Wednesday, March 29, 2023

What We're Writing: Rhys is Juggling!

 RHYS BOWEN: Why do I do this to myself? I could stick to writing fun and funny mysteries in which my sleuth solves a murder in under three hundred pages. A linear plot. A cast of characters that I know and love.

Instead I set myself a challenge every year of writing something long and complicated. 

Which is what I'm doing right now.  

I'm writing yet another book set in two time periods with actually three story lines intertwining. One story involves an abandoned village in World War Two (remember I posted photos of it). Another involves a missing child in 1968, yet a third involves three little girls who vanished while being evacuated during the war, and... oh no, there's a fourth story line... the heroine's own personal story and what happened to her during her own childhood. And there is a love story ( of course. Have I ever been known to write a book without a touch of romance).

Each of these has to have clues that help to solve the others. We have to find out the clues in the correct order so that every revelation makes the reader go "Oooh, now I know what happened to that other child"



So it feels as if I'm juggling, constantly keeping several balls in the air, while at the same time filling in pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. This causes me to wake in the middle of the night thinking, "Wait. No we need to go to Devon and find the shop before she visits the ex girlfriend."

In spite of all this it's coming along quite well. I'm at page 265 with probably a hundred or so to go and I do know where I'm heading now.  I'm currently calling it IN AN ABANDONED PLACE. But I'm also toying with THE LOST GIRLS, THE LAST LITTLE GIRL, MISSING, FLASHBACK etc etc. Suggestions welcome.

 So here is a snippet. I've tried to decide what I can share with you that won't give too much away.

They came out through the gate and now started along the village street. In what had been cottage gardens weeds now ran rampant, brambles tumbled over walls. There was no sign that people had once lived here, no washing on a clothes line, no toy dropped when a child was called in to a meal. Nothing.

                “This is all there was of it?” Marisa looked around. ‘Hardly much of a village.”

                “There was a big house too, off to one side up there,” Dave said. “I think the village was built for the bloke who owned it. So he had his workers living on the spot. Or perhaps some of them were fishermen. There was a harbor.”

                They continued forward, stepping over the great fissures and craters that had formed.

                “They certainly gave this place a beating,” Marisa said.  She looked back at Liz.

                Liz was standing, staring down the street, frowning.

                “What’s the matter, Liz?” Marisa asked. “Have you spotted something?”

                “I’ve been here before,” she said in a puzzled voice..

“You can’t have,” Dave said, chuckling. “It’s been off limits since the war. It was taken over by the army in 1943 to prepare for the invasion. You weren’t even born, were you?”

                “I was born in 1941,” Liz said.

                “So you’d only have been two when the people were turned out,” Dave said. “You don’t remember much from when you are two, do you? I know I don’t.”

                “They say some people remember their birth,” Marisa said. “That’s why they are claustrophobic, coming down that long dark tunnel.” And she laughed.

                Liz was still frowning, looking around her. “I’m sure I was here once.”

                “Maybe another village like it. There’s plenty of them on the coast here,” Dave said. “But probably not during the war. The coast was mostly off limits for civilians. They had mines and tank traps on the beaches.  And this wouldn’t have been the sort of place you’d come on holiday. No hotels or caravan parks nearby in those days.”

                Liz shook her head. “I can’t remember anything else. It just came to me that I’d been here. I’ve no idea when.”

                “Like I said, it would have to have been before 1943 and you’d only have been a toddler.”

                They continued walking. Liz stopped, looking up at the shell of what once had been the two story building. “There was a pub called The Big Boat,” she said.

                “The Big Boat?” Dave looked amused.  He examined the building. “I suppose that could have been the pub. It’s the only big building on the street.”  He trod gingerly over to where a door had once been and peered inside. “Can’t see much in here,” he said. “just rubble where the upstairs floor has caved in.”

                “But there is a metal hook on the side,” Marisa said. “Where a pub sign might have hung once.”

                She too tiptoed forward and peered into tall grass. Then she stopped, looked up, her mouth open.  “There’s a pub sign,” she said.

                Liz and Dave went to look. The painting on it was faded and discolored but they could just make out the shape of a ship in full sail and the words THE GOLDEN HINDE.


Just one of the puzzle pieces. Hopefully all will be clear by the end, and will make sense! AND the reader will be able to follow.

So do you like complicated books like this or do you prefer the straightforward whodunit?

42 comments:

  1. This is quite intriguing, Rhys, and now you've got me wondering just what Liz might remember . . . I know l'm looking forward to figuring out the mystery. I enjoy trying to figure out how everything works together in twisty, complicated stories . . . .

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  2. Wow! I love this snippet. Of course I'm going to have to read the book now, once it is out. I actually like both linds of books: straightforward whodunnits and complicated books with interweaving lives and histories.

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  3. Hats off to you, Rhys. I tried a few years ago to write a two-time-period, three-story-line novel and ended up splitting it into two books. It's hard!

    I loved the excerpt and really look forward to reading this book, as I do all your complicated books.

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  4. So looking forward to getting to read your new book Rhys. Bon courage!

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  5. Wow, Rhys! Very enticing! I'll buy it.

    Although I adore your Royal Spyness books, I do love your complicated, multi- timeline mysteries, too. (I am a Molly Murphy fan, too.) In my opinion, your WWII stories are unique and examine aspects of the war that other books haven't. As long as all secrets are revealed at the end, I will be happy.

    The thing that can be frustrating to a reader is when you have to look back in a book to refresh your memory before you can understand what is happening now. If a multi timeline story is put together logically, that doesn't happen as often.

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    1. Rhys: I also hate having to flip back and forth in books!

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  6. As one who is rereading The Mirror and the Light, I prefer longer and more complicated books.
    So I’m looking forward this one! Keep up the good work, Rhys

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  7. Very intriguing snippet. I always love it when a character suddenly conjures a lost memory. Such a tricky thing, memory.

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  8. Sounds great, Rhys. And I loved hearing your thoughts on multiple plot lines and inserted clues and reveals. I'm liking - IN AN ABANDONED PLACE, it seems to have just the right hint of atmosphere. There are lots of books written about - and titled, with missing girls and young women out now, and yours won't be anything like those I know. Joyce W

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    1. I agree on the title--this abandoned place is central to the story. Way too many books out there with titles that scream "lost missing girls."

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    2. From Rhys; thank you. The theme of abandoned goes through all the stories

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  9. Yes! I love stories with multiple timelines. I can't wait to see how they link up.

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  10. Ooo, intriguing. Personally, I like IN AN ABANDONED PLACE, but that's just me.

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    1. Rhys: this seems to be the consensus. Now we’ll see what my publisher thinks!

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  11. Tell me more! I can see this book is going to be a smashing story, Rhys.

    I love twisty plots, as well as straightforward tales. Some days the brain doesn't feel as up to the challenge as on other days.

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    1. Rhys: I agree. Different stories for different days. Me too

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  12. I don't care where a story goes--straight ahead on the tracks or through a tunnel and the tracks split on the other side--don't care as long as the story takes me along for the ride! I have the newest Molly Murphy in my hands even as we speak, and I will wait patiently while you finish up this newest stand-alone, Rhys!

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    1. I agree, Flora. It must carry the reader along not confuse! Enjoy Molly! Rhys

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  13. This sounds wonderful Rhys! I'm working on a book with two timelines and keep thinking about one of your big books--you described writing the two stories and then laying out the pages on the floor to figure out how to intertwine them. I always get motivation and tips from my Red writing pals!

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    1. Rhys: unfortunately this one can’t work this way as there aren’t parallel stories like The Tuscan Child. So there’s lots of arrows on the white board and post it notes

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  14. Rhys, sounds wonderful. I feel as if I'm in England and can even hear their English accents. Can't wait to read your new book. I like the title In An Abandoned Place.

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  15. I am intrigued and can’t wait to read the finished product. I’m of an age that sometimes it’s easier to read the straightforward storyline but I do love a well written multi layered story also as long as it’s well written. Too many authors seem to be doing the multi timeline because it seems to be the trend and don’t pull it off smoothly. If it hops about so much I have to keep a record of characters and times, not so much enjoyment. Some authors have the knack, as I find when I’m reading your books and those I tend to follow.

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  16. Excuse me, Rhys, didn't your mum teach you it's not nice to tease! How are we supposed to wait until the release of this book? I wore a hole in the corner of my laptop screen trying to get the page to turn for more. What fertile soil for a novel. Well done.

    For what it's worth - I like In an Abandoned Place as well.

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    1. Rhys: I’m picturing you turning your laptop!! Love it

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  17. Rhys, the story sounds wonderful! I like the title IN AN ABANDONED PLACE. If you are looking for another title, perhaps the title could include the names of the main characters?

    Trying to answer your question. I love mysteries. It is very challenging for me to read multiple timelines especially when paired with multiple POV! I noticed that several commenters LIKE multiple timelines. I wonder if readers who like multiple timelines are math wizards too?

    Question: I am asking for help here. Any tips on HOW to follow a story with multiple timelines? Writing notes while reading?

    Diana

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    1. Rhys: I think it helps if the voices are quite distinct and the settings are real enough that you know where you are

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    2. Diana, go ahead and take notes! Some stories are more difficult to follow but very worthwhile to finish. You are the reader and you get to decide how to make it work for you. I take notes on occasion and I also read passages to myself out loud if I have to. Don't let a multiple timeline keep you from Rhys's fabulous WWII mysteries!

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    3. Judy, thank you. Already a big fan of the Constable Evans mysteries, Lady Georgie mysteries and the Irish Molly mysteries. Read ALL of Rhys' books, including the WWII mysteries. Maybe my brain is having a hard time right now with the multiple timelines? Who knows?

      Diana

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  18. It's wonderful, Rhys! I love that you have so much happening in one book and I have absolutely no idea how you do it! Amazing!

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  19. Rhys, you are the queen of juggling, and piecing together puzzle pieces of a story! I can’t wait for this book. As long as a novel is well-written, I don’t care how many story lines there are. And I’ve never been disappointed with any of your books.

    DebRo

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  20. Not to try to be the wet blanket. however....
    In An Abandoned Place is a great title, evocative of the scene we've just read, and very much drawing us in.
    Then I said it out loud. Or tried to. I found myself tripping over it. Maybe it doesn't matter? Maybe it's just my unruly tongue. :^Q
    Just had to mention it.

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    1. And that's an important consideration, Susan! My brother-in-law, Peter Maslowski, said he wished he'd thought of that when he wrote his first book about the Civil War: Treason Must be Made Odious. Not exactly succinct.

      Maybe Abandoned Places would work as well.

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    2. Rhys: very valid! Customers have to ask for it in a bookstore. I’m wondering maybe AN ABANDONED PLACE might be better?

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    3. I think that you should shorten the title if you find it as evocative, but I have no problem with the full title spoken out loud. If one is older, with a voice tenor, perhaps that is only one person’s problem.

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  21. It sounds wonderful, Rhys, and the maze of memory is always fascinating! Looking forward to it.

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  22. Oh, both, please! I automatically pre-order your books as soon as I can--my treat to myself. This one sounds right up my WWII-era alley! Lenita

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  23. This sounds intriguing--I'm looking forward to it.

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  24. Rhys, you are constantly fabulous. Maybe...The Abandoned Place? And CANNOT WAIT!

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