Wednesday 13 January 2016

White Light blog tour

Today I'm helping out Anna Simpson, also known as Emaginette, with the blog tour for her newly released cozy mystery, White Light. She has some thoughts for us on short stories. Take it away, Anna...


Nick, thanks for letting me stop by.
We both have a love of short stories. I’m sure your readers are familiar with yours. I’ve only done a few. Shorts are when I let my imagination sky rocket and I write without an outline. I’ve written about dragons, castles, space, video games, and murder.
Not all in the same story, but some plotlines overlap.
I’m not sure how Aunt Alice, Mrs. Perkins, and Emma would do facing a dragon. They drive each other crazy enough without imaginary creatures walking across their front lawns. Mrs. Perkins would have a bird if someone or something messed with her perfect half acre of green.
So it’s fortunate they only have to solve a murder.
The heroes in mysteries can be anyone—young, not so young, even dead. All they need is the drive to stand strong. Stay determined. Strive for justice. And in one case slip into a living body. I feel pretty lucky with my group of heroes.
When you read a story, is it all about the characters that keep you turning the pages or is there something else on your mind? Tell me. I’d love to know. :-)
Purchase Links:
Author Links:

27 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick and Anna - short stories are a great read - take one's mind away to other places and fun areas to visit ... good luck to you both for your stories .. cheers Hilary

JeffO said...

Anna--Congratulations on your novel, and best of luck! As for the question, I think the best books combine character, plot, and writing in a way that is just exactly right. There's no magic formula. Truly memorable characters make a book or story stand out for me, but I've also enjoyed books with characters who are somewhat generic.

Liza said...

Congratulations Anna. I just started a book by Anna Quindlen and in the first two pages she had two defined characters, scenery I could see, and a strong hint of conflict that made me want to keep reading all day. That's how I wish I could write.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

A dead mystery hero - yes, I'm sure it's been done!

betty said...

I like characters over scenery or a lot of description of things outside of the characters and their involvement with the plot :) Congrats Anna!

betty

H. R. Sinclair said...

Congrats Anna!

emaginette said...

I'm making a list and checking it twice. Thanks for the feedback and I can't wait for more. :-)

Anna from elements of emaginette

Crystal Collier said...

Yay! *waves at Anna*

For me, it's about the character arcs. Granted, I recently read a book where the plot was entirely too thin and it came across as boring for me, so both elements have to be present, but it all comes down to the characters. If they're growing and changing, I'm typically pretty happy. (Because that means stuff is happening too.)

Mark said...

Looks cool:) I find that one of my beefs with short stories (and I do write and read them still) is that if I really like the characters I always want to read more. Food for thought:)

Liz A. said...

I don't know what catches my interest. But it has to be something to keep me reading.

M Pax said...

Congratulations, Anna! Wishing you all success!

Anonymous said...

Characters keep me going. If the plot is perfect and I don't care for the characters, I want to put the book down. Congrats to Anna.

Shell Flower said...

I'm a big fan of character driven stories for sure. Setting is also important to me, and the plot has to at least deliver some sort of interesting elements. Fast-paced stories are great, but without interesting characters, I tend to get bored. A strong voice is my favorite, and I think that is a big character thing, so yeah, go awesome characters!

emaginette said...

All I can say is I'm glad I let my characters go wild. Thanks for dropping by all. :-)

Nicola said...

Sounds intriguing Anna. I love a good cozy mystery. Best of luck with White Light!

Heather R. Holden said...

White Light sounds like such a fun mystery, with equally fun characters. Congrats, Anna!

As for stories in general, I agree, characters are key to making them engaging. Since I'm a fan of horror and such, awaiting some huge twist at the end will also keep me turning pages, I must admit!

Christine Rains said...

Wonderful post! You made me laugh out loud when you said all they have to do is solve a murder. I'm all about the characters. A great character will keep me turning the page even if the plot isn't very good.

Empty Nest Insider said...

I'm also a fan of short stories and I like the idea of solving a murder sooner rather than later. Best of luck with White Light, Anna! Good to see you, Nick!

Julie

Stephanie Faris said...

Depends whether the story is character driven or plot driven. Often, though, with mysteries it's the plot that has me turning the page. I just have to know the answer!

Anonymous said...

Hi Nick and Anna, good to be back blogging. I've always loved short stories. Congrats and good luck with White Light.

Shannon Lawrence said...

I do love short stories. And good question. Both character and plot draw me in, so if one is lacking, I'm probably not as interested.

Elise Fallson said...

Hi Nick! Congratulations Anna! I'm with Shannon in that both characters and plot draw me in. If I can't connect with the characters right away, a good plot will keep me turning the pages a while longer, but after that, the characters have to start pulling their own weight so to speak.

Meradeth Houston said...

Congrats Anna on your release! I've enjoyed seeing it around the blog world. It sounds like a really wonderful read!

cleemckenzie said...

Good luck on your book. I love a compelling character!

Misha Gerrick said...

I like for plot and character to weave together well, but I have to say I'm more forgiving of a story if the characters resonate with me.

emaginette said...

Wow! I just popped back to see how it was going. Thanks so much everyone.

I've made a note that the characters must rock as much as the plotline. :-)

Anna from elements of emaginette

David Powers King said...

It's a tricky balance, but one that ought to be maintained. Good to meet you, Anna! :)