For years, as an avid reader of crime fiction novels, with every book I read, good or bad, I was curious if I had what it took to write my own crime fiction novel. Thinking about it, talking about it, and thinking about it some more, there really was only one way to find out. On a quiet night at home armed with my idea, my imagination, determination, high hopes and a stack of yellow legal pads, I started scribbling an outline.
After a few weeks, with no real direction, getting nowhere fast, I needed a starting point, a point in which I could start pulling the the story together. Drawing inspiration from crime fiction books by Elmore Leonard, John Stanford, Michael Connelly, Louise Penny, Giles Blunt, and many others, I realized they all had one thing in common – a strong central character, the protagonist.
I am not an ex-cop, have no ties to law enforcement, so I didn’t believe I was qualified to write a police procedural. More thinking, more talking, more scribbled notes, I settled on creating a story with a private investigator as the central character. More scribbled notes, pulling on personality characteristics, and mannerisms from many of the people in my life, creating and piecing together an interesting back story, small town private investigator Charlie Beach was born.
It took years to finish, but writing my first book was the most rewarding experience of my life. The final result is The Tequila Promise, my debut novel.
Thank you, I learned a lot!