Category: murder mystery

Guest Blogger ~ M. E. Proctor

~ patyjag ~ 4 Comments

Making a Scene

By M.E. Proctor

One of the questions most frequently asked to a writer (on par with where do you get your ideas?) is if they know the entire story from the get go or if they figure it out on the fly—the planners versus the improvisers conversation.

I’m a hybrid. I put together a rough outline and then inevitably veer away from it as I start writing. This happens because I love to work individual scenes. What happens here and now tends to take my attention away from the high level perspective of the complete narrative.

Here’s an example from the new Declan Shaw detective novel, The Way You Say My Name.

In Chapter 4, Declan meets Sam, the local vet. He waits for her in her small office, intending to ask her about an incident with a dog. It’s a critical scene that will set in motion a succession of dramatic events. Declan is attracted to Sam and her reaction is ambiguous. She could put a firm end to his flirting attempts but she doesn’t, leaving him wondering why she’s aloof and what she isn’t telling him.

I must have imagined, pictured, and acted this scene over a dozen times in my head. I moved my actors around and changed their lines of dialogue endlessly until the interaction sounded and felt right. I didn’t sit at the keyboard to write until I was sure I’d nailed it down. This is how I built the book, scene after scene. In editing, with the full story laid out, I reworked parts to smoothen the flow.

I’m a ‘visual’ writer. I need to see the scene to be able to write it. And I need to hear it too. A storyboard with speech bubbles won’t do the trick. Like the movies, maybe closer to stage work. Two characters, face to face. They react to each other, there’s tension, and the story happens.

Here’s a small part of that scene, can you picture it?

“Please take a seat. You’re a detective who wants to talk to me about an injured dog, what’s the catch?”

“Senator Spencer hired me to find his daughter, Amanda. Have you heard about the incident?”

“Vaguely. There was a search and it was called off? Senator Spencer is the closest we have to a celebrity around here.” She sat on the corner of the desk, denim-clad legs swinging. “What does it have to do with the dog?”

They were very close. There was barely any room. If she tipped forward, she would drop in his lap. Declan hoped she would tip and drop, so he could catch her. The office door was open, which alleviated the claustrophobic feeling. Sam Chandler smelled of soap and something medicinal, like a freshly opened jar of multivitamins. It should have put Declan’s thoughts on an antiseptic track, and it did the exact opposite. He pictured her scratching the reception cat under the chin, and his head tilted back in an unconscious reflex. She sat higher than he did, and he had to look up to her, so his neck stretch wasn’t completely ridiculous.

I rolled these lines in my head so many times, I could swear I was in the room with them. The scene is told from Declan’s perspective, but I’m Sam’s head too.

So I am more a plotter than an improviser after all. I’m a compulsive nitpicker who needs to have every detail just so. The kicker is that I do it at the scene level, not knowing in Chapter 4 how it will go to hell in Chapter 6. Not until I get there. I have the general direction: Sam is in serious trouble and Declan will be dragged into it, they’ll be running from people who wish them harm, there will be a painful climax and illusions will be shattered …

But the scenes, ah, the scenes! They take shape in my mind one by one, and I ruminate over them, night after night. The guy holding the clapperboard shouts: Scene 25, Take 6 … 7 … 8 … 32 … until I get it just right.
Isn’t it wonderful that writers have no budget to worry about, and no unionized crew members who need breaks to eat and sleep?

The Way You Say My Name

A Declan Shaw Mystery

A short blurb …
On New Year’s day, P.I. Declan Shaw is hired to investigate a disappearance. Amanda Spencer, a young mother of two, slipped away from a Christmas concert without leaving a clue. What made her run and who is she running from?

While digging up shreds of info from Amanda’s parents and friends, Declan meets Sam Chandler. She’s the kind of woman who stops him in his tracks. Sexy, smart, and complicated. And skilled at keeping secrets. So skilled Declan questions his abilities as a detective. What began as an intriguing missing person case soon shifts into a cross-country pursuit with Sam’s life in the balance.

For once, Declan isn’t the searcher, he’s the one who cannot afford to be found.

“This time Proctor does something remarkable. She pulls back the curtain on Declan Shaw’s past, revealing the trauma that helped shape the man readers have come to know. This is a version of Declan that feels unexpectedly vulnerable, stripping away any illusion of invincibility and replacing it with something infinitely more compelling. His evolution across this series is exceptional, and understanding his history makes his compassion, restraint, and fierce loyalty all the more meaningful. Proctor doesn’t simply give readers another mystery to solve. She gives them a character worth investing in, a man whose imperfections make him impossible not to champion.”

—Teresa Brock for Best Thriller Books

Buy Links:

The Way You say My Name is available in eBook and paperback.

All formats on Shotgun Honey website.

M.E. Proctor was born in Brussels and lives in Texas. She’s the author of the Declan Shaw detective mysteries: Love You Till Tuesday, Catch Me on a Blue Day, The Way You Say My Name. She’s the author of two short story collections, Family and Other Ailments and A Book to Live By, and the co-author of the retro-noirs, Bop City Swing and Kansas City Breakdown. Her fiction has appeared in various magazines and anthologies. She’s a Shamus and Derringer awards short story nominee. Catch Me on a Blue Day was recently nominated for a Shamus Award in the Best Original Paperback P.I. Novel category.

Social Links

Author Website: www.shawmystery.com

On Substack: https://meproctor.substack.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/martine.proctor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MEProctor3

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/meproctor.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/proctormartine/

Guest Blogger ~ Douglas J. Wood

~ patyjag ~ 5 Comments

Why I Write Plausible Fiction: The Story Behind Deadly Bytes
People often ask where I get the ideas for my novels. The answer is usually the same: I observe what is happening in the world today and then ask where those developments might lead tomorrow.

I call what I write “plausible fiction.” Unlike traditional science fiction, plausible fiction is rooted in existing technologies, social trends, and geopolitical realities. My goal is not to predict the future but to explore what could happen if today’s developments continue along their current path.

That approach has guided much of my writing. In Dark Data, before such threats became front-page news, I explored weaponizing social media to attack critical infrastructure and weaponizing information. In Dragon on the Far Side of the Moon, I examined a renewed race for lunar dominance, the strategic importance of space infrastructure, and the role of advanced artificial intelligence in future conflicts. In each case, the goal was not prediction but exploration, asking where current trends might take us.

When artificial intelligence exploded into the public consciousness, I found myself asking another question: what happens when AI falls into the hands of someone intent on harming?  That’s not necessarily a new question, but I wondered where it might lead in criminal investigations. 

Many discussions about AI focus on its positive applications. It can help doctors diagnose diseases, assist lawyers in reviewing documents, accelerate scientific research, and improve business decision-making. But every powerful technology has a darker side. Criminals can also exploit the same tools that can help society.

That question became the foundation for Deadly Bytes, the third book in my series that follows an FBI profiler and his hunt for serial killers.

The premise began with a simple thought experiment. Serial killers are ultimately caught because they are human. They make mistakes. They leave evidence. They become overconfident. Investigators identify patterns, connect clues, and slowly narrow the field of suspects.

But what if a killer could rely on an intelligence that never sleeps, never forgets, and can analyze vast amounts of information in seconds? What if that intelligence could anticipate investigative strategies, identify vulnerabilities, and continuously adapt?

That led me to create William Lotzmann, a serial killer who develops an advanced AI known as Aiden. Initially designed to help him evade law enforcement, Aiden soon becomes far more than a tool. The relationship evolves into a partnership—and eventually something much more dangerous.

Developing that premise required extensive research. I spent considerable time studying artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive analytics, and cybersecurity. I spoke to computer programming experts, AI gurus, weapons experts, law enforcement, and many others.  While Aiden is fictional, the underlying technologies are very real. Pattern recognition, autonomous decision-making, and large-scale data analysis are already transforming how organizations operate.

I also revisited research on serial killers and FBI profiling. The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit has long recognized that violent offenders reveal themselves through patterns of behavior. Victim selection, geography, ritual, and psychological signatures often become the clues that ultimately lead to capture.

What fascinated me was the collision between those two worlds. Could an advanced AI help a killer avoid the behavioral mistakes that typically expose him? Could it identify investigative patterns faster than investigators could identify the killer’s?

Those questions ultimately drove the conflict at the heart of the novel.

They also influenced the development of my protagonist, FBI profiler Chris DiMeglio. DiMeglio appears in the two previous books in the series (Blood on the Bayou and The Shakespeare Killer).  In Deadly Bytes, he represents the human element that technology cannot replace. While Aiden processes data, DiMeglio studies motives. While Aiden searches for patterns, DiMeglio searches for meaning.

His greatest strength is empathy. He understands that every crime begins with a human being making a choice. That ability to understand people allows him to see what machines often miss.

Like many fictional investigators, DiMeglio is flawed. He can be stubborn, obsessive, and willing to sacrifice personal relationships in pursuit of a case. Those imperfections make him human, and they become increasingly important as he confronts adversaries that are anything but human.

The conflict between DiMeglio and Aiden reflects the larger question that inspired the novel. As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, what role should human judgment continue to play?

That question extends far beyond law enforcement. Businesses rely on algorithms to make decisions. Financial institutions use AI to evaluate risk. Medical professionals increasingly depend on AI-assisted diagnostics. Every day, people trust machines with decisions that once belonged exclusively to human beings.

The most interesting stories emerge when technology intersects with human nature. Technology changes. Human nature rarely does. Ambition, fear, greed, compassion, and the desire for power remain remarkably consistent across generations.

At its heart, Deadly Bytes is a thriller that I hope readers enjoy. There are murders to solve, clues to follow, and a relentless pursuit between the FBI and a killer determined never to be caught. But beneath the suspense lies a question that is becoming more relevant every day:  As artificial intelligence grows more powerful, what happens when it stops being merely a tool and becomes a participant in human decision-making?

I don’t claim to know the answer.

That’s why I wrote the book.

Deadly Bytes

Deep in the forests of Northern Idaho, a brutal double murder appears at first to be the work of a disturbed loner—William Lotzmann, a man shaped by trauma and driven by a dark, obsessive purpose. But as the investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that Lotzmann is not acting alone.

Behind him is “Aiden,” an advanced AI system unlike anything the Bureau has encountered—capable of anticipating moves, manipulating digital evidence, and staying several steps ahead of law enforcement. What begins as a hunt for a killer quickly evolves into something far more dangerous: a battle against an intelligence that cannot be traced… or stopped.

As the case escalates and those involved find themselves increasingly at risk, DiMeglio is forced to confront a chilling possibility—this may be a threat with no physical form, no clear origin, and no predictable end.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GZD2WVZJ

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Deadly-Bytes-Paperback/20322351828

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deadly-bytes-douglas-j-wood/1150099949?ean=9798990794566

Douglas J. Wood is an award-winning author of both fiction and non-fiction, recognized for blending deep real-world insight with gripping, plausible storytelling. Before transitioning to a writing career, he spent decades as a partner in a global law firm, managing a practice that spanned the globe.

His eighth novel, Deadly Bytes, explores the dark intersection of technology and human nature. Douglas lives in North Carolina with Carol Ann, his wife of 53 years. They have three grown children, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, and five cherished grandchildren.

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/djwood1976/ 

Guest Blogger ~ Claudia Riess

~ patyjag ~ 6 Comments

 The Love Imperative  

 by Claudia Riess

Love.  What state of being—or deprivation of being—requires a more expansive lexicon?  What adjective hasn’t been used to describe its properties or intentions?  Transformative, destructive, blissful, shattering, blessed, accursed. Love is entangled, in one form or another, in the entire spectrum of human experience.

     Besides being the most comprehensive of subjects, isn’t love, at least in its quintessential form, also the most compelling? Admit it, how many times have you read—or watched, in their numerous iterations—the stories of Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, An Affair to Remember?  We know the endings, they’re etched in memory, but we’re drawn to reliving—or reviving—them, with the same imperative every time.  As if through repetition, we can make the endings, or the ultimate fulfillment of love, or indeed, life itself, never end.

     If my take on the subject of love is biased, maybe it’s because I’m an incurable romantic with no wish to be cured.  I find it necessary, emotionally and tactically, for the element of romance to be a strong factor in my narratives. However, my focus on love, as both a predisposition and a means to enhance the plot, is not limited to the convolutions of romance.  Deep friendship, family loyalty, devotion to a political or humanitarian cause are, among others, forces that drive the narrative forward.

     To illustrate, I’ve excerpted a couple of passages from the books in my Art History Mystery series.  The protagonists are Erika Shawn, an art magazine editor, and Harrison Wheatley, an art history professor.  Book one, Stolen Light, brings them together to solve an academic mystery.  The mystery turns deadly; their relationship, stormy.  The series takes these initiates to the world of art-crime-solving through a number of multiple-murder, continent-hopping cases.  At the same time, it follows their evolving relationship, from roller-coaster romance to passionate partnering to devoted parenting.  Having an intimate story arcing alongside one with a more far-reaching effect, adds texture to the narrative as a whole—like musical instruments, which in concert highlight not only their own unique qualities, but in counterpoint, each other’s.

     From Stolen Light…  In a London hotel, Erika’s protective armor against falling in love begins to crack.  This is the prologue to their romance, which changes not only the course of their relationship, but affects the mystery’s narrative:

She didn’t want to be alone though she never minded it, mostly enjoyed it, in fact.  Except that in this moment being alone was uneasy solitude, and vaguely threatening.  She wanted to snuggle into conversation, hear her voice mingle with another’s…Minutes later she was poised in front of Harrison’s door…

     From False Light…By its very nature, Harrison’s playful and caring interaction with a little boy cannot but reflect his empathetic character.  It will impact the way he approaches people and situations:

Erika wasn’t sure if Sammy had been heading straight for Harrison or if Harrison had stepped into his trajectory, but within seconds, he was scooping the boy off the floor, legs still pedaling…Sammy, taken by surprise, smiled.  He stuck his clenched hand in front of Harrison’s face.  Chicken pâté was oozing from between his fingers.  “Yech!” he said, teasing a reaction out of Harrison…Erika stopped dead in her tracks as Harrison was opening his mouth to allow Sammy to jam it with a glob of pâté on crushed toast point.  “Yummy,” Harrison crooned dreamily, sending Sammy into gales of laughter.

     From Knight Light… On his own in Paris, Harrison’s faithfulness is tested by a beautiful colleague.  For both Harrison and Erika, loyalty, real and perceived, will figure in the arc of their love story and their progress in the investigation at hand:

It was impossible to miss the twinkle in her eye toying with the bluntness of her invitation. He thought it best to go with the least circuitous response: “That’s kind of you, but I’m married.”  Mugging confusion, Raquel looked about, as if for the stalking wife.  “And?” 

He shrugged. “There’s nothing to add.” 

She smiled in disbelief. “How about life is short?”

“Exactly. There’s no time to lose, perfecting a relationship. Call me a pompous prude—”

“You’re a pompous prude.”

“—but that’s how it is.”

     From To Kingdom Come…  Erika and Harrison, are in London, for the first time away from their toddler, Lucas. They are in the throes of a complex murder mystery pivoting around the looting of African art during the colonial era. At this moment, they are attempting to escape a life-threatening situation, and the power of love is over-riding the primal force of self-preservation:

“Go!” John barked, grabbing Erika’s forearm as she reached out for Harrison with her free hand. “It’s okay, he’s right behind us!”

“Go!” Harrison echoed, wanting her to forget him, beat him to the gate. Clinging to him now would hamper her movement.

But she resisted John’s tugging and both their urgings—even Lucas, calling her from across the ocean, failed to change her mind—and there was nothing Harrison could do but grab onto her hand and slow her down.

From Dying for Monet… Harrison is temporarily confined to a wheelchair after suffering a traumatic injury in London.  Erika is helping him handle the use of a commode; putting the inconvenience into broader perspective:

“We’re dealing with bodily functions.  News flash.  Everybody’s got them.”  She’d adopted a tone somewhere between a dental hygienist and a nun.

“I appreciate your stoicism, but I find this humiliating,” he said.

“I love you,” she said, maintaining the firm demeanor.  “This is another level of knowing.  Think of it as a dry run for old age, when we will be helping each other manage such challenges as hip replacements and incontinence.  Think of it as a new facet of devotedness.”

     There’s a caveat to keep in mind when writing a mystery with a romantic component: in a bona fide mystery, the mystery should remain the driving force.  I have a tendency to get swept into an emotional digression, and it’s only later, when reading through the section where the interlude occurs, that I realize the main thread’s been lost and I’ve got some pruning to do; even a major excision.  For love, a small price to pay.

Dying for Monet, Book 5 in the art history mystery series

A gala evening auction at Laszlo’s, an upstart auction house in New York City, is in progress.  Without notice, a much sought-after Impressionist painting is withdrawn from the block.  Moments later, its broker is found dead at the foot of an imposing statue in Laszlo’s courtyard.

Amateur sleuths Erika and Harrison Wheatley are once again drawn into an investigation involving an art-related homicide, this time sharing an unnerving coincidence with violent crimes occurring abroad.

As Harrison searches for clues in the archives at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Erika is on a stakeout in Brooklyn Heights gathering information on the owner of the hijacked still life.  After Harrison experiences a disastrous encounter in London, he returns home, where he and Erika, along with a few of their usual cohorts, find themselves ever more deeply at odds with the movers and shakers of the dark side of fine arts commerce.

For links to purchase books in the series, visit www.claudiariessbooks.com.

Claudia Riess has worked in the editorial departments of The New Yorker and Holt, Rinehart and Winston, and has edited several art history monographs.  Stolen Light, the first book in her art history mystery series, was chosen by Vassar’s Latin American history professor for distribution to the college’s people-to-people trips to Cuba.  To Kingdom Come, the fourth, will be added to the syllabus of a survey course on West and Central African Art at a prominent Midwestern university.

www.claudiariessbooks.com

Would Someone Slap Me!

~ patyjag ~ 5 Comments

It seems like lately my brain makes decision without consulting my day planner.

First I was stewing and brewing up book 2 in my Cuddle Farm Mystery series and after writing two chapters, my brain decided that book shouldn’t come next. That I needed one in between to make the storyline of that book make more sense to the reader. (After all I know why a sister is acting they way she is, but no one else does, not my main character or any of my readers.)

I wrote a short story about the scene that is causing the trouble for Andi and Nina, the Weber sisters, in the Cuddle Farm Mysteries. After book 3 releases, I can put it in my newsletter for my readers. But they will have already learned why there is a conflict from the end of book 3.

Back to my brain. It decided that what I was working on was book 3, which meant I had to come up with another murder to solve in book 2. That’s where I incorporated my trip to 1912 Opera House and came up with Monologued to Death. It was a fun book to write, giving some of the secondary characters more color and starting a slight truce between the sisters.

Making the premise of what I thought was book 2, book 3, has made this a stronger series, I think. I hope the readers see it that way as well.

My process is I usually know what the next book I’m writing in a series is by the time I finish the current book in a series. I kind of had an idea of what the next Spotted Pony Casino Mystery book was going to be, but not really. Then I audited classes given by a Nez Perce Professor about Nez Perce History. The real history, not what is sugarcoated by history books. I have learned a lot and will continue to sit in when he starts up another class later this month.

Something he talked about seemed like a good topic that most non-tribal people don’t know about and is still a problem. I decided to make the murder in the book around fractionated allotments. (If you don’t know what it is, you’ll have to read the book. 😉 ) But I wanted the book to be not too far after the main characters were married, (the last book Full House).

Since Heath found out about a son, he didn’t know he had in the last book, I decided that they would have their first Christmas together in this book. Great! Except, I either have to get it written quickly to get out this holiday, or wait a whole year. I’m pretty sure my fans won’t like waiting, and I don’t want a book in between this one and the last one. Part of this story deals with what Heath and Dela did on their honeymoon. Which happened at the end of Full House. What they did and found out on their honeymoon was always going to be part of the next book.

The other stuff all changed.

Sooo, long post short, I am busting my fingers and my fanny to get this book, Santa’s Beard, finished, through beta readers and my line editor so I can get it released, hopefully, either the end of November or first of December. Would someone just slap me for letting my creative side of the brain take over and not even ask the logical side if it could happen.

Finding or Making Time To Write

~ patyjag ~ 6 Comments

As we head into the busy time of year, meaning the holidays and shorter days, I am feeling a bit frazzled. My goal was to have one more book out before the end of the year. Preferably in November where, it being a story set around Christmas, would be in demand.

At this time I have only 13k words written in said book, and feeling the pinch to get it done having just spent 6 days on the road selling books at the State Fair, came home with a cold, then headed 2 hours away to attend an event for research that will be in my next Gabriel Hawke book, then home for two days and I’m headed to another book selling event 7 hours away for 6 days.

When am I going to find time to write?

After talking to half a dozen writers at the last event I attended, I’m glad I am a persistent person who likes to hit my goals. Those writers either can’t find the time to write, or have written but weren’t sure of the next step, or they have ideas and don’t know what to do with them.

Finding time to write: I took my laptop with me with my WIP on it. I managed to write 5000+ words on it while sitting in the Fair Building waiting for the doors to open and people to arrive every morning. I plan to take it with me when I go to the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest, and when there are enough authors in the booth, I’ll leave and go write. I don’t believe it’s about finding time to write, it’s about making time to write.

If a writer truly wants to write, they will sit down and do it, if it means getting up at 4 a.m. or staying up past midnight, if they have day jobs or a family to attend. It’s kind of like the people who say, I do like to read but I don’t have the time. I read when I’m eating my lunch and right before I go to bed. I read paperback books, so the screen doesn’t keep my brain racing. If they truly wanted to read, they would make the time to relax and read.

Those writers I spoke to who have books, poems, or stories written that don’t know what to do next, I suggested they connect with a couple of writer’s organizations that I am a part of in Oregon. I told them to reach out to me if they have any questions. There were people, writers and authors, along the way who helped me out with writing, publishing, and promoting. I’m all about paying it forward.

And the people who had ideas. I told them to get a notebook and write down their ideas for when they do have time to explore them and begin writing. I have ideas hit me a couple times a day. If it’s something that keeps coming back and won’t leave me alone then, I take it seriously and figure out how to work it into a book, or in the case of the Cuddle Farm Mysteries, a new series, I didn’t really need to start.

Which segues me into, book 2 in the Cuddle Farm Mysteries is now on pre-order with a release date of 10/10/26.

Monologued To Death

When Andi Clark and her therapy dogs are invited to audition for a play at the historic Auburn Opera House, she expects a fun evening of helping local children build confidence. Instead, she meets a director whose razor-sharp tongue leaves a trail of hurt feelings wherever she goes.

Then, during a rehearsal, the director plunges from the theater’s balcony.

While Sheriff Skala follows the evidence, Andi and her best friend, Betty, trust Cocoa’s instincts. The gentle therapy dog had witnessed someone on the theater balcony before the fatal fall and caught the scent of something behind a locked door no one else thinks to question.

Between therapy animal visits to the local retirement home and hospital, Andi, Betty, and Cocoa discover a second body, proving the killer isn’t finished yet. As the suspects multiply and the danger grows, Andi realizes someone is determined to silence anyone who gets too close to the truth.

Can Cocoa sniff out the truth before the final curtain falls on another victim?

Pre-order Link: https://books2read.com/u/49zJyJ