An Interview with Author Margarita Morris

Today, I’m thrilled to bring you an interview with historical fiction, mystery and thriller author Margarita Morris. We talk about the inspiration behind her novels, her unique approach of mixing historical and present-day timelines in her narratives, and her plans for 2017. If you like the sound of her novels, be sure to check out Scarborough Fair and its sequel, Scarborough Ball (which releases today!). At the time of writing, both are on sale for $0.99 and £0.99!

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1. Tell us a little about yourself and your fiction!

I grew up in the Victorian spa town of Harrogate, and then went to Oxford to study Modern Languages. For years I was a voracious reader whilst secretly harbouring a desire to write my own books, finally making a start in 2008. Many unfinished manuscripts later, I published Oranges for Christmas, a novel about a family escaping from East Berlin, in 2013. I have now published four novels and the main thing they have in common is that I write about what interests me whether that’s Berlin, Highgate Cemetery, Victorian fairs etc. I also try to make my books page turners because I don’t want to be bored writing them and I don’t want my readers to be bored reading them. My books are suitable for a young adult audience, but adults seem to really enjoy them too.

When I’m not writing I enjoy singing in a chamber choir in Oxford, swimming and yoga. I’m married with two teenage boys.

2. Your new novel, Scarborough Ball, releases today. What can you share about it and the Scarborough Fair series?

The inspiration for the first novel in the series, Scarborough Fair, grew from the idea that Scarborough (a seaside town on the north east coast of England) is a place where layers of history are all visible. You can stand on the beach and see the medieval castle, the Victorian hotels and esplanade, the old fishing village and the 20th-century amusement arcades. So it seemed like the perfect setting for a split-time novel encompassing the Victorian period and the present day.

Scarborough Fair is a mystery-thriller with characters from the town’s Victorian heyday and contemporary characters who find themselves caught up in the town’s grittier modern world. There’s a family connection between Rose in the contemporary setting and her great-great-grandmother, Mary, in the Victorian setting.

Moving on to Scarborough Ball, I decided to stick with the same contemporary characters, introducing a few new ones, but move the historical setting forward a generation. So the historical story in Scarborough Ball is set in 1923 to 1924 and the protagonist is Rose’s great-grandmother, Lilian.

3. What inspired you to mix historical and present-day action in your fiction?

I like the way the historical and contemporary time settings play off each other. The contemporary setting stops the novel from becoming pure pastiche and the historical setting hopefully provides more depth and resonance than would be possible with a straight contemporary setting. History is all around us, particularly in the UK. The Victorians left us a huge legacy in their buildings and railways and cemeteries, but we also have many older buildings, some dating back to medieval times. It’s fun to imagine characters from different time periods exploring the same locations. The locations themselves might have fallen into disrepair or changed in other ways. Scarborough Fair and Scarborough Ball both feature Scarborough’s Grand Hotel. In the Victorian period it was a posh hotel, and it was easy to imagine it as the venue for a ball in the 1920s. Nowadays it targets the mass market, the management have installed slot machines in the elegant lounge, and Bingo sessions are held in the ballroom.

4. What other themes feature in your novels?

The central theme of Scarborough Fair is fortune or luck. I liked the way it tied in with the idea of going to a fair and Dan’s family runs an amusement arcade on the sea-front. The conclusion from the novel is that you have to make your own luck in this world. Scarborough Ball explores ideas of justice, revenge and redemption.

In The Sleeping Angel I wanted to look at Victorian ideas of death, burial and spiritualism, hence the Highgate Cemetery setting. Highgate Cemetery is an inspirational place, with its Gothic and Egyptian-influenced architecture and hundreds of Pre-Raphaelite-inspired angels, set amongst a forest of trees and overgrown ivy. Highgate Cemetery was the scene of the exhumation of Lizzie Siddal (wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti) and also the scene, in 1970, of a vampire hunt (seriously!) so I found a way of weaving those particular gems into the novel.

Oranges for Christmas is, quite simply, a story about the dangers in a communist dictatorship and the quest for freedom from oppression. In 1961 Berlin was a real-life dystopia. The communists built a wall around West Berlin, effectively cutting off the route that so many East Germans had been using to escape to the West. They then implemented a shoot-to-kill policy on anyone attempting to escape from East Berlin. This was perfect material for a novel.

5. Do you take most of your inspiration from history and travel? What else inspires you?

Yes, a lot of my inspiration comes from history and travel. I’ve visited Berlin quite a few times, initially when the Berlin Wall was still standing. I also made a point of taking a tour of Highgate Cemetery in the early stages of writing The Sleeping Angel. Scarborough is a place that I know very well from family holidays.

I find research is a good way to get ideas. I had to do a lot of research about Berlin to get my facts right, but it also gave me concrete ideas for the story. The same was true of my reading about Victorian cemeteries and spiritualism when researching for The Sleeping Angel.

My other main source of inspiration is the literary world itself. Books inspire books. I’ve been greatly influenced by Dickens, the historical novels of Sarah Waters and the split-time novels of Kate Mosse. I also love Helen Grant’s young adult thrillers which feature contemporary characters but are also full of historical resonance.

6. Of your four novels, which is your personal favorite and why?

Scarborough Fair and Scarborough Ball were probably the most fun to write and I hope that there’s a joy in reading them.

The Sleeping Angel was definitely the most complicated because of having to intertwine the present day, the Victorian period and the 1970s, but I love its dark, haunting atmosphere.

Oranges for Christmas is the one that came from my own experience of visiting Berlin in 1987 and seeing the wall for myself. I also went to East Berlin for one day and saw the stark contrast in living standards between the East and the West. I feel very strongly that the story of the Berlin wall is one that should not be forgotten.

7. On your author website, you mention that you spent 11 years in computer programming and project management. How did that experience influence your writing?

It was during those years that I learned project management and time management, two skills that are invaluable for an indie author. Writing and publishing a novel is a long-haul process, akin to developing and installing a large computer project. You have to manage your time and plan your tasks. Progress on a day-to-day basis can seem agonisingly slow but you have to keep plodding onwards, even if it’s only a few hundred words a day. It soon starts to add up.

8. Do you have any particular writing habits or special rituals?

I don’t have any special rituals, but I’m disciplined about my time. I have two boys, now aged 17 and 13, so my working day revolves around the school day. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I drive the boys to school, go swimming and then go home and start work at ten o’clock. On Tuesdays and Thursdays my husband takes the boys to school so on those days I can be at my desk by nine. I work till twelve thirty when we stop for lunch (my husband works from home too.) Then I continue working in the afternoon, either till three o’clock if it’s my turn to collect the boys, or until about four or five. Evenings are for reading and watching good drama on television. During the school holidays I try to make sure I get my work done in the mornings.

I divide my time between writing (which can mean researching, planning, writing or editing) and other tasks, such as writing blog posts, running The Good Writer website and marketing activities.

I find it very helpful to record my progress at the end of each week in a writing diary – just an excel spreadsheet where I fill in my word count and make a note of how things have gone that week. When I’m stuck with a project, it’s very useful to look back and see that I was having similar problems around the same time on a previous book.

9. On your business website, thegoodwriter.com, you share writing and self-publishing advice. What are your three top tips for aspiring independent authors?

Hah, this is a good question for me! After three years of writing unusual, standalone novels aimed mainly at young adults I am now going to attempt something slightly different. So this advice is for me as much as anyone else. These are my new goals for 2017 (you heard it here first folks):

1) Write for adults.
Most indie sales come from ebooks. This means the buyer needs to be shopping online. This means the buyer needs to have a credit card. Teenagers do not have credit cards, therefore it’s very difficult to sell to them as an indie author.

2) Write in a popular genre.
Genre is key when it comes to marketing. You have to be able to position your book comfortably inside one of Amazon’s categories. If you can’t do that then you’re hampering your marketing efforts from the get go. It might also help with getting reviews from bloggers because you can be specific about what sort of book you’re offering them.

3) Write a series.
Standalone novels are a tough sell. I’ve had most success with Oranges for Christmas which is arguably the easiest of my novels to define. Nevertheless, series seem to work well. And making the first in series free is a popular marketing strategy.

In addition to the above, I would add that you should put in a lot of time learning about the business. I do household chores listening to podcasts like The Creative Penn and the Self-Publishing Podcast. Also, make sure you get a professional cover, editing and have a budget, no matter how small, for some advertising and promotion.

10. What do you hope readers take away from your books?

Most importantly, I want people to enjoy reading them. I try to explore themes of freedom, fortune, revenge etc. but that makes the books sound rather philosophical. I think literary fiction greatly underrates the value of a good plot – something that will keep the readers turning the pages. I hope my readers will always want to keep turning the pages.

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Read the books

Oranges for Christmas

The Sleeping Angel – one of Kate’s favorite indie novels! (read review, featuring the original cover)

Scarborough Fair – currently on sale for $0.99 and £0.99!

Scarborough Ball – currently on sale for $0.99 and £0.99!

Connect with Margarita
Author website: http://margaritamorris.com
The Good Writer: http://www.thegoodwriter.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/margaritamorrisauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargaritaMorris
Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/margaritamorris
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margarita-morris-616607121

Guest Post: Fear and Loathing in My Mind by Michael Bolan

Today, I’m pleased to welcome author Michael Bolan. He’s celebrating the launch of his new novel, The Stone Bridge, the third book in his Devil’s Bible historical fantasy series. (You can read my review of the first novel, The Sons of Brabant, here. Michael talks about the power of fear and describes the literary villains that still terrify him — did your favorites make the list?

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When I was a young child, my parents moved us from the huddled safety of a village to the remote isolation of a newly-built house in the country. During the day, life was idyllic, with acres of space to run around, the beauty of nature everywhere, was so peaceful. At night, however, darkness fell, and brought with it a silence and foreboding I had never before experienced.

I had grown used to falling asleep with a dull glow sneaking through the crack in the curtains, the streetlights standing sentinel over my bed. In the countryside, there’s no light other than the moon, and in foggy, wet old Ireland, she’s loath to put in an appearance. The darkness of the countryside is the blackest of phenomena that no city dweller could contemplate. And alone in the darkness, with hours to wait before sunrise, a child’s imagination conjures the most devilish creatures and wickedest monsters.

I was a happy child, the typical mix of shyness and confidence that only a child can be, but in the stygian gloom, I was scared. Had you asked me to elucidate my fears, I would have struggled. After all, what did I really think would happen? In fact, if I had rationally worked through the list of possible outcomes, I may have realised that there was no monster, no tarantula, nothing coming to get me at all.

As a reader, I have dabbled with many genres, but I have always had a love/ hate relationship with horror. I don’t like being scared, but I do. IYKWIM. The problem that I have with most horror is that it’s just not scary. Maybe shocking or gruesome, but nothing that would turn my blood cold like those dark nights alone in bed. Just as voicing my fears as a child would have allayed them, so too does the written word. A gory murder scene? Predictable. But the thought of deliberately harming my loved ones in a fit of rage – now that raises the hairs on my neck.

What does it for me is me. My mind. My fears.

You asked me once, what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world.
— O’Brien, 1984

Orwell had it right. Horror, and fear, is different for everyone, which makes the genre so challenging. But for me, the key to fear is to leave plenty to the reader’s imagination. It’s the not knowing that causes the heart to pump in a fight-or-flight reflex, it’s the suspense that is what we dread, not the denouement.

However, thankfully millennia of fascination with scary stories has produced some fairly bone-chilling baddies, and here are a few of my favourites:

1. Hannibal Lecter works as a villain in a way that Freddie Krueger can never manage. The sophisticated doctor of Thomas Harris’ books eats people, but is more concerned with the wine pairing that with the evil of his deeds. There’s a sense of dread in imagining what he will do next, and how directly you as a reader might be involved.

2. A Clockwork Orange has been cloaked in scandal since it was released, but it’s not the beatings or the rape or the brutal murders that make Alex scary: it’s the fact that he simply doesn’t accept that he has done anything wrong. His sense of purpose protects him from any humanising emotion. “Unfortunately there is so much original sin in us all that we find evil rather attractive. To devastate is easier and more spectacular than to create.”

3. Shakespeare’s Iago is a twisted manipulator, whose only motive for his evil seems to be that he enjoys it. Why would he wreak such destruction on someone he once called friend? Spite, jealousy, selfishness – Iago is a creature of the basest emotions. If he can’t have something, then no-one else will.

4. Mr. Hyde is a representation of the darkness that lives in all of us. That’s why he’s scary. How far would you go, what would you do, if you were pushed far enough? If each I told myself could be housed in separate identities life would be relieved of all that was unbearable. Hyde’s actions are bad enough, but the thought that he could be us or we could be him, now that’s truly scary.

5. If Mr. Hyde is ‘us’, then O’Brien from 1984 is definitely ‘them’. We all know that Big Brother is watching us, but O’Brien embodies the fear that someone or something knows what we are thinking: our hopes and fears, the brightest and the darkest of what is within us. His cruelty to Winston is usually what attracts attention, but it’s the depth of his understanding of Winston, and his simultaneous commitment to the cause, that is truly scary. “Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or laughter. You will be hollow.”

6. A dinner-party companion once described Heathcliff as a romantic hero. After I had wiped up the food that had sprayed from my mouth and apologised for my lack of manners, I offered my humble viewpoint. That his cruelty does not stem from his love of Cathy, but rather that he’s simply a sadistic bully. His weapons of choice are not only brutal violence, but insidious mental cruelty and neglect, meticulously planned and executed on those weaker than himself.

7. Lady Macbeth’s descent into evil is entirely of her own making. Seeing an opportunity to advance her husband, and hence herself, she invites evil into herself, feeding on its strength to achieve her goals. Once she has crossed that threshold, nothing is off limits. She loses her mind and eventually dies, but not before half the protagonists. Come, you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe topful, Of direst cruelty!

8. The dichotomy of Cathy Ames’ alluring presence and her ‘malformed soul’ creates a sense of loathing in Steinbeck’s East of Eden. She believes that there is only evil in the world and, like Lady Macbeth, surrenders herself to it fully. She sees the good in others, but doesn’t understand it, so she uses others’ trust to achieve her own parasitic ends. Had she been alive a century earlier, they would have burnt Cathy at the stake.

9. Devotion to a cause is a common foundation for evil, and nowhere more so than with Star Trek’s Borg Queen, leader of a vast hive of forcedly-assimilated half human, half cyborgs. Her unwavering focus on the modern-communist Borg vision and an insatiable thirst for more bodies mean that no-one cannot be bettered by joining her collective, despite their screams of protest. Couple this with graphic visuals (her head and spine being lowered into a cyborg body) and a touch of ice-cold sensuality and you have the ultimate terrifying, if slightly sexy, baddie.

10. Rounding off the Top 10 is Reinald, Duke of Brabant from the Devil’s Bible Series. Sociopathic, psychopathic, schizophrenic, soulless, Reinald is only too eager to commit acts of senseless brutality because he wanted “to do the right thing”. Not only does he kill his brother, he seeks to destroy the entire world because there is nothing of substance in his. I’ll never forget the first time I saw his eyes clearly – there were beyond dead – like a Gorgon, they sucked the life out of everything they saw.

Nowadays, as I climb into bed an older and wiser version of my young, scared self, I have a (more or less) self-assured sense of confidence that these baddies are resigned to the page and celluloid, so I sleep a little more soundly than I used to. In any case, I am assured by my wife that my snoring would scare off the most fearsome of predators, so I guess I’m safe for now.

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The Stone Bridge

The Rapture continues to wreak havoc across Europe in its quest to acquire the elemental Seals, the only thing preventing the Devil’s Bible from purging the world in fire. Brought to Prague by the Fianna, the Seals’ only protection lies in the secrecy that shrouds them.

Reinald, leader of the Rapture, enlists the world’s greatest minds to free the Devil’s Bible from the depths of Prague Castle, where it has languished under lock and key for centuries. Meanwhile, the plans of the Four Horsemen unfold, wreaking havoc and misery across the entire continent.

Not content with forcing his siblings from their ancestral home, Reinald sends a vast army to harry and persecute them, forcing them to flee ever eastwards. Taking shelter with their friends, Willem, Leo and Isabella commit to one last act of bravery, making a final stand to defend the city of Prague.

As each nation commits its final resources into the conflict, all roads lead to the Stone Bridge that divides Prague, where the Sons of Brabant and their Fianna allies will face the ultimate test of their strength.

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More About Michael

It took Michael Bolan over two decades of running in the corporate ratrace to realise that all he actually did was tell stories.

There was no Damascene revelation for Bolan which caused him to pen his first work of fiction, “The Sons of Brabant”. An avid reader, he simply felt that he could do as good a job as many of the authors he read and decided to put his money where his mouth was.

Living and working in many countries left him with smatterings of a dozen languages and their stories, and his love for history focused his ideas on the Thirty Years War, the most destructive conflict that the continent has ever seen.

Now living in Prague (again), Michael brings alive the twisted alleys of the 17th century and recreates the brooding darkness of a fractured Europe, where no-one was entirely sure who was fighting whom.

Michael writes while liberally soused in gin, a testament to Franz de le Boë, who was mixing oil of juniper with neat spirit while the Thirty Years War raged around him.

His website (http://www.michaelbolan.org) is a place where he can post his thoughts and feelings – along with reviews of books he finds lying around the internet.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelbolan225
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelbolan225
LinkedIn: cz.linkedin.com/in/bolanov
Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/author/michaelbolan

Book Review: The Art of Breathing by Kate Evans

The Art of Breathing (Scarborough Mysteries #3) by Kate Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Art of Breathing by Kate Evans is a crime fiction novel and the third installment in the Scarborough Mysteries series. It follows the lives of Hannah Poole, Detective Sargent Theo Akande, and Aurora Harris as they navigate mental health and family issues, as well as investigate crimes in their small town. Because this is the third book in a series, I’ll keep some aspects of my review vague to avoid spoiling details from the first two novels. You can read my review of The Art of the Imperfect (Scarborough Mysteries #1) here.

When I read The Art of the Imperfect, I remember thinking that the novel read more like literary fiction (or even an extended prose poem) than a typical crime novel. While I enjoyed the gorgeous language, I found it difficult to keep track of the details at times. In The Art of Breathing, Evans has struck the perfect balance between poetic language and crime fiction. The novel includes the time-honored tropes of the crime genre, but the writing itself retains that beautiful, lilting character that sets Evans’s work apart. As someone who doesn’t always like the gritty/punchy feel of crime novels, Evans’ style is perfect for me.

Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that the plot is complete, intriguing, and comes with a few little twists (one of them is just … brilliant). However, even with a strong plot, I believe that the characters are the true jewel of The Art of Breathing. They are well-crafted and complex, and (as I’ll discuss below) serve as fantastic vehicles for Evans to explore important social themes. Where Evans’ character creation is particularly strong is their versatility – at times, they can be difficult to like (especially Hannah, with her self-destructive thoughts and behaviors), but they also elicit waves of empathy from the reader. A difficult task for a writer to accomplish.

In my own writing, I place a great deal of importance on examining social issues, so I really enjoy novels with strong thematic weight. The Art of Breathing, Evans manages to display both sides of several dark themes (sexual assault, adultery, murder, etc.) in a way that makes the reader question previously held assumptions. Her characters provide riveting case studies of mental health and social concerns (depression, PTSD, homophobia, racism, etc.), and after spending the novel with them, I truly felt like I came away with a better understanding of how people facing these issues live. That’s the power of great fiction – it deepens your perspective on reality and allows you to live other lives.

The Art of Breathing (and the rest of the Scarborough Mysteries series) isn’t your cookie-cutter crime fiction. It’s a study of human character, an examination of Western society, and a beautiful tribute to language … all wrapped up in a murder mystery. Strongly recommended for literary fiction readers who want a gentle entrance into crime fiction, and crime readers who are looking for a refreshing take on the genre.

Want to know more? Kate Evans was kind enough to drop by my website to describe how she uses her crime fiction to search for truth and delve into dark themes. You can read her insightful guest post here.

View all my reviews

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If you are interested in reading The Art of Breathing and would like to help sponsor my writing and research, you can purchase it through my Amazon Associates Store. By doing this, you will not pay a cent extra, nor will the author receive a cent less, but I will receive a small commission on the sale. Simply click the book’s title or the book’s image.

Month-End Update: September 2016

Goodbye, book launch month! As you likely noticed, September was all about the release of The Courtesan’s Avenger (and, of course, this month’s booklet: 100 Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Writing Prompts). Unfortunately, my fiction book launch dominated the month, and the booklet took up what little time remained. While I’m thrilled to have them both out in the world, I’m even more excited to get back into creation mode. Desertera #3 has been calling my name for weeks now, and it’s about time I answered. Fingers crossed that October can be a strong start leading into November (aka National Novel Writing Month).

One thing that I did manage to make a lot of time for was podcasts. When I first started on my indie publishing journey, I would listen to podcasts all day at work. They helped me get up to speed on the industry and gave me a sense of community in what is an often lonely journey. I’ve really missed listening to them, so making time to do so on my commute (and at the gym – gasp!) has been really refreshing.

On a personal note, my husband and I also took a very bookish anniversary trip to Salem, Massachusetts, in September. I share more about the trip, my inspiration, and a few travel tips in this post. For now, allow me to recap September and get sorted for October.

Writing & Editing

• Blog Posts Written – 12 and one reblog
• Fiction Words Written – 0
• # of Days I Wrote Fiction – 0
• Nonfiction Prompts Written – 95 prompts
• # of Days I Wrote Nonfiction – 15
• Drafts Revised – Final proofread of The Courtesan’s Avenger (Desertera #2)
• # of Days I Revised – 4
• Outlines Written –  1 (100 Horror Writing Prompts)
• Days Without Creation/Production – 7

Reading

• Books Finished
  • The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9, Volume 1 by Joss Whedon
  • The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

• Books Begun/In-Progress
  • From Hell by Alan Moore
  • Curiosity and the Hounds of Arawn by Zachary Paul Chopchinski

• Books Reviewed on Blog
  • None

*Remember, I review every book I read on my Goodreads page.

Author Business Activities

• Final proofread, cover design, format, and publication of The Courtesan’s Avenger
• Wrote and published 100 Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Writing Prompts (Fiction Ideas Vol. 9)
• NetGalley listing for The Cogsmith’s Daughter (Desertera #1)
• Participated in the Summer Indie Book Awards

Goals for October

• Begin writing Desertera #3
• Write and publish 100 Horror Writing Prompts (Fiction Ideas Vol. 10)
• Reflect on one year as a published author and set goals for year two
• Catch up on my friends’ books and help a few out with special projects

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What did you accomplish in September? What goals are you working towards in October? Share below!

Out Now: 100 Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Writing Prompts

EDIT: This free promotion has ended. However, you can still download 100 Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Writing Prompts for its regular price ($0.99) by clicking here.

I’m back from my post-book launch hiatus with … a booklet launch! Despite September being a crazy month, I’ve still written and published 100 Mystery, Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts (Fiction Ideas Vol. 9).

You can download your copy for FREE on Amazon through October 4.

These genres presented a particular challenge. Given that they have similar themes and motifs, and that their subgenres so often overlap, I really had to push myself to create original, clearly defined prompts for each section. However, I think I’ve succeeded!

With this booklet published, there’s just one genre left in the series. If you don’t already know what it is, I’ll give you a hint: there’s a reason I’ve saved it for October!

You can read the description of 100 Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Writing Prompts below. Then, make sure to grab your copy before it goes up to full price ($0.99).

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Do you want to write a twisting mystery or heart-racing thriller? This booklet contains 100 writing prompts to help you get started.

Do you have a suspense tale burning inside you but feel trapped by writer’s block?
Are you an established author looking for fresh, new ideas?

If you’re ready to stop staring at the blank page and start writing NOW, 100 Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Writing Prompts is the booklet for you. There’s no fluff and no wasted words – just 100 fiction prompts to get you back to what you do best: writing.

100 Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Writing Prompts is packed with character- and story-focused prompts to jumpstart your fiction. The prompts have been carefully designed to address the various motifs of these stories – from clever sleuths to fast-paced action to intricate conspiracies.

Inside, you’ll find prompts related to the following subgenres:

1. Cozy Mystery
2. Financial
3. International
4. Legal
5. Medical
6. Military
7. Paranormal
8. Political
9. Psychological
10. Technothriller

Each section contains 10 thought-provoking prompts. Practice them in order, or dive right into to what inspires you most. You’ve already wasted enough energy on writer’s block. It’s time to craft your next riveting tale.

Uncover the words that have eluded you. Download 100 Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Writing Prompts today.

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SAMPLE PROMPTS

Cozy Mystery
A statue of the town’s founder (who happens to be your character’s ancestor) is vandalized. The police quickly brush it off as teenage mischief. However, your character recognizes something in the evidence that makes her think the crime is personal. Does her family have any old rivalries or enemies? What family secrets might her investigation uncover? What other crimes could the vandal commit to prove your character’s suspicions?

Legal
A lawyer wins her client’s case. He is declared innocent, despite being guilty of a serious crime. Although freed and unable to be re-tried, the client fears the lawyer will expose the truth about his guilt and bring him harm another way. He begins stalking the lawyer to ensure her silence and perhaps turns violent in his paranoia. How does the lawyer react to his harassment? Does she feel guilty about setting him free? Can she prevent him from committing a worse crime against her?