Tangled Secrets is Virginia Kelly’s most recent release. I must say, I never saw it coming! Well done. It isn’t too often I can’t figure out the murderer but this one was a mystery!
Q. How did you come up with the storyline?
A. A situation played out in my imagination. It involved Gabi and her problem patron. Their relationship led to the discovery of things Gabi didn’t know.
Q. You started off fairly quickly with a murder, was that the intent?
A. I’m a pantser. Too much of what I write doesn’t start with an intention. It’s set up by the way the characters interact with each other and with the direction of the story. In this case, it had to be something that challenged Gabi sense of security.
Q. How do you plan out the novel along with all the twists & turns? Is there a method and/or software you use?
A. I wish I did plan! I write as far as I can “see” into the story and the way the motivations and conflicts of the characters play out. At some point, I sometimes feel I’ve lost the thread of the story. That’s when I go back and read to see where I got off track. By carefully tracing what has happened in the story up to that point, I can fix the problem and continue. It’s not until I’ve decided on the bad guy that I go back to see if the clues are there. There’s nothing worse than springing the bad guy (whether in mystery or romantic suspense) into the book from nowhere. The twists and turns must be there or I must figure out what they are and where they should be.
My writer’s mind gravitates toward The Hero’s Journey to work through a story.
I’ve never been tempted to use software for writing. At one point, I tried to outline—just a simple one typed into Word. When I finished, I felt that I’d written the story because I knew how it unfolded. I never wrote that book. We all have our own way of writing. Outlining doesn’t work for me. It does for many others.
Q. Did you set out to write a series with Gabi Espinosa? Or did this happen organically?
A. Originally, Gabi was going to be a stand-alone book. But once I understood Gabi’s conflict, I knew she had to have a series. The current plan is to write a three-book series. I’m at the “go back and figure out” stage in book 2.
Q. Are your characters based on people in your life or those you have observed?
A. Some are, yes. I’ve met people or have been in situations where people behaved in a certain way that made them memorable. Those people become the basis for characters. We’ve all met someone who gossips constantly. Gabi’s profession wasn’t a stretch because I’m a librarian and have worked in public, academic, and medical libraries.
Q. Do you research your storylines based on cases so they are more believable?
A. I read and watch a good bit of news about cases in smaller towns. Some of the incidents in Tangled Secrets are based on memories of a case I heard about when I was young. I didn’t go back and research it so I could use those scattered memories, which I did embellish.
Q. Will the pattern be the same for the second book?
A. Similar, but different, too. Some characters will receive more attention. Gabi’s situation is different. There is a murder because it’s a mystery. But since it’s not a cozy, I have the freedom (not necessarily a good thing!) to write a more mainstream story, or use elements that don’t fit in the cozy genre.
Q. Will the second book be a stand-alone or will readers need to read Tangled Secrets?
A. My intention is to always allow readers to read books out of order. All my books stand alone.
Q. You mentioned your usual genre for writing is romance and this time you were strictly doing mystery, was it easy to switch modes? Did you enjoy it more?
A. Except for a novella which is almost completely romance, I’ve written romantic suspense with elements of mystery and adventure. Those books, and the novella, were written in dual third-person narrative. Writing in first person narrative limits what the narrator knows, therefore also limits what the reader knows. I can’t say I like romantic suspense more than mystery, but I’m probably more comfortable in romantic suspense because I’ve written more in that genre. And I do like at least a hint at a romance in the books I read and in the tv shows and movies I watch.
The following questions were more general in nature and not specific to Tangled Secrets
Q. Did you always know you would be a writer?
A. The decision to write a novel came to me gradually. I had read so much that I thought, “I can do that.” I tried. It was not easy. That first novel will never see the light of day.
Q. What advice would you give upcoming authors?
A. Read, read and read even more. Understand the flow of story in your genre. Join a writer’s organization, one for your genre. Attend workshops and classes. Read some more. Write and keep writing. Join a critique group.
Q. If you were given one word to describe a writer’s life, what would it be and why?
A. One word… Wow, that’s challenging. I’ll cheat a little and give you two: challenging and an adventure. Okay, that’s three, but let’s ignore the article.
Thank you to Virginia Kelly for taking the time to answer my questions! I am really looking forward ot the book in the series. Good luck and happy writing!
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