November / December ’24 News

After finishing my first Bailey Weggins mystery, If Looks Could Kill, over twenty years ago, I didn’t know how I’d be able to crank out another novel, but here I am starting my 20th this month.

(As for my upcoming novel, the 19th, I’ll have more news about that in the coming months, including the release date. My editor loves it, I’m thrilled to report!)

Though I’ve got an opening chapter written for the 20th, what I’ve been mostly doing is developing and fleshing out the idea and making sure I have the key ingredients worked out in my mind. I never start a book without knowing a lot about the protagonist, the inciting incident, the identity of the killer, how I’m going to disguise the killer (you want me to do that, right?). And the major twist at the end,

For me, this is one of the absolute best stages of writing a new novel, when I’m just playing around with an idea and doing a bit of research to “test” it in my mind.
In my early years as a novelist, I’d get a little freaked during this period, worried that the idea might never fully materialize, but I now find this time intoxicating. I have learned to be chill, to keep asking lots of questions in a spiral notebook, and then wait patiently for the universe to reply.

Though by now I’m pretty disciplined as a writer, I still find it helpful to use the internet-famous Pomodoro Technique (named for those pomodoro/tomato kitchen timers) when I’m working. It’s ideal for any important task. You set a timer (I actually use the one on my phone) for twenty-five minutes and work uninterrupted until it goes off, and then give yourself a five-minute break. Repeat this cycle three times and then take a longer break, like twenty minutes. The key is not to let yourself be distracted during the work periods. No emails or texts.

Are you feeling stuck on something? Give this little trick a try!

How do I count the ways I love author Lisa Jewell? For some reason I missed this one, her 2017 psychological thriller, and I devoured it over a recent weekend. For me it wasn’t quite as satisfying as her brilliant Then She Was Gone, but the writing is terrific, and the characters are really vivid. And no one keeps you turning pages the way Jewell does.

The Day of the Jackal
Peacock

I’m loving this remake of the classic film, starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lunch. Redmayne is a bit of surprise in the role of the assassin but I’ve found him really intriguing. And it’s fabulous to have a woman as the M16 operative who pursues him. I think the only woman in the original film was the one the jackal slept with and then murdered.

Speaking of tomatoes, as crazy as it sounds, I’ve been making tomato salads lately.  Though it’s sure not tomato season, I’m sometimes able to find these weirdly shaped but tasty heirloom tomatoes at my supermarket (they’re sometimes called “ugly” tomatoes). Recently I had company coming for dinner, so I decided to buy some and try a recipe I’d tucked away for summer: Tomatoes Carpaccio. Gosh, it was so, so good, thanks to the killer vinaigrette in the recipe (I skipped the anchovies because I knew at least one guest didn’t like them).
If you try this dish, don’t forget to slice the tomatoes really thin, like a carpaccio.
I followed the salad course with a creamy pasta Alfredo, which was perfect for a chilly night!