I just let readers know on my Facebook page that I’ve started the last major edit of Death Interrupted and it is scheduled to be out in October. I am working slower this year. I felt like the last Whisper novel could have used one more edit so I’m giving myself time to that with this next book. I know, that makes it a longer wait for readers, but I hope it was worth.
So while you are waiting, what books do I credit with having influenced me in some way to write the Whisper books?
- The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Anyone who writes urban fantasy has probably encountered Dresden. I’m not sure that my stories really related that much to Butcher’s novels but the idea of non humans and humans in contemporary fantasy world interacting and solving mysteries really hit when I read the first Dresden books. It’s been done before and arguably better than Butcher but Dresden was the figure that really stuck with me as being a great continuing character.
- The Deborah Knott series by Margaret Maron. The main reason I consider North Carolina as a potential retirement place is because of Maron’s Colleton County. I love that place. I love Deborah’s large family and the feeling of belonging there. The setting is amazing. Deborah is probably the most imperfect of the bunch but it’s okay because she has this great family that tells her off when she needs to be told off and supports her when she needs to be supported. It’s just such a delightful place to visit. I wanted Whisper to be the kind of place. I don’t know that I made it as wonderful as Maron made Colleton County but I hope it draws readers in the same way. For those who are animal lovers there’s one book in the series, fairly early on, that deals with disappearing pets. It’s sort of a weird sub plot that didn’t stand out for me but I know it has offended others.
- Juliet Blackwell’s cozies may not have directly influenced me but it’s sort of the book I was imaging. I like the Haunted Home Renovation Series a little more than the Witchcraft mysteries but both are cute and fun and cozy with a bit of paranormal thrown in. Well in the Witchcraft books maybe more than a bit of a paranormal!
- Elly Griffith’s Ruth Galloway mysteries came into my life too late to be an influence, but back when I was thinking about what I wanted to write, I think I had this image that I’d create a story more like hers. It’s really a mystery in a great setting with odd things that happened that can be explained by logic or by the occult. Did it or did it not happen? These are definitely more serious than the others. While Dresden’s world is dark and scary there’s something more playful about the way Butcher writes. Ruth’s stories are deadly serious and not for the faint of heart.
Hopefully, everyone can find something they like there that will tide them over to October.