cj Sez: After several years dedicated to writing short
stories for anthologies, I’ve finally produced my third full novel. A TIME TO
DIE launched on May 5. Here’s the line-up:
Suspense/thriller/mystery novels with likeable protagonists
who bring a bit of easy banter and a touch of romance to the stories and
antagonists you come to understand. For J. A. Konnor in A Time to Die, think
Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum.
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Let me tell you about my writing voice for those three
novels above. Three different, yet related genres: action/adventure, suspense, and
mystery, What remains the same among the genres in which I write is that I want
my protagonist to be smart, likeable with a sassy dialogue, have some
personality quirks, and carry a bit of backstory baggage to be dropped
intermittently into the story (no info dumps, please). Each book has a unique
setting and a love interest to add a little jazz. Each of the main characters,
including the bad guy, has a goal or secret that I hope will generate perhaps a
smidgen of empathy . . . and I love all of them.
Where I struggled most often writing that new mystery was with
its clues and red herrings. Where and how do I place them so they lure the
reader deeper into the suspense/mystery without giving away too much
information? That’s a wonderful challenge, and I didn’t know if I succeeded
until I read my first review of A Time to Die:
“I just finished reading cj petterson Author’s
latest mystery, A TIME TO D*E. It’s set in and around Mobile so it’s really
neat to see local eateries and places mentioned. And Jake, our PI main
character, loves to eat just as much as she likes to get to the bottom of her
cases.
The mystery was full of twists and turns, and I didn’t guess the villain until
the very end even though the clues were there.
Congrats on your newest mystery novel, cj.”
Peers may refer to me as a pantser, but I claim to be, more
accurately, a pathfinder. I begin knowing how my story starts and kind of how
it will end. Unlike following a beautifully constructed plot, I love snaking a
path through the tale by throwing roadblocks in front of my characters then
figuring out how to have them escape and move forward. For a mystery like A Time to Die, I did have to do a bit of {gasp} pre-plotting before I could drop
the clues and red herrings in places that I hoped would best entice readers to continue
their hunt for answers until the end.
All my stories, short or long, true or fictional, change and
grow with each edit cycle. I work hard to see that the characters, settings,
clues, and red herrings are more thoroughly developed with each go-around. My
problem is I am happiest writing with a deep point of view to allow my readers
to “read into” the story rather than me, the author, inserting herself and
telling them exactly what to see. To that end, I tend to “write tight,” without
a lot of internal narrative. I rarely reach more than 50,000 words on my first
draft, and when I start that first edit cycle, I sometimes fear I will edit the
words right off the page rather than add them. I blame it on my corporate
journalism background. Despite that, I enjoy fleshing out my characters by getting into their minds.
What I really enjoyed about writing A Time to Die was the daily
challenge of having to learn new-to-me writing rules. Of course, I certainly will
have to relearn them and more the next time I undertake a story. My personal
goal is, and has always been, to learn something new every day.
How about you? What’s
your personal goal?
§§
For writers and readers
It’s never too early to start collecting records for tax
purposes, and author Kaye George offers up some tips. The blog post is a few
years old, but chockful of tips and links to sites to answer your questions
about 2026 tax rules for writers who are not hobbyists.
“You DON'T have to earn money to take deductions if you tell
them you're a writer. Honest! You don't! You just have to prove that you're
trying to get published. Keep records, keep track of mileage, office expenses,
conference expenses, meals with other writers, and I keep a time sheet to show
how many hours I devote to which tasks.
Here's a post I did on it:”
Kaye George, National Best-selling & Agatha-nominated
mystery author~~
§§
Like it, don’t like it, don’t care? Artificial intelligence
is a real and present conundrum for publishers. Jane Friedman says: “What I think will happen over the long term:
Anti-AI policies will fall away.” Read more of her article here:
§§
June 14 is Flag Day: 
“The folding of the U.S. flag during ceremonial occasions,
such as military funerals, is a deeply symbolic act, with each of the 13 folds
traditionally ascribed specific meanings.”
§§
That’s it for this month’s post. You-all guys keep on
keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.
cj
➜ Follow me on
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➜ Amazon: Amazon Central Author Page
➜ BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson
➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6
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