Nancy Jarvis
Two pages isn’t much space to fill readers in when they start reading a later-in-the-series book cold without having read the preceding books. That was the problem I had with book six in the Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries series. Regan, the protagonist, and her husband, Tom, have to be introduced, their relationship needs to be made clear, they have to be made sympathetic, and that’s just for starters. It’s also necessary to set the stage, build tension, and introduce the overriding dissonant theme in of the book.
Thanks for contributing this post, Nancy! I enjoyed your comments about your strategy, and your first two pages are definitely gripping!
Thanks for having me on your post, Bonnie, and for your kind comments. “A Neighborly Killing” was a difficult and entertaining book to write because I wanted to upend the typical who-done-it. I had to work hard, but enjoyed every minute of writing.