Welcome back to Behind the Scenes, where I’m sharing everything about how I write a mystery! In yesterday’s chapter, we brought Mr. Gallo—my protagonist’s rather complicated love interest—on stage for the first time, and so I want to discuss two topics:
How I re-introduce characters in every new book in a series
How I set up a relationship between love interests
Read the chapter this Behind the Scenes glimpse is based on:
Read the story from the beginning:
I’m a big believer in writing a terrific introduction scene for every character—something that gives the reader an idea of who he is, and allows her to begin to feel something about him. In a series, I still write these scenes—but their job is a little different. In this case, I want to remind the reader of who the character is, and why she gets such a kick out of reading about him. I want her to say, “Oh, right! That’s why I love this guy! He’s so funny/brave/kind/romantic/whatever!”
Yesterday’s chapter was Mr. Gallo’s re-intro for Death Casts a Spell, and so I wanted to showcase his intelligence. I also wanted to showcase something else: a persistent line of conflict between him and my sleuth, Kitty Callahan.
