Chessen Parker's Blog - Posts Tagged "obx"
Musings on New Release - Cargo to Kill For
Hello Readers and Beach Lovers!
I really, really enjoyed writing Cargo to Kill For! I don’t think I can say that with enough emphasis. I think it shows in the novel, as well.
Clara Dare has settled into her new life on the North Carolina Coast. Readers of Blackbeard’s Curse will, I think, appreciate the developments in Clara Dare and Tara, as both characters and friends, as the series progresses. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the cast for this installment of the Crystal Coast Mysteries!
Developing the story line was a challenge. My initial premise was simple...so I thought.
You see, I also enjoy the group of authors and books in the intersection of sub-genres covering espionage, suspense, and thrillers. I have found that, inevitably, in many of these books, there is that one little snag in the plot where the local fuzz’s involvement can’t be avoided, and the hero’s or heroine’s success depends on whether or not the locals boggle it.
My premise for “Cargo to Kill For” started with the idea that I would tell the “cozy mystery” that happens behind the scenes during such a snag. A novel in a novel! Maybe more like, “Behind the Music” by the time Clara Dare and Tara are done. LOL!
Trying to capture the gravity of the overarching plot within the confines of the Queen of Crime’s “malice domestic” was a very rewarding balancing act for me, as a writer.
For those readers who may have struggled with my attempt at capturing the unique brogue of the outer and inner banks that derives from the Queen's English spoken by the original European settlers of the area (The Lost Colony), you will be relived that I've dialed it back. I hope my readers still feel the "time-and-reality suspension" that many vacationers feel when they visit the Crystal Coast - however, it is more subtle. Non-native Carolinian readers of both Blackbeard's Curse and Cargo to Kill For, have told me that this book is easier to read if you aren't a frequent visitor to the area. Those readers that had moved away still found nostalgia in the pages, so I felt a sense of mission accomplished!
I really hope that my readers enjoy the results as much as I enjoyed the process!
Happy Sleuthing,
Chessen
I really, really enjoyed writing Cargo to Kill For! I don’t think I can say that with enough emphasis. I think it shows in the novel, as well.
Clara Dare has settled into her new life on the North Carolina Coast. Readers of Blackbeard’s Curse will, I think, appreciate the developments in Clara Dare and Tara, as both characters and friends, as the series progresses. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the cast for this installment of the Crystal Coast Mysteries!
Developing the story line was a challenge. My initial premise was simple...so I thought.
You see, I also enjoy the group of authors and books in the intersection of sub-genres covering espionage, suspense, and thrillers. I have found that, inevitably, in many of these books, there is that one little snag in the plot where the local fuzz’s involvement can’t be avoided, and the hero’s or heroine’s success depends on whether or not the locals boggle it.
My premise for “Cargo to Kill For” started with the idea that I would tell the “cozy mystery” that happens behind the scenes during such a snag. A novel in a novel! Maybe more like, “Behind the Music” by the time Clara Dare and Tara are done. LOL!
Trying to capture the gravity of the overarching plot within the confines of the Queen of Crime’s “malice domestic” was a very rewarding balancing act for me, as a writer.
For those readers who may have struggled with my attempt at capturing the unique brogue of the outer and inner banks that derives from the Queen's English spoken by the original European settlers of the area (The Lost Colony), you will be relived that I've dialed it back. I hope my readers still feel the "time-and-reality suspension" that many vacationers feel when they visit the Crystal Coast - however, it is more subtle. Non-native Carolinian readers of both Blackbeard's Curse and Cargo to Kill For, have told me that this book is easier to read if you aren't a frequent visitor to the area. Those readers that had moved away still found nostalgia in the pages, so I felt a sense of mission accomplished!
I really hope that my readers enjoy the results as much as I enjoyed the process!
Happy Sleuthing,
Chessen
