Product Description
Improve your writing today with YOUDUNIT WHODUNIT!, a short and practical how-to guide to CRAFTING mystery stories.

Created by multi-published mystery author, Nicola Furlong, this e-book offers simple tricks and techniques, supported by concrete examples, which you can apply immediately to novels, short stories, screenplays, radio dramas or television scripts.

REVIEWS

“Nicola Furlong has written a fun, engaging 'how to' book about writing mysteries. She is witty, thorough and she certainly knows what she's talking about.”
(Maureen Jennings – author of the DETECTIVE MURDOCH series. MURDOCH MYSTERIES have been adapted for television and is now in its third season.)

“… a snappy guide that effectively covers the bases for the beginning mystery writer. You'll pick up useful insights into plot, character, point of view, suspense and so much more. The many tips should also help you find your unique style. If anything will kick start your first foray into crime writing, this great little resource will. I sure wish it had been around when I waded blindly into writing.”
(Mary Jane Maffini - author of the Camilla MacPhee, Fiona Silk and Charlotte Adams mysteries www.maryjanemaffini.com)

YOUDUNIT WHODUNIT! HOW TO WRITE MYSTERIES covers specific writing essentials, including:

STRUCTURE:
• Key Elements of a Three-Act Tragedy
• Beginnings with a Bang
• Into the Belly of the Middle Ground
• Nailing Endings

CHARACTER:
• Picking Points of View
• Concocting Major, Secondary and Minor Characters
• Dialogue Ditties

STORY:
• To Plot or Not to Plot
• @#% Ideas
• Twists and Turns
• Gotta Have Pace
• Kicking up Suspense
• Clues and Red Herrings
• Flashbacks and Transitions
• Types and Styles of Mysteries

EXCERPTS:

STRUCTURE: Chapter 2: Hit ‘Em Early, Hit ‘Em Hard

Hook and shock your audience by rocketing straight to the main crime or another crime so something important is happening, has just happened or will just happen. Set up the central plot problem (e.g., kidnapping or murder) or a major plot problem (like a stolen artefact or a missing person). This forces your villain forward; there's no turning back.

CLUES: Chapter 18: Is That A Clue Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

Clues are the traces of guilt left behind by culprit. A good clue will eventually point in the right direction but initially seems to point in the wrong direction, or it means something different than expected, or it points nowhere.

Earl Stanley Gardner described clues as sequences; in other words, he suggested that a clue is a succession or series of related events. The succession of related events may occur close together or many pages or chapters apart.

For example, we know that a cold beer creates beads of moisture on its glass container. Now, if our suspect states that he finished his lager a couple of hours ago and our dazzling detective spots beads on the glass, guess what? The detective knows the suspect is lying.

It's dead easy…so read on dear Watson. The game's afoot!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicola Furlong survives the travails of writing by playing hockey, gardening and eating chocolate.

She is a shameless self-promoter, creates book trailers and is the co-creator of a new multimedia storytelling platform called the Quillr™. Her first Quillr™, a controversial suspense thriller, may be experienced at www.unnaturalstates.com.

Nicola is the author of two stand-alone mysteries (Teed Off! and A Hemorrhaging of Souls), and six inspirational cozies from the Church Choir Mystery series, including The Nervous Nephew, The Angel’s Secret, The Unsuitable Suitor and The Sad Clown Affair.

She has also written The Go-To Gardening Cards, and has adapted two of her novels to screenplays; both were optioned for television.

Nicola lives in small town on southern Vancouver Island. For more info, visit www.nicolafurlong.com and www.epubbing.com ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A good overview of mystery writing, with great tips included.
I enjoyed reading this short book.It is a brief but savvy overview of writing mysteries.It doesn't go into a lot of examples or long explanations.But the text is written in and clear conversatiional and reader-friendly style.It should be good for those new to mystery writing and can serve, as well, for more experienced writers that would like a quick review.

And, besides covering the requisite need-to-know information, there are frequent helpful tips.

I would buy it again, if I lost it.

For those interested in this type of material, highly recommended.

The Little How-To Book That Could
Of the dozen "how to" books on mystery writing I've read, most wasted too many trees, and on Vancouver Island, that's important. One big-name author provided only a single worthwhile nugget of advice in four hundred pages: don't write about boring people. But Canadians are very innovative, especially about saving time. Didn't we invent Velcro? Pablum? The Bloody Caesar? Recently my colleague Nicola Furlong produced a short, compact, and helpful e-book called Youdunit Whodunit. This crash course in mystery writing is as jam packed with gems as Nicola's signature chocolate-pecan turtles.
For those starting out, or for authors who want to keep their writing on track, YW has twenty-two chapters in three basic innings: Structure, Character, and Story. With a wealth of pithy examples taken from selective authors, she cuts to the chase. Hit the reader early and hit him hard. Why is the protagonist involved, if it's not a police procedural? What do you do in mid-story, where a book often bogs? What are the pitfalls of various POV's? Where do you get your ideas? How should you handle flashbacks and make smooth transitions without the speed bumps which mar even the best books? Nicola will have you off and running in minutes. She's an editor, agent, and coach all in one.
It comes as no surprise that the book is introduced and endorsed by two of our northern mystery lionesses, Maureen Jennings and Mary Jane Maffini. With multiple series and decades of best-seller success, when they speak, wise authors listen.
... Read more

Product Description
A series of unexplained deaths shatters the serenity of a Vancouver Island girls' school, and Tempest Ivory, child psychologist and soprano, races to solve the mystery before it claims more lives. Tempest lands a coveted lead role in Rigoletto, but as she prepares for her operatic debut, the explosive secrets lurking behind the academy walls set her on a collision course with her past.

Reviews:

"It was intense and truly chilling. A great read!"Bookish Mom Reviews

"...draws you in compellingly from the opening page…a gripping story of death and family secrets…The characters are quirky and sympathetic." The Paper Chase

"...a harrowing tale of blasphemy, insanity, suicide and murder."Snoop Sisters Mystery Bookshoppe

"…if you enjoy psychological, twist a minute books, A Hemorrhaging of Souls is defi-nitely for you." I Love A Mystery

"Madly complicated, exciting and horrible - just like an opera." CBC Saturday Afternoon at the Opera

"Nicely complex and thoroughly readable." Ellery Queen Magazine

"A story of grim secrets and past betrayals, dark and complicated, with many twists and turns. The main characters…are sympathetic and real…" Under the Covers Magazine

"…this one kept me riveted to the end…connections, coincidences and twists and turns abound." Focus on Women Magazine

"A fascinating and absorbing novel." Michigan Opera


About the Author

Nicola Furlong survives the travails of writing by playing hockey, gardening and eating chocolate. She is a shameless self-promoter, creates book trailers and is the co-creator of a new multimedia storytelling platform called the Quillr™. Her first Quillr™, a controversial suspense thriller, may be experienced at www.unnaturalstates.com.

Nicola is the author of two stand-alone mysteries (Teed Off! and A Hemorrhaging of Souls), and six inspirational cozies from the Church Choir Mystery series (The Nervous Nephew, The Angel’s Secret, The Unsuitable Suitor, No Safe Arbor, Plots & Pans and The Sad Clown Affair).

She has also written Youdunit Whodunit!, a primer to writing mysteries and The Go-To Gardening Cards, a gardening guide for the West Coast. She has adapted two of her novels to screenplays; both were optioned for television.

Nicola lives in small town on southern Vancouver Island. For more info, visit www.nicolafurlong.com and www.epubbing.com. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

So many twists and turns you'd be forgiven for getting dizzy!
A Hemorrhaging of Souls

When a series of unexplained deaths shatters the serenity of a Vancouver Island Girl's School Patrick Painter the local constable and Tempest Ivory the child psychologist race to solve the mystery before any more young lives are claimed.

This is a story of skeletons in closets and betrayal, with so many twists and turns you'd be forgiven for getting dizzy!

I was drawn into this book from the very first page, and Nicola does a wonderful job of weaving a tale with so many twists and turns, that I didn't know whodunnit until the last page. I couldn't even begin to tell you what happened in this book as it is so wonderfully complex, yet simple to follow along as you read it. The characters are quirky and believable, and it's always good to throw in a little romantic tension in a "will they won't they" fashion!

If you have a few hours to spare and you want to escape from the world then download this book to your Kindle and get reading :)

Here's a quote from the book:
"The child was not schooled in the hangman's knot. It certainly wasn't the sort of instruction covered in Sister Benedict's grade five class. The Sisters taught their fifty-six charges to live in peace with God and offered what Mother Superior called a diamond education: reading, writing, arithmetic and religion.
More's the pity, for it took her a long time to die. Gasping, kicking and scratching the smooth leather belt that, in the end, was just tight enough."

Psychological thriller takes readers way beyond a furlong

A rash of suicides shakes the very spiritual foundation of The Sisters of the Perpetual Soul School and the heart of the residents of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.Constable Patrick Painter suspects there is morebehind the despondency and copy cat deaths of several coeds.He enliststhe aid of child psychologist Tempest Ivory to determine if there mightjust be something more sinister behind the suicides. This is not anideal time for Dr. Ivory as she has just landed a starring role in a localproduction of the opera "Rigoletto".However, the deaths of the littlegirls are eerily close to her background.Patrick and Tempest inquire intothe dark secrets of the school, especially a similar event from two decadesago in an effort to insure no other child dies.

A HEMORRHAGING OFSOULS is a brilliant psychological thriller that has the past and presentcrash into a deadly game of suicide and murder.The lead characters garnerreader empathy as they never fully recovered from their own harrowingchildhood experiences that the current case seems to duplicate.Thesupport cast and the locale add to the aura of tightening suspense as theaudience wonders whom will die next.Though the ending is obvious, NicolaFurlong's talent takes her fans way beyond one-eighth of a mile inenjoyment.

Harriet Klausner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Plots & Pans
The Church Choir Mysteries series are all easy read.Stories and plots will hold your interest.Characters are delightful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This book is a great mystery for all ages !
I really enjoyed this book ! It is seldom you will find a mystery
that is wonderful for all ages ! ... Read more

Product Description
The latest activity at Willow Bend Senior Center is pottery instruction, and even Gracie Park's octogenarian Uncle Miltie gives it a whirl. Then Libby Simmons' bracelet goes missing and no one can find it. Gracie tries to solve the mystery while busily involved in her church's efforts to feed a hungry family for the holidays. Then a car accident on the ice lands Gracie in the unheated home of the young Freeman family, where sensitive listening and clever sleuthing help her find out the angel's secret. ... Read more

Product Description
This brief how-to primer, written by a published author and electronic publisher, offers 10 simple steps anyone can follow to publish their work as an e-book within minutes and have it available for sale in online bookstores. It succinctly covers all the essentials, like formatting, uploading and marketing, and at such a low price what've you got to lose? ... Read more

Product Description
Including : Lilian Jackson Braun * Harlan Coben * Sue Grafton * Tony Hillerman * John Lescroart * Sharyn McCrumb * Richard North Patterson * Robert B. Parker * Anne Perry * And Dozens More!

From Red Herrings to Just Desserts . . .

It's no accident that lovers of mystery savor diabolically delicious food. So sink your teeth into more than 130 wickedly delectable treats concocted by today's most popular mystery authors--sumptuous recipes that promise dinner to die for.

Sample Sue Grafton's PI special: The Kinsey Millhone Famous Peanut Butter & Pickle Sandwich--deadly, delicious, and concealed between two innocent slices of bread. Head for the desert with Tony Hillerman for a quick, painless bite of Salami à la Chama River. You know something's fishy when Donald E. Westlake offers John Dortmunder's favorite hot thrill, May's Mother's Tuna Casserole. Suspense writer Richard North Patterson whips up Sea Bass in Orange Sauce . . . .and Robert B. Parker parts with the much-in-demand Susan Silverman's Boiled Water.

Eat and be wary. A Taste of Murder has something for everyone--from kneadless violence to sweet revenge: sinfully sumptuous cuisine whipped up by America's masters of crime.Amazon.com Review
Penzler Pick, March 2000: Okay, okay, it's not a mystery. It's a recipe book. But these are recipes from some of the best storytellers of our time, so you can expect a little more than a list of the 435 ingredients of a first-rate cassoulet and the 23 steps requiring an equal number of hours to produce it.

No, here we have the recipes for such culinary challenges as Kinsey Millhone's Peanut Butter and Pickle sandwich, with secrets that include informing the would-be Paul Prudhomme that the peanut butter should be spread on a slice of bread, covered with sliced pickles, and then (and this could be the key to it all) covered with a second slice of bread. Whew! If you're not exhausted yet, there is also Susan Silverman's recipe from Robert B. Parker, who declined to provide anything more ambitious because a Spenser cookbook is in the works. (Note: It has been in the works for 15 years.) The recipe is for boiling water.

But there really are some superb recipes from a talented corps of writers who know how to cook, and there are delicious anecdotes, some sound advice on where and when to eat what you've just learned how to cook, and even recipes for foods you've never heard of (like Liza Cody's Bacon Buttie, the perfect tidbit that provides the thrill of risking a coronary).

Among the contributors are Lilian Jackson Braun, Donald E. Westlake, Anne Perry, Tony Hillerman, Carol O'Connell, Parnell Hall and, of course, Anthony Bourdain, whose hilarious culinary mysteries are a sidelight to his real life as a master chef. --Otto Penzler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

No mystery about how good this cookbook is
This is not a culinary murder mystery.Instead this tome lives up to its title as a mystery lover's cookbook.The recipes come from a cross section of some of the great genre authors either what they ate while solving an impossible puzzler or what their hero or another character cooked.The topics include what one would expect in a mystery cook book such as Dressed to Kill, Quick and Painless, Pasta Mortem, Secret Meat-ings, and Just Desserts, etc.The compilers Jo Grossman and Robert Weibezahl provide companion wit about the contributor, their sleuth, and/or the recipe.

The recipes are fun, but like some inquisitive reviewers I tested a few of the recipes on my sidekick though I allowed him to "Choose your Poison" within genre (house) rules.He enjoyed "Fowl Play", the non murder by chocolate "Just Deserts", and Millhone's "Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwich", etc.However, like most sidekick sleuths he remains clueless as to why he mysteriously has received a few cooked meals from me.Don't worry he is back to the microwave (I'll use the kid to star in the sequel).Genre fans who enjoy items about their heroes or just appreciate a delightful cookbook will want to test the recipes of A TASTE OF MURDER: DIABOLICALLY DELICIOUS RECIPES FROM CONTEMPORARY MYSTERY WRITERS and follow up with the equally tasting and tasteful A SECOND HELPING OF MURDER: MORE DIABOLICALLY DELICIOUS RECIPES FROM CONTEMPORARY MYSTERY WRITERS, the next book in the series (what did you expect with a mystery you always get act two)

Harriet Klausner

A Taste of Murder
What a delightful book! Beside including some hiliarious recipes like "Susan Silverman's Boiled Water" from Robert B. Parker, there are interesting recipes from a number of mystery writers and places associated with mysteries. I plan to try the Tea Scones from Brown's Hotel (Agatha Christie's Bertram's Hotel) first. This is a must for mystery readers.

Worth every penny!
Mysteries and menus go hand in hand.Just picking up A Taste of Murderand quickly wading through it, I knew it was a recipe book that would neverleave my kitchen.

Readers and chefs can expect great recipes,informative thoughts, witty remarks, and bits and pieces from Jo Grossmanand Robert Weibezahl, who created the wonderful book, and the mysterywriters themselves. An impressive introduction tells readers about therelationship between mysteries and menus, and each chapter adds a littlemore a long with the recipes. Under the chapter headings of FirstInstincts, Choose Your Poison, The Pot Thickens, Dressed to Kill, KneadlessViolence, Quick and Painless, Pasta Mortem, Something's Fishy, Fowl Play,Secret Meat-ings, No Place to Meat, Faithful Sidekicks, Revenge is Sweet,and Just Desserts, you will find some delicious, tempting meals. Expect tofind recipes like, Bill Crider's manly recipe of Sausage-Cheese Appetizer,Cathie John's tasty Cincinnati Chili recipe with a dash of chocolate. PeterRobinson's tempting taste of Warm Pear and Stilton Salad, Sara HoskinsFrommer's bread recipe called Fred Lundquist's Sourdough Oatmeal Bread, SueGrafton's Kinsey Millhone Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwich recipe, ParnellHall's Stanley's Head Pesto pasta, Anne Perry's Fish Pie, Leslie Glass'sApril Woo's Crispy Hacked Duck, Penny Warner's Hangtown Fry, Kate Charles'srecipe for Quick Vegetarian Cassoulet, H.R.F. Keating's side dish recipe ofCarrot Haliva, L.L. Thrasher's Boiled Cookies, and Jonathan Gash's Britishcake recipe called Parkin.

If you own one of those rare Bed &Breakfasts that includes live mysteries in the vacation weekend package, orknow anyone who does, this is one recipe book that will add to the fun.It's a wonderful grouping of talent and taste. The recipes are worthy ontheir own, but it's nice to have a little mystery with one's meal - don'tyou think? Others must agree because it been nominated in the AnthonyMystery Awards for Best Non-Fiction.

You can't go wrong spending thedough on this one.

Yum!Cooking for a good cause.
What great fun it was to participate in this very worthwhile project and to discover thatmy fellow mystery writers are such fantastic cooks. The recipes are varied, well presented, and easy to follow. But even if you'renotinterested in stirring up something diabolically delicious,"ATaste of Murder"also serves up entertaining vignettes and bits ofinsider information with every recipe.

Fabulous cooking
Great recipes from great writers.You simply must try Patsy Ward Burk's Taco Soup.You can't get thru the winter without it! ... Read more

Product Description
What astounding secret, resurrected from a controversial relic, is being shrouded by the stigmatic, pop-evangelist John the Apostle? Three strangers are desperate to know. Their combined inquiries trigger revelation, ruin and murder in this supernatural page-turner. Prepare to be intrigued, challenged and shaken up.

REVIEWS

“I loved, loved, loved it…very visual, character driven and intriguing. I’d buy it quick-smart and that’s the truth.” (Denise Dietz, editor and author of the Diet Club mystery series)

"I absolutely LOVE it." (Sharon, mobileread.com)

"... an age-old battle between good and evil...Not only does this story have intrigue and mystery as well as paranormal and spiritual implications, but it also deals with many scientific and ethical questions." (MyShelf.com)

"...the plot is very well done with the many twists and turns it takes to hold the reader captive to the story." (CoffeeTime Romance & More)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicola Furlong survives the travails of writing by playing hockey, gardening and eating chocolate. She is a shameless self-promoter, creates book trailers and is the co-creator of a new multi-media storytelling platform called a Quillr®. Her first Quillr®, a controversial suspense thriller based on the Unnatural States ebook, may be experienced at www.unnaturalstates.com.

Nicola is the author of two stand-alone mysteries (Teed Off! and A Hemorrhaging of Souls) and six inspirational cozies from the Church Choir Mystery series (The Nervous Nephew, The Angel’s Secret, The Unsuitable Suitor, No Safe Arbor, Plots & Pans and The Sad Clown Affair).

She has also written Youdunit Whodunit!,a simple, practical primer on mystery writing, The Go-To Gardening Cards, a gardening guide for the West Coast, and has adapted two of her novels to screenplays; both were optioned for television.

Nicola lives in small town on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. For more info or to touch base with the author, please visit www.epubbing.com or www.nicolafurlong.com.


... Read more