Joyeux Toussaint!

I finally got the first chapter of Blood Game where I want it, and am making the appropriate repairs to Chapters 2 and 3 before continuing. It’s important to nail the opening in a thriller, especially when it contains the inciting event that will be referred back to often.

Did a little of that last night, on Halloween, or Samhain as I call it. Set a spirit plate out for my Mom at dinner. Samhain is a sort of somber combination of Memorial Day and New Year’s Eve to me, though I would certainly dress up silly and give out candy if I still lived in the sort of neighborhood where that happened.

Blood Game is going to have a bit of a spooky feel to it in places. It will introduce the character Linsey Redhouse, who is a third-generation Seneca medicine woman, but who is also a biology teacher and aspiring scientist. All my stories have strong female characters, and this woman in particular will dance on the edge between science and mysticism, and invite you to tango with her.

I love incorporating science and magic together in a story — I have several previous works (most of which should probably never see the light of day!) that do so. I think the trick is to have some key events happen in such a way that the reader is invited to come up with their own explanation.

Malcolm Gladwell was spoken about the importance of making the reader feel smart. He was talking about reporting and writing non-fiction, but I think the idea applies here. I want to draw the reader into the story by giving them things they can interpret themselves based on their own experiences.

That fantastic thing that happened in the story … was it scientific and logical? Or was there some divine hand behind the scenes?

If I can write the story so that either idea could explain it, then the reader can decide for themselves. I loooove doing that! And if the readers are astute enough to believe one way but see the possibility of the other, maybe I didn’t just treat them to a good story. Maybe I’ve tricked them into opening their minds too.