Murder in a Place Called Hope

I set my mystery in a fictional small town in western NC, and have spent many hours actually creating a map of the entire town. Besides the beauty of the surrounding mountains and the many waterfalls in the area, Hope is known as an idyllic wedding resort area. Many of the businesses in the town are geared to the thriving wedding industry. I have so many characters for this story that I can already see perhaps two or three more stories after this one. I surprised myself on this one as it leans more toward main stream fiction than hard-core mystery.

I'm really excited about the direction in which my "Hope-fuls" as they call themselves are leading me. What a rich expression of human foibles this book is turning out to be! The young and the old, the pretty and the plain, the fat and the thin, the rich and the poor...my characters show both the best and worst in themselves, just as we all do from time to time. It's the story of how they respond to the 'worst' thing that really makes them interesting.

This story revolves around loneliness and the lengths people will go to when they are desparate for love. Without giving away too much, a church, a wedding, a divorce and a funeral are key elements and writing them is giving me immense pleasure. I also find myself rubbing my hands in glee and doing the 'bad-guy' heh-heh-heh as I plant clues for the reader. I guess I'm a little naive about writing but I just didn't realize how much fun I can have with my writing.

I'm so emotionally and intellectually invested in this book that I almost wish I hadn't committed to doing the NaNoWriMo competition so I could keep the momentum going with "...Hope." But then again, committing to NaNo back in September is what somehow got my creative juices simmering again. As the last seconds of the bewitching hour of All Hallows Eve silently slither into November 1st, I'll be sitting in front of my PC, fingers poised over my keyboard and waiting for 12:00:01 so I can write the "School of Hard Rocks" in 30 days.