Monday, October 15, 2018

What I Know So Far by Alison Henderson

I'm at that most wonderful/horrible point in the writing process--plotting and planning the first book in a new series. Possibilities abound. Yikes! Possibilities abound!! 

Who are these people, and what will they get up to? Those are the questions. My head is spinning. I've got a fun crescendo of events lined up for the first half of the book, and I know the exciting conclusion, but ugh, that third quarter. At the moment, it's a black hole. And I'd like to figure most of it out during the next two weeks because, while I don't do NaNoWriMo, I do belong to a wonderful group of supportive authors who promise to urge each other on during the month of November. Since OG and I are currently in Chicago working on PO&O's new condo AGAIN, I don't have much thinking time.

Here's what I know so far:

  • The series will be set in and around Monterey County, from Big Sur to Monterey, and feature three artist sisters--a kinetic sculptor, a raku potter, and a glass blower.
  • I know all the titles and the characters' names. Yay! This is critical for me. I can't seem to start a book until I've decided on these things.
  • The heroine of the first book flees her controlling, and probably criminal, fiance and comes home to Big Sur. She takes a day job in an art gallery in Carmel.
  • The hero of the first book is a Minnesota-farm-boy-turned-forensic-accountant for the FBI who looks like Chris Pratt. 
  • The rotten fiance come to Carmel, where he is murdered by an agent of the Russian mob, who then comes after the heroine.
  • The owner of the art gallery and his antique-dealer partner are mixed up in money laundering and meth dealing as a result of their gambling-related debts to the Russian mob.
  • There will be a variety of minor but hilarious incidents straight from the Pine Cone police log.
Beyond all that, who knows? LOL

Alison
https://www.alisonhenderson.com

7 comments:

Margo Hoornstra said...

Oh. My. Goodness. Alison, you are well on your way. This series sounds like another big winner. Get going on it so we can all read it.

Rolynn Anderson said...

Your series sounds so interesting...Carmel is a perfect setting, too. The town is full of money...all the better to launder! As to your question. You are a planner (and I'm not), so I'm surprised by what I write every day-in the creative stage. Brian Maas says we have to imagine the worst thing possible to happen...then after that thing the next worst...etc. I like to surprise myself and the hero/heroine with an incident or a new person - that further complicates the main plot and distracts the crime-solving efforts. The OMG, I-never-saw-that-coming, is what I'm looking for.

Mush on, Alison. So glad you've got the support you need!

Jannine Gallant said...

Hmmm... You know more about your book without writing a word than I seem to know about mine 35,000 words into it. I should be so organized. I've been stagnating because I need to plot and can't seem to get going. Kudos to you! And enjoy your time in Chicago!

Brenda Whiteside said...

Wow, I am hooked. I bet the rest will come when you get down to serious writing. Works for me anyway. I'm 9 chapters into the first book of a new series and I have your same problem. I need a long solo drive to get it figured out. That's where I do my best thinking. Until then, I'll wing it. Good luck and I'm excited to read this one.

Vonnie Davis said...

I have to have a title and names, too. And their point of pain. What's happened in their past that makes them act and react in a certain way. The opening scene comes to me after twenty or thirty rewrites of page one and then I'm off. Do I know these 2 people? No. I don't get a sense of them until roughly 22,000 words into the book or novella. Then I have to go back and pepper in their persona, which I enjoy. I hit a sagging middle, too, and just plow through. Yes, I do need to shift into reverse and plow into the mess a time or two until things seem right. I keep telling myself I need to learn to plot, but gee that takes time. LOL I love the sound of your new series. You'll have readers spellbound.

Have a great time in Chicago with your daughter and new condo. Evie and I are driving to Roanoke, IN in a few days to visit my daughter and the grandkids.

Diane Burton said...

Wow. You have so much worked out. I'm more of a pantser, so I don't know what's coming. Well, sort of. My "outline" is more nebulous. This sounds like a great series. Write quick! LOL I want to read it.

Leah St. James said...

What Jannine said! I'm impressed. :-) Yes, please hurry so we can start reading!