Today, I’m welcoming author Angela M. Sanders. Gone with the Witch, the fifth book in her Witch Way Librarian Mystery series comes out today! Help us celebrate with her.
Take it away, Angela!
“Where do you get your ideas?”
This is the number one question authors hear, second to, “Have I read any of your books?” (Which when I’m cranky I like to answer with, “I don’t know. Why don’t you list the books you’ve read and I’ll stop you if you get to one of mine?”)
For me and for probably most writers, murder mystery ideas are not a problem—even in my case when writing about a librarian who happens to be a witch. That cup of coffee you’re holding? It’s a murder weapon when the creamer is laced with cyanide. That cat in your lap purring so contentedly? She was tranquilized by foreign agents to keep you in your chair and in the sights of a sniper on your neighbor’s roof.
My best ideas come when I’m working in the garden or perusing thrift stores and my brain is occupied with an engaging but rote task. At those times, thoughts creep in, usually prefaced by “what if?”. For instance, in the garden: What if I looked out my back window and saw a tree in my yard that had never been there before? or What if I yanked out this weed to find a perfect emerald hidden in the dirt?
If one of these “what if” ideas grabs me, I cellar it and let it develop, sometimes for months. By the time I put fingers to keyboard, a full world might pour forth with characters, a setting, and snippets of dialogue that seemingly sprout on their own.
If I need to develop an idea more quickly, I turn to a few friends who have proven themselves as good brainstormers. Some of the friends are writers, and others are simply people who love to play with story. (Pro tip #1: Not everyone is a good idea person. Some of your most delightful, creative friends might be duds in the story imagination area. Pro tip #2: Wine and snacks can be useful idea food.)
While ruminating on a plot for Gone With the Witch, the latest mystery in my Witch Way Librarian series, I took a long walk. My favorite time to roam the neighborhood is when the day is fading and living room lamps snap on, but it’s still light enough that curtains are open. I love imagining the lives unfolding in the homes I pass. That night, I glimpsed a TV game show through someone’s window and thought, “What if one of my series characters is watching a game show, and she’s convinced that a contestant is her long-lost husband?” I felt that ting in my chest that told me I was on to something.
A few days later, this idea blossoming, I thought, “What if Josie, our heroine and a witch who draws magic from books, opens a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories and the great detective himself emerges from the pages to help her solve a murder?” Again, a big ting. My story was off to a good start.
In writing a mystery, coming up with ideas isn’t the problem—having the time and discipline to write them is the real challenge.
Readers: What gets your creative spark going? You have two minutes to come up with an inventive way to murder someone. What will it be?
About Angela
Angela M. Sanders is the author of the bestselling Witch Way Librarian cozy mysteries and the Joanna Hayworth vintage clothing mysteries. As Clover Tate, she wrote the Kite Shop cozy mysteries. When Angela isn’t at her laptop, she’s often lounging with a vintage crime novel at home in Portland, Oregon. www.angelamsanders.com.
About Gone with the Witch
When human bones are discovered beneath an old outhouse covered in blackberry vines, no one knows who they once belonged to. But elderly Helen Garlington wants Sam the sheriff to test the remains, suspecting they may solve the mystery of her long-vanished husband. It’s not a match, and Helen takes it hard, drowning her disappointment in sherry at the tavern—where she sees a contestant on a game show who she swears is her missing spouse, Martin. To east the woman’s mind, Josie contacts the show to track down the look-alike goes, who kindly agrees to travel to Wilfred—and then is found dead in the morning.
Worried by this fatal turn of events, Josie asks the spellbound books for help, seeking the aid of Sherlock Holmes. But strange things continue to happen—frightening images flash on the screen of a long-abandoned movie theater and flocks of crows seem to appear wherever she goes. Is Josie about to meet her own Moriarty? It will take all her courage to untangle the twisted vies of this mystery before this chapter in the colorful story of Wilfred claims another life…
The Wickeds 
Welcome, Angela, and congratulations on the new book! Story ideas often rise up while I’m out on my daily walk.
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Walking is a ripe time for ideas for me, too!
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Welcome, Angela! Seeing your missing spouse on a game show – love it.
I have a nice, heavy glass “thing” my company gave me for my 10-year anniversary on my desk. Perfect for bashing someone over the head. 🙂
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That’s hilarious! I hope it’s engraved with your company’s name. Then, when the detective recovers the weapon, a whole slate of potential suspects emerges…..
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Oh, it’s etched right in the glass. LOL The red herring is you think it’s only employees who have been with the company at least 10 years, but someone with less seniority stole it to commit the deed.
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Hi Angela, Congratulations on the new release!
As for killing someone off…a shove off a crowded balcony comes to mind.
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Thank you! As for the balcony, that’s a good one! Here’s a twist on it: what if the intended murder victim isn’t the person pushed off the balcony, but the person landed on? Hmm. I just might need to file this idea away!
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Since I love photography, I’d love to see great clues revealed in the background to some common, overlooked photograph. Using the camera as a weapon maybe. Is there a way to rig a regular camera to where when you click to take the photo that it sends out a projectile that is almost undetectable that sort of burst just prior to the subject emitting a fine mist – a mist that does bodily harm either to incapacitate a person or to kill them out right. The subject being unaware is just standing their smiling for their picture to be taken.
Congratulations on the release of “Gone with the Witch”! Can’t wait for the opportunity to read and review it.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
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Oh, you have a crafty mind! Yes, a poison-spewing camera! I also love the idea of a photo being a clue, but people mistaking the item in the forefront of the photo as the clue when the real clue is somewhere in the background.
Thank you, too, for your well wishes!
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My shower is a hotbed of story ideas. To the point where when I had a tile shower, I kept a grease pencil handy! It’s true. I had some friends who would pull back the curtain just to see what I was working on. Now those are good friends.
Innovative way to murder someone? I live in the crown of Maine. I’m so sorry my woodpile toppled on you. Do you know how long it took me to figure out the precise place to plant the fulcrum log? But officer, it was a tragic accident.
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You could patent your shower-note-taking idea! Now I’m tempted to put up a white board next to my bath tub. And your murder idea is ingenious! (Much tidier, too, than using the nearby axe.) I can already tell I need to read your books.
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Friends gave me a shower notepad! It sticks up with a suction cup and comes with a pencil that writes on the paper even when wet, and the paper never dissolves.
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Congrats on your new release!
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Thank you so much! I appreciate that!
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How about a locked room mystery where the murder victim’s had is bashed in? It takes place in an isolated rural house with no nearby neighbors. Thee young man killed himself when he was tortured by extremely loud music for hours until he couldn’t stand the noise. Inspired by my neighbor who does not play his music quietly lol.
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I love it! The best schemes are inspired from real life (and I can certainly think of some music that would push me over the edge). Maybe this would be a good one for you to write for the catharsis.
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I’m always a fan of a “white death” -smothering someone with snow so they can’t breathe. I read it once in a mystery and thought it was so creative. I’m also currently looking at the last snowstorm (12 -14 inches) outside of my desk window at the moment….aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com
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Oh, this is a new one to me! I’ll never look at snow the same–thank you!
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