Writing in Tandem by Sparkle Abbey

JENN McKINLAY: If you know anything about me at all, by my almost two year tour of duty on Jungle Red Writers, you know that I love to laugh. Well, here is Sparkle Abbey, a duo of writers, who make me laugh every time I see them (usually in line at Starbucks when at a conference) or when I read their work. Seriously, these gals crack me up so now I share them with you!

SPARKLE ABBEY: First, thank you so much for inviting us, Jenn. We’re excited to be here! 

Since we’re new on JRW, we thought we’d start off with a few Sparkle Abbey fun facts.

·     We are friends as well as neighbors.  We live just one street away from each other. We can see each other’s houses from our windows. 

·     We’re both grandmothers and are crazy about our grandchildren. 

·     We both enjoy old movies, especially, the vintage romantic comedies. 

·     We have taken yoga classes together, although Anita (“Abbey”) has been known to fall asleep during the relaxation portion.

·     We love to travel together and usually navigate pretty well. Although once, we did accidently go to Michigan. 

·     We love to plot on road trips.

·     Our favorite drink is a margarita on the rocks or an iced tea. Unfortunately, there have been fewer margaritas as we’ve made a conscience effort to improve our eating habits.  Now we drink soda water and Grey Goose with a twist of lime. Or iced tea.

·     We enjoy writing about relationships – relationships between humans and their pets, mothers and daughters, and best friends. We also like writing about murder.

·     We love to brainstorm fun, over the top titles. 

If you’re not familiar with our books,our series is known for its snicker-worthy titles like Fifty Shades of Greyhound, The Girl with the Dachshund Tattoo, Barking with the Stars, and The Dogfather. One of the questions we’re asked most often is, “What comes first the title or the plot?”

For us, nine out of ten times, the title comes first. We spend a lot of time brainstorming titles that evoke a sense of humor and lightness that will also correlate with a pet themed series. We enjoy the process, and have been known to drink a couple of margaritas while we pitch ideas. We have pages and pages of possibilities. Some cheesy, some decent, and some that are real “howl” worthy.

We’ve been fortunate to keep all our original titles except for book seven. The original title was Kitty Confidential. The book was about half written when our editor decided she want something “bigger.” Um, sure.  We reviewed our list of options, but didn’t like a single idea. We were finding it difficult to come up with a new title for a story that was already in progress. Honestly, there are only so many good cat themed ideas. Eventually, everyone all agreed on Downton Tabby. All we had to do to make it work was to add a tabby to the story. No problem.

We’re back to brainstorming new titles. We’d love to hear your suggestions. Here are a few titles that more than one person has shared with us to get you in the mood. 

Everybody Sniffs Raymond

How I Bit Your Mother

The Cat of Monte Cristo

Terriers and Tiaras

Catman and Robin 

One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of book 10, The Dogfather, will make its debut September 21^st.

Ready. Set. Go!

What about you, Reds? What comes first, the title or the plot? 

Readers, will a title get you to buy a book or not? 

About The Dogfather -

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Who knew the world of designer purses could be such a dog-eat-dog business?

When a local, designer handbags store owner is found dead, the police first believe it’s an unfortunate accident. But the evidence doesn’t lie. Before you can say "wiseguy," Bow Wow Boutique owner, Melinda Langston’s, former fiancé and undercover FBI agent, Grey Donovan, is the prime suspect.

Now the two are working side-by-side to prove Grey's innocence— nothing personal, just business. Or is it? Suspects are piling up, family secrets are exposed, and no one is who they appear to be, including Mel’s newest employee. Time’s running out. Mel better sniff out the killer before she and Grey end up sleeping with the fishes.

About Sparkle Abbey – Sparkle Abbey isthe pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets—Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). They reside in central Iowa, but if they could write anywhere, you would find them on the beach with their laptops and an iced tea.

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