 | Stop #8 on my “LOVE, LIES AND AZURE EYES” blog tour is this guest post at Books Direct. Here, I tell how a real-life event inspired a novel. Thank you for inviting me to introduce myself to your audience and to share a bit about myself and my newly released paranormal-romantic-mystery, “Love, Lies, and Azure Eyes.” I’ve been writing since I was eight years old, back when I was creating little stories for a neighborhood “newspaper” for which I was reporter, editor, and publisher. Of course, “The Kentucky Avenue Chronicle” — circulation seven — quickly evolved into obscurity, but it was a start. <wink> I was 40 before I was brave enough to try my hand at fiction and enroll in a short-story-writing class at a nearby college. I was terrible at it, but I was bitten. And I evolved. |
Ten years later, I started the first draft of what would become “Love, Lies, and Azure Eyes.” Finishing it took another ten years. After that, I stashed it in a lonely spot on my hard drive, where it collected cobwebs (and a few dust bunnies) and patiently waited for its day in the sun.
Although “Love, Lies, and Azure Eyes” is my third published novel, it’s actually the first one I finished, and the one that took longest for me to see in print. The 1965 unsolved death of my high school classmate is the inspiration fueling it. When I first started writing the story, I figured that since I would never know what really happened to my classmate, perhaps solving the crime in a fictitious setting would provide the closure I had always hoped for.
So, while the storyline differs considerably from the actual tragedy, it does give my protagonist, Annie, the opportunity to solve a similar murder. And that, in turn, allows me to live vicariously through Annie as she works her way through the clues and discovers the answers that I, like her, have wanted to know for decades: why and how my classmate died and who was responsible.
Writing this book also blazed a path for me to explore the related, true-life story of the boy accused of murdering my classmate. Sadly, a few months after her death, he was killed in a car crash and was never able to clear his name. In the book, he’s portrayed as Johnny, the earthbound ghost of that boy, who must prove his innocence before he can move on to the next plane of the afterlife.
And finally, of course, sparks fly when Annie meets Scott, the sexy new editor of her hometown newspaper, and voila! … I sure hope “Love, Lies, and Azure Eyes” gives readers the entertaining, satisfying read they’re always looking for.
And for me? It’s the long-awaited closure that eluded me for 50 years. •
You can find the new book on Amazon.com ... And while you’re there, if you feel inclined, please leave a review. Thank you for stopping by!!
Although “Love, Lies, and Azure Eyes” is my third published novel, it’s actually the first one I finished, and the one that took longest for me to see in print. The 1965 unsolved death of my high school classmate is the inspiration fueling it. When I first started writing the story, I figured that since I would never know what really happened to my classmate, perhaps solving the crime in a fictitious setting would provide the closure I had always hoped for.
So, while the storyline differs considerably from the actual tragedy, it does give my protagonist, Annie, the opportunity to solve a similar murder. And that, in turn, allows me to live vicariously through Annie as she works her way through the clues and discovers the answers that I, like her, have wanted to know for decades: why and how my classmate died and who was responsible.
Writing this book also blazed a path for me to explore the related, true-life story of the boy accused of murdering my classmate. Sadly, a few months after her death, he was killed in a car crash and was never able to clear his name. In the book, he’s portrayed as Johnny, the earthbound ghost of that boy, who must prove his innocence before he can move on to the next plane of the afterlife.
And finally, of course, sparks fly when Annie meets Scott, the sexy new editor of her hometown newspaper, and voila! … I sure hope “Love, Lies, and Azure Eyes” gives readers the entertaining, satisfying read they’re always looking for.
And for me? It’s the long-awaited closure that eluded me for 50 years. •
You can find the new book on Amazon.com ... And while you’re there, if you feel inclined, please leave a review. Thank you for stopping by!!
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