If you boil everything down to their essence, writers are only the paths they choose. We do it with our ideas—that grow or wither—we do it with our characters. Sending down a path we ourselves can’t predict.
A year has passed since I debuted my novel Bottom Feeders and looking back at the blur that was 2020, I’m astounded that I survived at all. Considering small traditional press published my book—that I was a total unknown—and that my book launched during a worldwide pandemic, I could not be happier with how the fans have taken to my first novel. Sure, there were some hiccups along the way, but I could not be prouder of my little horror book.
This year, I want to blow the readers away with my new novel On the Tip of Her Tongue! I took a step back from the Horror genre this time to spread my wings. Growing up on a steady diet of Stephen King and Dean Koontz gave me incredible role models and taught me how to create stories. But even as I cherished their books, I also recognized that they were working for huge corporations and in some ways had to conform to their rules.
Writing my latest novel, I wanted to toss some rules out the window! So, what is so different about On the Tip of Her Tongue? Every author wants their readers to be active participants in their story and I’m no exception. The problem is that you can draw an audience in with a remarkable story but that’s where the interaction stops. Or does it?
Growing up loving puzzles and mysteries that way I did made me want to take my novel one step further. I realized that the readers of Thriller/Mysteries are the people that want to solve the mysteries themselves, so why not add some hints? The main character, Judy Angel, starts this novel as a blank slate but with the help from a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, she discovers hidden clues from her younger self.
Art by Ross Nischler
A reviewer said it brilliantly:
“The first half of the book is filled with mysteries - the second half things unfold.””
Along the way I added hints to intrigue the readers. Some easy enough to spot but others hide deep within the text for those who want a real challenge. I even added a way for one lucky fan to win a hardcover version of the novel—signed by me. Are you the sort of person who likes to the follow the breadcrumbs?
Although I added some clues for fun, at the heart of this story is about a woman with a dmaged memory. She wants to discover herself and why she made the choices that led her down a certain path. If you pick up a copy of On the Tip of Her Tongue, my hope is you get lost learning about Judy Angel. But if you get tangled in the hunt for the breadcrumbs—don’t say I didn’t warn you 😊