Sunday, 19 August 2012

I wouldn't make a good criminal


Castle, that wonderfully funny TV series about a crime novelist, starts with this line: “There are two kinds of folks who sit around thinking about how to kill people: psychopaths and mystery writers.” I’m not a mystery writer, but I find myself contemplating things that wouldn’t cross a normal person's mind. 

‘At Her Boss’s Command’ has a subplot about corporate crime, embezzlement to be more precise, that is vital for the story. I have no experience in crime – or academic knowledge either – so devicing the crime plot has caused me a great deal of trouble. I have made things up as I go, but I would like the crime to be as believable as possible. So far I’ve skirted the issue by making the particulars vague. It's not an ideal situation, but it allows me to write on without getting stuck with details. But I may have to become an expert on embezzlements sooner rather than later; purely from the academic point of view, of course.

Otherwise, the book is progressing fine. The past week simply flew by as I sat at my computer editing. And since there are no distractions scheduled for the coming week, I’m positive I'll have the manuscript ready by the time my editor has time to look at it. In the meanwhile, here is the opening sequence of Castle, simply for your viewing pleasure.

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