What Inspires Me? You'd Be Surprised.

As a writer I am often asked how I get the ideas for my plots. I think most writers will agree that inspiration can come from anywhere. And I do mean anywhere

For instance there is my second book, The Island of Living Trees. What? Is that plug you may ask? Of course it is that’s what blogs are for, shameless self-promotion. Anyway, the inspiration of this book is kind of humorous, at least to me.

To this day my sister dearly loves cheesy horror films. I mean the really bad ones from the 50's. You know, where you can see the zipper in the monster’s costume. It all started when we were kids where one of our favorite shows on KTTV (Channel 11) matinee horror program (a term used very loosely here) called “Chiller”. There were a lot “so bad they were good” types, but there was one (of many) that was “so bad you have got to be kidding”.

But they weren’t.

The movie is called “From Hell It Came”. Now in case you think this would bother anyone’s Christian values, trust me it’s too silly for that. I have a very low tolerance for the scary factor and it couldn’t even scare me. Not even when I was a kid and everything scared me.

So how bad is this movie? This is the plot in brief (believe me you want it to be brief). The son of an island chief is wrongfully executed for murdering his father. The execution, which is supposed to set up the terror which is to come, is a very strange scene where he is defending himself while tied up to stakes in the ground while chickens aimlessly roam around. Not mutant, murderous chickens just...chickens. You've got to wonder who thought that would strike terror into anyone’s heart. Anyway, the chief was actually done in by the guy who took over his job and the island witch doctor, but no one suspects them even though they gained by the murder. Obviously these writers were not fans of good mystery fiction, no one even thinks to consider the obvious suspects?  Bad plot construction. Okay, long story short, please, the wronged man is then reincarnated to exact his terrible revenge.

As a tree.

I’m not kidding. A really bad rubber suit type tree.

The chickens were more terrifying.
The rest of the plot isn't that bad, it’s much, much worse, so I'll stop there.
Now my book has little to do with this movie, really I promise, but it is where the inspiration came from. So are all my plots based on bad horror movie plots? Of course not. My point is that inspiration can be just downright weird sometimes. So you’ve got to pay attention.

 

Mystery writer C.L. Ragsdale is the author of The Reboot Files a Christian Mystery Series. A California native, she loves to "surf" the web to research plot details for her fun, quirky stories with just a bit of whopper in them. She has a degree in Theatre Arts which greatly influenced her writing style. Working in various fields as a secretary has allowed her to both master her writing skills and acquire valuable technical knowledge which she uses liberally in her plots. She loves to embroider and knit and is a big fan of the old Scooby Doo cartoons.

Current E-Books
THE REBOOT FILES:  The Mystery of Hurtleberry House, The Island of Living Trees, The Harbinger of Retribution, and The Wrong Ghost.

www.shortmysteriesandtalltales.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CL-Ragsdale219184744858421

The Terrific Trio

Please allow me to introduce to you the Terrific Trio from my Trixie Montgomery Cozy Mystery Series. On the left we have Trixie Montgomery. What's that you ask? How much of me has gone into Trixe? Well, it seems Trixie is a divorced, middle-aged woman who has started a new career as a writer for a historic magazine. It just so happens that I've written for the historic magazine "Georgia Backroads" for ten years. So yes, there is some of me in Trixie, but she also has her own personality. She's been through a rough divorce when her husband tells her he has discovered his soul mate on the internet. When he goes to meet her karma bites him in the bum and he finds out that his blonde bombshell is a 300 woman who takes men for all she can get. However, he still wants out of their long time marriage so she moves back to the small town of Vans Valley to live in her mother's garage apartment. This is when she starts working for "Georgia by the Way" and gets her assignments that lead her to dead bodies and crimes to be solved.

In the middle is none else than Trixie's best friend, Dee Dee Lamont. Dee Dee is a bonafide cat lover and runs an antique shop in Vans Valley called Antique's Galore. She usually accompanies Trixie on her research trips and goes antiquing while Trixie works. In the first book of the series "Death in Dahlonega" Dee Dee is a magnet for trouble. She stumbles upon a dead body while snooping around after a bathroom trip for her overly frequent visits to the potty. Dee Dee is loosely based on the combination of two of my friends. I will say a couple of the incidents in "Death in Dahlonega" really happened. They are just too funny to make up. Dee Dee has gone through the sudden death of her husband so she is able to help Trixie heal from her divorce. This friendship has become a win-win situation.

On the right is Belle, aka Nana, Trixie's great-aunt. When Betty Jo's, Trixie's mother, parents died at a young age she went to live with Nana who raised her like a mother. She is more like Trixie's grandmother. Now Nana is an enigma and for those of you who aren't quite sure what that means this is the definition I came up with:  One that is puzzling, ambiguous, or inexplicable. Yep, that's Nana. She is what some would call a "character." At times she seems to be addle-minded and doing such things as wearing Victoria Secret gowns, flirting with younger men, and forgetting where she was going or what she was going to do. Then at other times she is as sharp as a tack. Trixie thinks some of her behavior is a ruse to get away with her quirky behavior. Betty Jo has the patience of Job when it comes to Nana, but Trixie tries to help out when she can. And it seems Nana is determined to help Trixie, and that is how she comes to be a player in crime-solving trio with Trixie and Dee Dee.

You can read more about these fun-loving, quirky characters in the Trixie Montgomery Cozy Mystery Series. The first book, "Death in Dahlonega" has been out since Oct. 2011 and I hope the next installment "Murder in Marietta" will be out by the first of the year. You can contact me for a signed copy, or it is available at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I hope you've had fun learning a little more about my characters. Next time I might just show you how to breathe life into a character!

                                              

Deborah has worked as a freelance writer and photographer, since 2001, for the historical magazine “Georgia Backroads.” She has had many articles and photographs published during this time. Her writing is featured in “Tales of the Rails” edited by Olin Jackson. She has also had a showing of her photographs at Floyd Medical Center Art Gallery as well as winning several awards. Her debut cozy mystery "Death in Dahlonega", a winner in the ACFW Category Five Writer's Contest, is now available.
She is a current member of the Georgia Writers Association, and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Deborah has been nomiated for Georgia Author of the Year 2012. She has an established blog, Butterfly Journey, where she reviews Christian Fiction. You can also catch her at
Sleuths and Suspects, where she reviews mysteries. She also contributes to the Cozy Mystery Magazine every other Tuesday.

A COZY WORLD

So what do you think living in a 'cozy world' means? Is there such a place? My youngest daughter, who is just graduating from college, told me I live in a protected world. She thinks I'm lucky. Yes, there are different worlds out there, but the one I choose to live in reads like the books I write and enjoy reading the most - cozies!
     To keep tea warm, a cozy is placed over the pot. Much in the same way, a cozy story covers the reader in warm prose. Agatha Christie (my favorite author) often used getaway weekends to country estates as settings for her murder mysteries. She vicariously put me on a terrace having tea, or going for a walk in the garden or traveling along the coast, staying in hotels by the sea. As an only child, left to herself much of the time, Agatha Christie created her stories to alleviate boredom. What an amazing contribution to mystery lovers she made to the world. Her cozies were never gory or profane. She set the standard for cozy authors to follow.

     Like Agatha Christie, I began writing out of boredom while traveling to a conference with my husband. Fashioning the heroine after myself, I then created characters from a myriad of people I met - from a valet at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel I named Walter Montoya, Jr. in "Murder in Half Moon Bay" to a fellow passenger on a plane trip I named Helen Morningstar in "The Ghost Orchid Murder." Their permission was always obtained before using their persona of course.
     My family rolled their eyes at my becoming an author. But there were others who encouraged me enough to believe I could write. Did I know what I was doing? No. Was I determined to finish the course? Yes! My cozy world is one I've created, and after two years and five books later I can honestly say there has never been anything as fulfilling as writing the Jillian Bradley Mystery Series. Except for reading other author's works, which is also part of my cozy world...
     The cozy world is where even though there is conflict, evil characters and murder in the books, the stories themselves revolve around protagonists who are able to win. My protagonist's world isn't perfect, but Jillian Bradley lives in a lovely home, collects beautiful works of art, has a personal shopper for her clothes and has men perusing her. She is a childless widow, but don't be fooled - Jillian has a knack for solving murders along with her dear little companion, Teddy, a Yorkie with a nose for sniffing out clues.

     I hope you'll step into Jillian's cozy world and read about her adventures. As a gift this weekend, book 4 in the series, "The Mark of Eden" is available for you to download on your Kindle, iPad or iPhone. Enjoy this $3.99 book absolutely free. And when you leave a comment you'll be entered to win a bonanza of our books! So why do you enjoy reading cozies? Do you read them exclusively or like a mix of genres? 

Nancy Jill Thames is the author of "Jillian Bradley Mysteries," a series often set in exclusive hotels and resorts, based on real life travel adventures with her husband of 44 years. Her mysteries incorporate her love of afternoon tea, which has earned her the title of “Queen of Afternoon Tea.” She holds a music degree from UT Austin and lives in Leander, Texas where she is a member of the Leander Writers Guild. She has won awards for her blogs,  a pie contest for her Chip Chocolate Cream Pie, and has been on the Author Watch Bestseller List numerous times.

     Nancy Jill is busy working on book 6 Waiting for Santa, a murder mystery taking place on Christmas Eve near Jillian Bradley’s home in Clover Hills.

To check out her books, Murder in Half Moon Bay, The Ghost Orchid Murder, From the Clutches of Evil, The Mark of Eden, and Pacific Beach, please visit our Cozy Book Store or http://www.authornancyjillthames.webs.com

FRESH SPINACH WITH LEMON

VISIT OUR COZY KITCHEN FOR THIS DELICIOUS RECIPE!