Next Big Thing: Stranger Creek

Thanks to my friend Sarah Henning for tagging me to be part of the Next Big Thing blog hop!

What is the working title of your book?

Stranger Creek

Where did the idea come from for the book?

When my son was in elementary school, I volunteered to accompany his class on a field trip that ended with a picnic lunch in a city park. During our walk back to school, we crossed an old bridge over a trickle of a creek that ran through the middle of the park. One of the eight-year-olds walking in front of me gathered a group of friends around and said, in his best ghost-story voice, “Did you know they call this Cry Baby Creek? Do you know why? ‘Cause this lady went crazy and threw her baby down there.” He paused, while they all looked over the side of the bridge. Then he lowered his voice even more and said, “At night, you can still hear it cry.” The story stuck and grew and mutated until eventually it became Stranger Creek.

What genre does your book fall under?

Mystery/Suspense

What’s your book about?

At its heart, Stranger Creek is about the meaning of family and community. But in the small town of Cottonwood Bend, that meaning is twisted and perverted by decades-old secrets and, ultimately, murder.

Edith Dalton grew up on the road, drifting from campground to campground with her mother and never staying long enough to make friends or put down roots. Now her mother, Joelle, has returned to the one place she swore she’d never go again—her hometown of Cottonwood Bend—and she’s dragged Edith along with her.

There, far from a sentimental trip down memory lane, Edith finds a murdered woman, faces uncomfortable questions about her past, and locks horns with the most powerful woman in town. Now, Edith must stop a killer, save a smart-ass teen, and re-examine the meaning of family.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Oh, I fervently hope it will be represented by an agency. I am actively seeking representation.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the book?

Such an embarrassing question. I started playing around with the idea at least three years ago. In the intervening years, I changed direction seven or eight times, changed the cast of characters, changed the basic premise. I finally found a direction I was comfortable with about a year ago. After that, the first draft took about six months. I couldn’t have done it without the book dissection “master classes” (now on hiatus) led by the fabulous Nancy Pickard for members of the Border Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime or without regular writing dates with the equally fantastic Sarah Henning.

Miscellany

The next Next Big Thing I’m looking forward to is publication of the second short story anthology from the Guppy chapter of Sisters in Crime, Fish Nets, which includes my story “Keeping Up Appearances.” We just signed a contract with Wildside Press to publish the anthology, with an expected release in late spring or early summer!

Thanks so much for stopping by.