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!
Author Teresa Watson 