunes, which are the three largest sites for audiobook sales. The downside is that libraries don’t purchase from them, and many people get their audiobooks through libraries. I made the decision to forego library sales because I didn’t want the initial cost that I’d incur going with a company other than ACX. 

 

As for total control, yes. If you’re not happy with the results, you don’t accept the final recording. My narrator has been extremely receptive to tweaking if something isn’t right. This is a partnership, and we both want the same thing—for the audiobook to be as successful as possible.

 

How was it working with the narrator? Did you audition different narrators until you found the right one?

 

About a dozen narrators submitted audition recordings, but I wasn’t quite happy with any of them. It’s a Goldilocks process. You have to find the narrator who’s just right for your book. I started listening to samples from other audiobooks and found one narrator whose voice I thought best matched the way I heard Anastasia’s voice in my head. The narrator immediately fell in love with Anastasia and has agreed to commit to recording all the books in the series.

 

What was the hardest part of the audiobook production process?

 

For me, it was finding the right narrator. If I were casting the movie version of my series, I’d want Tina Fey to portray Anastasia. It’s her voice that’s in my head as I write. I needed a narrator who could convey Anastasia’s self-deprecating sense of humor.

 

Do you plan to produce all of the books in your Anastasia Pollack series? What about other books you’ve written?

 

Yes, as I mentioned above, my narrator has agreed to record all the books in the series. She’s currently working on the second book. As of now, there are eleven books in the series and one book of three connecting novellas.

 

At this point, I’ll decide about my other published books once my narrator has finished with the Anastasia books. Since it takes about six weeks from the time the narrator begins work to when the book is approved first by me, then by ACX, at this point, that’s more than a year off.

 

When you wrote Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun a number of years ago, you probably weren’t thinking about audio. What would you have done, if anything, differently with audio in mind?

 

I wouldn’t have done anything differently as far as how I wrote the books. However, had my publisher exercised their audio rights with the first three books, I probably would have ventured into audio much sooner since those books would already have been available as audiobooks when I went indie. 

 

Do you have any tips for authors regarding audio—both writing with audio in mind or producing their own audiobooks?

 

I don’t think authors should write with audio in mind. I’m not even sure how you’d do that or what you’d do differently. Authors should write the best possible books they can. If they then decide to produce audiobooks from their novels, they should take their time to find a narrator with the perfect voice for their books. Also, make sure the narrator will commit to the entire series. I’d also recommend going with a split royalty with your narrator (which means foregoing library sales.) The authors I know who have gone with other audio sites in order to get their audiobooks into libraries haven’t made enough in royalties to recoup their upfront production costs.

 

I enjoyed both the print version of Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun and the audio version. The characters are terrific, especially Anastasia’s communist mother-in-law. What motivated Anastasia to give her a home, especially since the MIL verbally abuses her?

 

Thanks, Grace. Lucille is the character my readers love to hate. Anastasia is much nicer than I would be under the same circumstances, but novels need conflict, and Lucille definitely is the catalyst for quite a bit of conflict in the Pollack household.

 

You have experience as both a writer and an agent. Which side of the desk do you prefer?

 

Writing. Agenting was always a side gig. I stepped in to help when one of the firm’s agents died and another retired. I was mostly culling the slush pile. Eventually, I had a handful of my own clients, but I have no legal experience and always handed over contract negotiations to the owners. The agency closed its doors a few years ago after my agent died and her husband retired.

 

You write mysteries, chick lit, women’s fiction, and children’s books, both as Lois Winston and Emma Carlyle. Do you have a favorite genre among them?

 

Mystery, hands down, and I have my agent to thank for that. She suggested I write a humorous amateur sleuth mystery after I wrote Talk Gertie to Me. No one was more surprised than I was when it turned out I had a knack for writing humor. I butcher every joke I’ve ever attempted to tell. But it turns out I can write humor. And I love writing books that make people laugh, especially with everything going on in the world. Who doesn’t need a good laugh to get through the day lately?

 One reviewer of your first audiobook is anxious to hear the other books in your series. When can readers expect the next one?

 

Very, very soon. My narrator is hard at work. I’m hoping it will be available before Thanksgiving.

 

Besides the audio production, what else do you have in the works?

 

Right now, my attention is focused on writing the next Anastasia book.

 

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned since you started writing?

 

Not to read reviews. I don’t have as thick a skin as I thought I had. I can have a hundred 5-star reviews, but a 1-star review will ruin my day, especially when the reviewer writes something like, “I haven’t read this book yet, so I’m only giving it one star.”

 

Thank you, Lois. I look forward to the audio version of the other books in your series.

 

To learn more about Lois Winston and her books, visit www.loiswinston.com.

 

 

 

 

Those Voices in My Head

Those Voices in My Head by Lois Winston

There are two kinds of people who listen to the voices in their heads—schizophrenics and authors. Fortunately, I fall into the latter category, the group that doesn’t talk back. Or so we pretend. But the truth is, those voices in our heads belong to our characters, and whether we’re brave enough to admit it to the world beyond our writing caves, those conversations go both ways.

Our characters demand quite a lot from us, especially those of us who write mysteries. After all, we’re constantly putting them in situations filled with murder and mayhem. Is it any wonder they’re constantly interrupting our plotting to insinuate their own two cents?

My most demanding character is Anastasia Pollack, the reluctant amateur sleuth of the eponymous Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. In every book, I get to a point in the story where Anastasia goes on strike. She absolutely refuses to continue on the path I’ve laid out for her. No matter how much I try to force her into the next chapter, she won’t budge.

Have I mentioned what a royal pain in my butt she is?

This standoff leaves me no choice but to cave to her demands, especially since she always gets the backing of the rest of my characters who line up in solidarity behind her. Then they pool their resources and send my muse off on holiday.

Have I mentioned my characters play dirty?

No author wants to sit in front of a computer screen staring at a blinking cursor for hours on end, especially when deadlines are looming. My characters know this, which means I have no choice but to capitulate to their demands. Otherwise, they won’t send my muse a return-trip ticket.

With every book, Anastasia tosses a monkey wrench into my plots. “You’re taking the easy way out,” she screams. “I demand more conflict! Another red herring! One more plot twist!”

“There’s no problem with the story the way it is,” I whine.

“Wanna bet?” she asks. “Send the chapter off to your critique partner. See what she has to say.”

“Have you been speaking to her behind my back?”

She grins. “I’ll never tell.”

I wonder what my critique partner would say if I asked if she’d heard from Anastasia. Would she think I’ve gone nuts? I’ve decided it isn’t worth the risk. Anastasia is a fictional character and only a fictional character as far as she knows. Best to keep it that way (and hope she isn’t reading this!) Instead, I send off the chapter for some feedback. A few hours later her notes arrive—stating exactly what Anastasia had said.

“Fine, you win,” I say, bowing to the inevitable. “I’ll write the story your way.”

“You’ll thank me in the end,” she says.

And you know what? Darned if she isn’t right. Every single time, including recently as I was in the middle of writing Guilty as Framed, the 11^th Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, now available for preorder.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” Learn more about Lois and her books at her website, www.loiswinston.com, where you can also sign up for her newsletter and find links to her various social media sites.

The Happy Hooker by Lois Winston

The Happy Hooker

By Lois Winston

No, this is not a post about the world’s oldest profession. It’s about opening hooks. Because attention spans aren’t what they used to be, authors have precious few seconds to grab a reader’s attention. If you don’t hook a reader with the first page of your book, chances are, she won’t read the second page.

Too many writers make the mistake of opening their books with long passages of description and back-story. Bad idea! Especially when you open with a description of the weather.

There’s a reason Snoopy kept getting all those rejection letters whenever he submitted his novel, which opened with, “It was a dark and stormy night…” It’s also the reason that a well-known annual writing contest for the worst opening lines in books is named for Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, the author of that famous line. It appeared in his 1830 novel Paul Clifford. If you’ve never read the complete opening sentence, here it is:

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

Pretty bad, right? The sad truth is that too many writers open their stories in a similar manner. That’s why I’m a firm believer in hooking a reader with the very first line of my books. I want my readers to be intrigued enough by that first line to continue reading.

A book’s hook doesn’t have to be defined by the first sentence, but that first sentence should

make the reader want to read the next sentence. And then the next. Those first sentences should form a paragraph that makes the reader want to read the next paragraph. And then the next. Until the reader has read a complete page that makes her want to turn the page and read the next page. And finally, those first pages should create a first scene that has sufficiently hooked the reader so she can’t put the book down. She has to keep reading to find out what happens next.

The opening of a book should suck the reader into the world the author has created. Back-story can come later, trickling in to tease the reader to continue reading, not as information dumps that pull the reader from the story. A good opening will include only the barest minimum of back-story that is essential for that moment.

As for description, it should be woven into the narrative and dialogue. Nothing bores more than long paragraphs describing everything from the length of the protagonist’s hair to the color of her toenail polish. It, too, pulls the reader from the story. And pulling the reader from the story is a definite no-no. It adversely affects the pacing of a book. Good pacing, especially in a mystery, is imperative for a well-written novel.

Solve any murders over the weekend?”

That’s the opening line of Stitch, Bake, Die!, the tenth and newest book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. I hope it entices you to want to read the next sentence…and the next…and the next….

Do you have a favorite first sentence from a book you’ve read?

Stitch, Bake, Die!

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 10

With massive debt, a communist mother-in-law, a Shakespeare-quoting parrot, and a photojournalist boyfriend who may or may not be a spy, crafts editor Anastasia Pollack already juggles too much in her life. So she’s not thrilled when her magazine volunteers her to present workshops and judge a needlework contest at the inaugural conference of the NJ chapter of the Stitch and Bake Society, a national organization of retired professional women. At least her best friend and cooking editor Cloris McWerther has also been roped into similar duties for the culinary side of the 3-day event taking place on the grounds of the exclusive Beckwith Chateau Country Club.

The sweet little old ladies Anastasia is expecting to find are definitely old, and some of them are little, but all are anything but sweet. She’s stepped into a vipers’ den that starts with bribery and ends with murder. When an ice storm forces Anastasia and Cloris to spend the night at the Chateau, Anastasia discovers evidence of insurance scams, medical fraud, an opioid ring, long-buried family secrets, and a bevy of suspects.

Can she piece together the various clues before she becomes the killer’s next target?

Crafting tips included.

Buy Links

Paperback (available Oct. 4^th)

Kindle https://amzn.to/3ylMivw

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/stitch-bake-die

Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stitch-bake-die-lois-winston/1140036766;jsessionid=25A7F9659AD9C525D5EAB0BECCEA6D09.prodny_store02-atgap06?ean=2940162610267

Apple Books https://books.apple.com/us/book/stitch-bake-die/id1582066729

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

Website: www.loiswinston.com

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