Caitlin O’Connor is a flawed character who keeps getting involved in relationships with married men and finally gets into therapy to figure out why. I hope readers will empathize with her and root for her as she tries to get healthier while also solving a difficult case.
Lynn Slaughter – 11 August 2023
The Back Flap
When ballerina Lydia Miseau dies onstage in the final dress rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet, homicide detective Caitlin O’Connor is faced with the most complicated case of her career. She strongly suspects that someone murdered the ballerina, and her investigation uncovers several people close to the star who had reasons to kill her. But the autopsy reveals no apparent cause of death. If Lydia Miseau was murdered, who did it, and how?
Meantime, there’s Caitlin’s hot mess of a personal life. She has a bad habit of getting involved with married men. She knows it’s wrong, so why does she keep entangling herself in unhealthy relationships? She’s finally decided to go into therapy to find out.
About the book
How long did it take you to write it?
About a year.
Where did you get the idea from?
A friend encouraged me to create a short story for Malice Domestic’s 2020 anthology, Murder Most Theatrical. I’m not normally a short story writer, but given my background in dance, I decided to try writing one. The idea of a ballerina collapsing and dying on stage popped into my mind and became the basis for the story. The confines of short fiction, however, didn’t allow me to explore the personal life and struggles of the detective, so I decided to expand the story into a novel. By the time I was done, even the identity of the murderer had changed!
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
I’ve always struggled with description. What is too much? What is too little? In addition, I’m an anxious writer. I get nervous before I begin any project and even before I begin writing each day. Once I get going, I’m okay.
What came easily?
I don’t think any part of writing a novel is easy, but I especially enjoy writing dialogue.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
My characters are fictitious, but I have certainly borrowed elements of personalities I’ve encountered. For example, the artistic director of the ballet company is obsessed with his work at the expense of his personal relationships, and I’ve certainly known folks like him in my years as a dancer.
We all know how important it is for readers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
For mysteries, I love the works of the late Robert B. Parker, especially his Jesse Stone series. Stone is a good detective who struggles with alcoholism and a failed relationship with his ex-wife. I like the fact that he is a flawed character. As a reader, I care about what happens to him personally just as much, or more, than whether he solves the crime. Similarly, Caitlin O’Connor is a flawed character who keeps getting involved in relationships with married men and finally gets into therapy to figure out why. I hope readers will empathize with her and root for her as she tries to get healthier while also solving a difficult case.
In terms of my young adult novels, I am drawn to authors who take on the struggles of growing up and create memorable characters. Personal favorites are Chris Crutcher, Judy Blume, and Gayle Forman.
When it comes to my writing process, I’ve been hugely influenced by Elizabeth George’s books on craft, Write Away and Mastering the Plot. George advocates paying lots of attention to character development before plotting and argues that plot complications will emerge from the struggles and issues characters bring into the story.
Do you have a target reader?
Great question! For Missed Cue, I’d say it was an adult mystery reader, probably female, who is drawn to women’s fiction and romance as well as a good mystery.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I do. First, I get an idea for a story premise. For Missed Cue, the premise was that an apparently healthy ballerina dies onstage, and the lead investigator must figure out both what killed her and who did it.
Then, as noted above, I follow Elizabeth George’s advice and spend lots of time on developing my characters. I pay particular attention to their backstories. What has shaped the personalities of these folks? What do they care about and struggle with?
Once I have a handle on the main characters and their issues and conflicts, I begin sketching out the key events in my novels. Of course, since I write mysteries, a certain amount of structure is imposed by the expectations of the genre. The detective needs to solve the crime, and there needs to be an assortment of red herrings on the way to doing so.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I don’t extensively outline, but I do write about what I want to happen and in what order. Invariably though, things change somewhat in the course of writing.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I tend to edit as I go. I usually begin each writing day by reviewing the work I’ve done the previous day and doing some light editing. That helps me jump start into writing new pages. When I’ve finished the draft of the novel, I take an overall look at the manuscript and make additional changes.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I frequently listen to music as I write and often choose music consistent with whatever I’m working on. For example, my protagonist in Deadly Setup is a pianist and a huge fan of the American Songbook, so I listened to lots of recordings of popular standards by composers such as Cole Porter as I was writing.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents? What made you decide to go Indie, where self-publishing or with an Indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process? (I’ve combined these questions, because they’re related.)
I did have an agent for my second novel, It Should Have Been You, but we parted ways when she refused to submit my third novel, Leisha’s Song. My protagonist was a young woman of color and there has been a lot of controversy about white authors writing outside their identity group. I believed in the novel, however, and began submitting to small publishers on my own. Several expressed interest and I went with Fire and Ice, the imprint of Melange Books. I’ve been very happy with them, and they also published my fourth novel, Deadly Setup. Melange Books is the publisher for my fifth novel, Missed Cue, as well.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
For my last three novels, I’ve worked with a publicist from Books Forward. They’ve been tremendously helpful in developing a marketing plan.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Persistence is key. Rejection is inevitable for writers, and if we really want to do this, we just have to keep going and commit ourselves to staying the course! Openness to revision and continuously working on learning about and improving our craft is vitally important, as is finding supportive writing communities such as a helpful critique group and writing organizations like the Guppies of Sisters in Crime.
I think it’s important to keep our expectations realistic. Most authors do not make a huge amount of money from writing their books. It’s above all a labor of love.
The self-published authors I’ve known have an entrepreneurial bent. They enjoy having full control over every aspect of putting their books out and marketing them. I think that deciding whether you want to pursue traditional publication with an agent, Indie publication with a small press, or self-publishing comes down to assessing our own strengths, personality, and career goals.
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