A Plague On All Your (Country) Houses?

 If you look for any cosy crime/mystery stories set at Christmas then it's good odds you will find yourself embroiled in a country house party. 

And there must be a snow storm.

 Honestly, why would anyone accept an invitation to a house party  knowing that they would inevitably end up stowed in, with a murderer picking off guests one by one?

But readers, and therefore authors, love them!  They are frequently Golden Age, original or written as historical. Although  a contemporary setting  is possible the patina of a lost time seems to add to the mix. And, of course,  once the snow is deep and the single phone line down - probably courtesy of the killer - then no communication is available. None of that pesky mobile phone or Internet stuff. 

The basic ingredients are ripe for murder. A group if disparate people - obviously with various tensions in the relationships. Probably not a group anyone in their right mind would invite for a peaceful Christmas - but as my mother would say, if it wasn't like that, there would not be a story. So we find estranged children, uneasy business partners, former or illicit lovers, heirs in waiting. 

There must be a classic Christmas setting, with all the trappings - food, roaring fires, trees and decorations, almost the definition of cosy, lulling us into a false sense of security. The kind of Christmas everyone thinks they should be having, but probably few achieve? 

It is the darkest time of the year , with a power cut optional. The house is undoubtedly big and spooky, with long corridors, several staircases and perhaps a picture gallery. Also attics and cellars. It is usually attics - havens for neglected festive decorations and dressing up boxes. Cellars are more for thrillers, unless it is a wine cellar. 

There will be staff, and a 'lord of the manor' a good candidate for being the first victim. The second will be the person who appeared to have done the crime, and/or has crucial information which they are about to divulge to the sleuth. There must be a sleuth - an amateur or possibly a private detective - Hercule Poirot please step forward. The police - in the first instance likely to be the slow and bovine village bobby, complete with bike - will be late on the scene, held up by the snow. There will be clues, as the whole thing is based on a puzzle. 

Everything hinges on atmosphere. The conjuring of the perfect Christmas that actually isn't And we would not have it any other way.

Secret Santa?

It has become a workplace tradition - an anonymous exchange of gifts - some inspired, many naff, some just weird. I still haven't fathomed the whys and wherefores of the giant stuffed mouse - but he is cute.

The mystery secret santa - wearing my reading glasses. 

 Authors, being a solitary bunch, don't really get to play in this game. but I thought I would offer a list of suggestions of small and not so small gifts, just in case. 

•  Pens - always welcome. A certain famous romance author has a brilliant collection of designer fountain pens but if you can't run to a Montblanc a serviceable ball point would be fine. (There's an Agatha Christie set, with quotes, that I have my eye on.) 
•  Note books. Show me an author and I will be prepared to bet that they have a thing for notebooks - bright colours, fancy covers, embroidery, pictures - and please, don't get me stared on glitter, Writers tend to get very possessive and hoard them, like dragons. You have been warned. 
•  Chocolate - in any form - blocks, boxes, biscuits, even to drink ... 
•  And talking of drink - alcohol is probably in the mix. Not for me, but acceptable to many.
• Scented candles - possibly not for someone with allergies - a gift for someone whose taste you know? (That might also apply to anything edible too, by the way.)
• Books and/or bookish things - bookmarks, tote bags. jewelry ...
•  Gifty things - flowers, hampers, fruit baskets - if you want to be inventive cheese, tea, socks ... Yes we are getting a bit off the secret santa concept now and into the bigger stuff.

There is always one totally acceptable gift, of course, that doesn't cost a thing, except a little time - an appreciative and perceptive review for a book you have enjoyed. Even a few words, if time is tight. 'A good read - I recommend it.'

Finding your tribe

 Christmas is a time for family - or so we are told. When you don't have any family left, it becomes a time for friends. As a writer, it is time for hanging out with my tribe.  Like minded people that you chose to be with - which may be an improvement on some family gatherings? Just saying. 

So far this month I have met with some fellow creatives from various disciplines at a professional event - not friends as such, but a welcome interaction with people with like minds - lunch, chat and some formal business. A highlight was a discussion on the place of Mary Stewart as an influence on the kind of romantic fiction I write - that would be a very significant one as far as I am concerned - which was interesting as the two people I was talking with were men. We were united in the opinion that her books have been gravely overlooked by film and TV. There have been a number of very enjoyable radio recordings, but as far as I am aware the only book to make it to film was The Moonspinners. Dating from 1964, it was a vehicle for the transition of child actress Hayley Mills to adult roles and featured her first screen kiss. Which took place, if my memory serves. while hiding in the back of a converted hearse. 

Since then? Nothing. 

IMHO Wildfire at Midnight would be excellent for TV. Set on the Isle of Skye at the time of the Coronation of Elizabeth II and and the climb to the top of Everest, it has Beltane fires, supernatural superstitions, missing girls, murder and lots of fog. Perfect creepy Sunday night viewing. Perhaps some day a power-that-is will realise it. 

My second tribal outing was with seven members of the Cariad Chapter of the RNA for an excellent Christmas lunch at one of the local branches of Zizzis. The food was good and the service attentive and the company was - of course - first rate. Lots of laughter and gossip. 

I have another two outings on the calendar - one with a mob of crime writers and one with a collection of writers from various disciplines - mostly women's and romantic fiction but with a poet and non fiction writer in the mix. Looking forward to both. Good to be with people who totally understand you. 

Photo shamelessly stolen form Jan Baynham. 

Cupboards - with or without skeletons.

 One of the reasons that the WIP is going so slowly is that I am in the process of a whole house declutter. And that is going slowly too - and the result is not pretty. One of those going to get worse before it gets better scenarios. It has been in the air for a while, but now I really am attempting to bite the bullet. Being a writer and academic I naturally  looked around to see if there were books of advice that might help. There are - lots of them. I know about the giving joy thing - but I can't say that is totally useful when considering things like saucepans and spare kettles. Practical maybe, but joy? 

The book I am ploughing through at the moment advocates meditation and mindfulness - and journaling. Lots of journaling. I can't help thinking that if I wanted to be writing, then there is a perfectly good WIP looking daggers at me from under the bed, where it is currently residing, safe from any over zealous tidying up. Not  that there is too much of that going on, but you never know. . (Note from Ed. I hope it is a perfectly good book). 

I don't think this advice book is the one for me - and am I just procrastinating anyway? 

There are just so many THINGS. And even worse than the things is the PAPER. It's everywhere, in every kind of form, from books and magazines to un-shredded documents. old bills - not that kind - manuscripts, scrap for future writing on, research notes, old shopping lists ...

It is going to have to go. I have made a start, filling at least one bag of paper recycling each week. But it is SLOW, because I do want to go through things before I throw them.   I know that way will make me feel more comfortable with the process, so that is what I am doing. And there is a process, that I have devised myself. I'm calling it the 'Really' method. I involves standing in front of a bookcase, cupboard, center of the room and asking - are you REALLY going to use, wear, read (fill in any other appropriate verb here) that again? 

It is working. I just have to keep at it. And so far there have not been any skeletons - only the one on the front of my old biology text book from school. And that says it all. But I will win. I have promised myself. Ask me again how it is going in three months. 

Oh no! Snow

 Regular readers will know I do not like winter weather. I don't like winter, full stop. The months with 'er' on the end are not for me. And when you add snow to the mix!!!! As much of the UK seems to be covered in the white stuff at the moment, you can understand why I began the day this morning googling 'existential dread'. I can hear my mother's voice in my head - snow before Christmas means a hard winter. UGH! 

Luckily my little corner of South Wales is currently white stuff free. Rain yes, but not snow. Long may it continue. Being right on the coast, snow is not so frequent here. It does happen - a few years ago we had several feet - but long standing neighbours said it was the first time in about 30 years that it had been that heavy. I didn't know this, when I bought my little house , but it is a big bonus. There seem to be several theories for this - warmer temperature because of proximity to the sea? Salt in the air? Who knows - I'm just happy about it. 

Snow is a vital ingredient for Christmas books however - and a lot of them are hitting the shelves right now. When I accidently wrote a Christmas book a few years ago, I steeled myself and invented a freak storm that cut off hero and heroine in the Brecon Beacons/Bannau Brycheiniog. I'm not quite sure why snow is a necessary ingredient for festive reading - but it is, so there you go. 

If you want to read the Christmas book it is still available on Amazon - and Kindle Unlimited.   

What Happens at Christmas.

Amazon

Original cover - still on paperback

Revised cover - e-book

https://

Making time

 When writers get together there is frequently talk about making time to write. Life happens, work happens -  often there are only snatched moments - the journey to work, time before the family wakes up, or after they are in bed - a short spell in a cafe. Carving these out takes effort - but they are not actually any good without thinking time to go with them. The brain needs time to process. If you don't get space to 'plan' - even if you are at heart a pantser, sitting down with an empty sheet of paper/computer screen probably will be difficult. It's not actually waiting for inspiration - writing is a job as well as a pleasure. And if it is not mostly a pleasure, then IMHO you are not doing it right. Okay - there are days when the words flow like treacle running up hill, but you do have to want to do it, deep in your bones. Wanting still requires application - you need to be professional, even if not yet published. You are expecting that someone will be paying you to read this - or you hope they will. It deserves your best shot. And if you enjoy it, the reader probably will too. Love shows. 

So - what do you do to get that thinking time? These are a few ideas I have heard.

Morning pages - writing a sort of stream of consciousness journal first thing when you wake up. to get the mind in the mood. Doesn't appeal at all to me, but others swear by it.

Music - this one I do use when stuck. For me it works at home and in concerts. Concerts tend to be new ideas. Need to make notes quickly though.

Walking. You will have seen social media posts from authors about 'plot walks.' Time out to get thoughts in order and fresh air and exercise too - something a writer needs! Very much my thing in the past, although health problems have curtailed my walks recently. I live in hope of resuming them. 

Simply staring into space /out of the window. A kind of guided meditation? Best done when alone or on public transport? You need to be relaxed enough for the mind to wander so I find looking out of train windows can be useful

Those are ideas. If you are stuck, I hope one of them works. 

The balance of the story

 I've been indulging myself recently in re-reading some cosy crime and police procedurals - Not as predictable an exercise as it may seem, as in a (possibly) alarming number of cases I have completely forgotten who committed the crime! 

I've been thinking about this. Why would my memory for denouements be so poor? I accept that old age and failing faculties may be a factor, but in mitigation, I would like to plead the balance of the story. Think about it - there are pages and pages about the crime, the characters, the setting, sometimes an overarching mystery that runs alongside the plot of the book in hand, drawing a series together and  keeping the reader hooked. And the resolution? Maybe a chapter, or not even that? 

The writer has to keep the reader engaged in the story on the way to the result, so it has to have plenty of interest. It's rare that I don't remember the first body,  or the second - usually the person who was the most obvious as chief suspect - or who has stupidly let it be known that they know something. I remember the setting - the village, the villa, the island, the library. I remember the romance, if there is one, because- hey - romance writer.  But after that, possibly because of my haste to actually find out, the recall faculty gets blurred. This may not be helped by those authors who claim not to decide who the guilty party is until the time comes for the reveal. If they don't know, how am I supposed to keep up? 

Actually I don't think the memory lapse is a completely bad thing. Apart from letting me re-read with enjoyment, a book is very much more than its ending. The portrayal of character in particular can often be much more engaging than knowing who actually stuck the knife in the Colonel in the gazebo.  Books with atmospheric settings are powerful things. How often have you been inspired to visit a location because you have read about it? Social attitudes and society can be tellingly revealed on the way to the ending. This is particularly true of Golden Age crime, which appeals to the historian in me. The revelation of attitudes in past times can be shocking - we've all read those warnings in the front of Golden Age re-issues - it is shocking, but worth knowing how far we have come.   

So - at the moment I am enjoying my excursions into forgotten territory - a case of the journey being just as satisfying as arriving at whodunnit.