Developing A Character With an Assist from Diane Fanning

I've blogged several times about the complex character that I'm developing for Footprints in the Sand and I got a great idea -

Last year I read a book by Diane Fanning - it was about the murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett. You probably remember the young pregnant woman who was killed and the murderer literally her baby from her body and kidnapped the child. That's not what I have planned for my book - but the mentality of the kidnapper is great research for my book.

So, I contacted Diane to see if we could toss around some thoughts. Who better to ask than someone who researched this woman and the condition that led her to commit these horrible crimes? We exchanged some emails and she gave me some great input -- thank you very much Diane.

About 3 years ago I met Dianne Fanning when I moderated a true crime panel at the Virginia Festival of the Book and she was on the panel. I've always enjoyed true crime books and if you enjoy true crime - you HAVE to give her books a read.

These are some of her true crime books and you can find reviews for a number of these on my review blog - I have read just about every one.

2007 - Out There: The In-Depth Story of the Astronaut Love Triangle Case that Shocked America

2007 - Under the Knife: A Beautiful Woman, a Deranged Doctor, and a Shocking Murder

2006 - Baby Be Mine : The Shocking True Story of a Woman Who Murdered a Pregnant Mother to Steal Her Child

2006 - Gone Forever : A True Story of Marriage, Betrayal, and Murder

2005 - Written in Blood

2004 - Into the Water

2003 - Through the Window: The Terrifying True Story of Cross-Country Killer Tommy Lynn Sells

The Pastor's Wife: The True Story of a Minister and the Shocking Death that Divided a Family

Novels by Diane Fanning
Punish the Deed (Lucinda Pierce)
The Trophy Exchange: A Lucinda Pierce Mystery (Lucinda Pierce)
Bite the Moon (Five Star Mystery Series) (Five Star Mystery Series)
The Windwalkers

You should take a look :)

Nikki Leigh


Diane Fanning
Author of PUNISH THE DEED, the second Lucinda Pierce novel from Severn House
www.dianefanning.com
www.myspace.com/dianefanning
www.womenincrimeink.blogspot.com

Planning Details For Footprints in the Sand

The galleys for Book Promo 201: Harness the Power of the Internet with Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing are coming along very nice and I have the updated galleys to work on today. Love when the book gets this close to be complete and ready to go to the printer :)

But, I wanted to post an update about Footprints....

Over the weekend I had a little time to start getting some of my plot ideas on paper. So many great ideas floating around in my mind, but I've started writing them on index cards and that will give me a chance to organize all these ideas. Its also amazing to me how many additional ideas come to me as I'm arranging my thoughts.

I wrote one book with no plan and learned a HUGE lesson. While I love spontaneity in my writing - having only a vague idea wastes a lot of time. My first novel was started that way and I ended up tossing out over 50,000 words (200 pages) of content because I started the story in the "wrong" place. With the schedule I have and with business I don't have time to waste like that. So, I plan the basic things that I definitely want to include and especially with a mystery to keep the story on track.

BUT that does NOT mean that my characters aren't "allowed" to take control of the story and that does NOT mean that I don't change course if needed. That is all a big part of the fun of writing :) My first book took over a year to write - almost every book after that took less than half that time and my business books were each written in about 3 months. For a couple of years, I was a full time freelance writer and when the bills need to be paid - there isn't a year to play with a book idea :)

So, once the galleys are finished, I look forward to finding time to keep brainstorming the story. Hopefully I can also find time to head to the Outer Banks to do some research about the Ash Wednesday Storm which is the backdrop for this kidnapping mystery........

Nikki

Working on Book Promo 201 Galleys - Getting Back to Footprints in the Sand

I haven't had a chance to work on Footprints in the Sand lately, but I'm hoping to get a chance to work on it some this weekend. Last weekend I was at the Virginia Festival of the Book and the weekend before that -- we were working on the virtual tour for Maureen G Mulvaney's Amazon campaign for her new best seller -- The Women's Millionaire Club. Several weeks before that - I was working on other projects - but Footprints needs my attention and I really want to do some story brainstorming.

So, I called a local psychologist to see if we can talk about one of the characters. I work hard to maintain authenticity in characters, setting etc so I need to talk with a professional about some ideas I have for this character. Hopefully she can point me in the right direction. More updates soon -- I hope. I'll also let you know when Book Promo 201: Harness the Power of the Internet with Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing is available :)

Nikki