Last week I was staring at our topics for the month,
waiting for inspiration to strike, and this one began to worm its way into my
brain. Fall into the Wrong Hands. I
write romantic suspense, so I ought to be able to do something with that,
right?
In fact, following my Christmas short story collection,
my next project will involve industrial espionage—something falling into the
wrong hands. I’ve written most of the first chapter and have a pretty good idea
where the story is going, but I would love a little help brainstorming, so put on
your plotting caps!
This book, tentatively entitled BOILING POINT, will be the second in the Phoenix, Ltd.
female bodyguard series, so I want it to be similar in tone—light, snappy, and
suspenseful, with a strong dose of humor.
Here’s the premise:
An eccentric inventor has hired Zoe Hargrove to pose as
a personal chef while protecting his pregnant wife without her knowledge. Only
one problem – Zoe doesn’t know how to cook. As a cover, the client tells his
wife Zoe’s there to help him test his latest invention, a cooking robot known
as GRAMPA (Great Robotic Automatic Meal Preparation Assistant.
While a representative of a Japanese Electronics
Conglomerate, Mr. Watanabe, has been trying unsuccessfully to buy GRAMPA, several
incidents have occurred, including attempted break-ins and an episode of road
rage. Fearing for her husband’s life, the inventor’s wife has hired a secret bodyguard
of her own to protect her husband—Dominick “Nick” Rosetti, a former police
detective. Nick is posing as the family chauffeur.
I anticipate lots of mayhem and mistaken identities as
Zoe and Nick try to figure out who’s who and protect both their clients from
the real villain.
Question #1: Do you think the premise is fun or
over-the-top hokey, with all the secrets the characters are hiding from each
other?
Question #2: How do you feel about the idea of GRAMPA?
The Japanese are crazy about robots that do domestic chores, so that’s too not
unrealistic, but do you think American readers will enjoy it? There’s one
planned scene where the inventor orders GRAMPA to scare off the man trying to
steal his plans with a small kitchen blowtorch. Fun or dumb?
Question #3: Do these characters and the set-up suggest
any fun scenes to you?
Any suggestions are welcome. Let your imaginations run
wild!
Thanks!
Alison
http://alisonhenderson.blogspot.com
