Shelly Frome - Writer and Novelist
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Telling tales outside the box

5/1/2013

7 Comments

 
Why not cross the line?

A short while ago I suggested you can play with formats. I went on to say that for me the outcome is never what the character really wants. The writer I was talking to said, “But that’s not genre.”  As though my approach meant losing any hope of attracting  readers.

At about the same time, another writer recommended a book her colleague had just written. Here, not only was mixing formats frowned upon but the overriding claim was you have to meet readers’ expectations right off the bat. As though people go on Amazon, look at the cover, click on “Look Inside,” peruse the opening for, say, a creepy thriller or a harmless cozy and if their expectation isn’t immediately met, it’s over.

However, in the words of the old show tune, “It ain’t necessarily so.”

Take Marja McGraw’s Old Murders Never Die.  The cold, gripping opening written in the third person follows a young pregnant women frantically running from the clutches of a killer. In no time she’s dispatched and we’re in the throes of a nightmarish tale.

But the next thing you know, P.I. Sandi Webster, her fiancé and sidekick Pete Goldberg, and their dog Bubba are off on a camping trip in the mountains of Arizona. Lighthearted Sandi is telling the tale, glad to get away from all those bodies that keep cropping up back in L.A. but a bit disconcerted when they lose their way. Not only that, they come across the remnants of an old mining ghost town circa the 1880s and become stranded when someone swipes the ignition relay module from their Jeep.

When a cowboy on a black stallion keeps appearing and disappearing, even shooting off his six guns, we’ve segued into some kind of twilight zone. At the same time, Sandi discovers an old diary written by the sheriff way back then. It seems a 15-year-old girl was found with her throat cut.  Old medical records reveal the specter of more mayhem  and, in due course, the pressing question: Why did everyone suddenly leave town?

Will yesteryear, the cowboy and the here-and-now collide? Will the couple and their dog ever get back to L.A. and those cozy, everyday murders?

Why can’t you tweak any format and ask readers to come along for the ride?  

7 Comments
Marja McGraw link
5/1/2013 03:13:38 am

Shelly, Thank you so much for featuring Old Murders Never Die in your blog. Mixing the types of stories is what made it fun to write.

Reply
M.M. Gornell
5/1/2013 03:30:52 am

I really enjoyed Old Murders Never Die by Marja! And yes, I think knowing the rules is very important to be a competent writer, then knowing when to break them makes you a good and successful writer! Makes for compelling story-telling. Good post, and good choice for author and novel as an example.

Reply
Lea Chan link
5/1/2013 06:23:02 am

I also enjoyed Old Murders Never Die and never for a moment when I was reading it did I consider that genres were being mixed. As a reader that's not important to me at all and obviously Marja did a great job in doing so.

Reply
George Jackson
5/1/2013 06:53:24 am

I agree completely. Most authors span the borders of a genre or two. Makes it a bit more interesting. Half of my The Falls small town mystery series is cozy...the other not really. I let the story take the plot where it will. May the dragons watch over you...

Reply
Patricia Gligor link
5/1/2013 09:06:40 am

Marja McGraw's Sandi Webster series is one of my favorite mystery series. And, it all started when I read "Old Murders Never Die." I loved the book!

Reply
Jake
5/1/2013 11:39:22 pm

I am strictly a reader always willing to give writer opportunity despite cover or short blurb. Enjoyed your writing on subject. Big fan of McGraw & "Old Murders Never Die" is one of my favorites.

Reply
James Robles link
7/13/2021 04:32:54 am

Helllo mate nice blog

Reply



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    AUTHOR
    Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a former professional actor, and has written over twenty-five plays and novels. His latest is the New York caper       Murder Run 

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