For a writer, story inspiration is everywhere.
I used to read the newspaper every morning with a cup of coffee in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. Why? Because I’m a writer. The need for coffee is obvious, and as for the scissors…well…story ideas have a way of finding me, and I need to be prepared.
One day about six years ago, a headline caught my eye: “Husband of Missing Woman is Engaged.” Drew Peterson had been married four times and had been suspected in the murder of one wife and the disappearance of another. That’s fascinating in and of itself, but the hook was that he had somehow managed to convince a 23-year-old woman to become wife number five. Now there’s a story.
My writer’s-imagination kicked in. Why would a woman get engaged to this man? Does she believe he’s innocent? What does he have to offer that would make her overlook the obvious downside to joining the Mrs. Peterson Club?
I filed the article under the working title of Gilt by Association. My basic premise was that the woman had a need for money that was so urgent as to blind her to this man’s alleged past misdeeds.
A few years later, Janalyn Voigt approached me about writing a romantic suspense series along with our friend Lynnette Bonner. Each of us would contribute a book to a series of three set in the beautiful San Juan Islands of Washington State. Loving the idea, I pulled out my story file and narrowed it down to either the one about the dog walker accused of robbing her client’s house, or the one about the murderous fiancé. Since the second one had more bite (the first feels more like a romantic comedy), I presented it to my co-authors.
That was a couple of years ago. Now my story, officially titled Tide Will Tell, is book two in our “Islands of Intrigue” series. I took that very real and rather grisly scenario and let it play out in what I hope is a suspenseful and satisfying story.
As for Drew Peterson, he has since been convicted of the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. His fourth wife, Stacy, remains missing. And the fiancée slated for the number five spot? She called off the engagement. Smart woman.
“Islands of Intrigue”, book 1:
Click Here to find The Unrelenting Tide by Lynnette Bonner on Kindle
Click Here to find The Unrelenting Tide by Lynnette Bonner in paperback.
“Islands of Intrigue”, book 2:
Click Here to find Tide Will Tell by Lesley Ann McDaniel on Kindle
Click Here to find Tide Will Tell by Lesley Ann McDaniel in paperback.
“Islands of Intrigue”, book 3:
Deceptive Tide by Janalyn Voigt will be available in 2015
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