Month: February 2013

In case you missed it, my fourth book, Death Goes to the Dogs, was published in December, and I immediately started work on the fifth book, Death Catches a Killer. I took time off for the holidays, but the day after I returned from my Christmas vacation, I came down with the flu and a severe case of bronchitis, which knocked me on my behind for three weeks. I’m still dealing with side effects of this, so I haven’t done much writing. I am slowly getting back into the swing of things, I promise!

I am hoping to have book five out by April (keep your fingers crossed). While you are looking forward to that release, I am excited to tell you that I have started a NEW series! I’m still working out the details for that one, but I have started writing it. I’m not sure when the release date will be, but I promise to keep you posted here as well as on my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/teresaleewatson

And if that isn’t enough to get you excited, how about a THIRD series?! Yes, you read that right: I will be writing THREE series! The third series is a garage sale mystery series inspired by my mother and her best friend, who go to garage sales year round, weather permitting. My mother suggested the idea to me several months ago, and while I was with her at Christmas, we worked on the details about the story and some of the characters. If I don’t start writing it soon, she might disown me (love you, Mom!)

Stay tuned to this page or my Facebook page. I’ll give you more details about all three series as they become available. As always, I am open to any story suggestions you might have. If I use your idea, I will mention you in the acknowledgements!

I have a feeling that some people wonder why I write my novellas the way I do: without the hot, heavy sex scenes or the gory death scenes. Well, for starters, let me clarify that I don’t mind a good, gory death scene. I love war & western movies, action flicks, disaster movies, etc. I mean, who doesn’t like seeing L.A. or N.Y. laid to waste (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow)?

That said, my feeling is that the story gets lost in all the explosions, shootings, the seduction and love scenes. Romance is great, please don’t get me wrong. But what about the rest of the story? In my case, I write mysteries. I love trying to figure out whodunit. I grew up reading Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and Agatha Christie (with a Stephen King book throw in just for variety. I will NEVER look at a gutter the same way again after reading It). Those books were about the mystery: the red herrings, finding a new clue, escaping from danger (Ned coming to rescue Nancy was always good!).

I’m sure this makes me sound like an old fuddy duddy. People don’t call me Pollyanna for nothing!

To me, a mystery keeps you guessing about who the villain of the story is. Who killed the victim? Why did they do it? Was it revenge? Was the victim blackmailing someone? Was it a crime of passion? My job as a writer is lead you to the reason, while throwing up a few dead ends along the way. You don’t want me to tell you who did it on page 1, do you?

I realize that not everyone is going to like my stories because they aren’t heavy on the romance. I mean, seriously, if you’re reading my books because you think there are some hot & heavy love scenes, you’ve come to the wrong place! But I can direct you to some writers who are very good at that sort of thing.

If you are looking for mystery with a sense of humor, then pull up a chair and grab a book!