Demystifying the Beats

by Jordyn Kross, Ryley Banks, Carol Potenza

Cozy, hard-boiled, or historical…

Is writing your mystery novel a complete mystery?
Crafting a convincing mystery requires unique story beats—the keys to delivering a satisfying read.

This sassy chat (in book form) presented by award-winning authors reveals the secrets to help you execute a story that works. You won’t be handcuffed to a formula. It’s a guideline for assembling clues, criminals, and conclusions in your unique, “perfectly-poisonous” blend.

Whether your book is a carefully plotted caper, a crime of opportunity, or something in between, join our covert operation as we demystify the mystery beats.

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2022

About the author

Award-winning author, Jordyn Kross, is an unapologetically naughty novelist who spent years honing her writing skills with tech manuals and marginal poetry before finding her passion for writing sexy, boundary-stretching happily-ever-afters.
When she’s not writing, she’s attempting to garden in the desert Southwest, hiking with her insane pound posse, and admiring that handsome man wandering around her house who continues to stay.
Jordyn enjoys saucy double entendres, pretending to be an extrovert, and is well-known for having no filter. And when she’s not in social media jail, she can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads, or hiding in a dark cave peering out at Twitter.
Her award-winning Melting Hearts series of contemporary erotic romance is currently only on Amazon. Her first carnal mystery (there's nothing cozy about it), Dirty Daisy, is available wherever ebooks are sold, and some shady back alleys. She also likes to give books away to her newsletter subscribers, because readers are the best reason to keep writing. Subscribe at
my website.

Reviews

[R.Z. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the way "How-to's" SHOULD be written

Maybe it takes the combined minds of four actual mystery writers to pull this off (instead of some academic analysts, let's say), but these authors have given us wannabes the path to writing our own mysteries. Having written a couple of mysteries myself, I now see what I did, and did not do well, and all the places I could have done better. Maybe I'll try again. Thanks guys for this excellent book!

[Quartknee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and useful. I wish it had more examples of the ways beats can be combined or shifted throughout an act or moved to different parts of the plot

[Caitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful, quick read with lots of information about writing a mystery novel. Will use this whenever I need to write mystery subplots.