I can’t believe that it was just this past September that I wrote this blog about an idea becoming a one act play and NOW I’m writing my fifth book in the World of Murder mystery series. The first four novels are available here and on amazon.com and now are audio books at audible.com So I am thinking it is worth posting this again to let my fellow writers see how an idea can grow into something pretty damn amazing!!
If you missed the story here it is again:
Let’s see….I think it was 2005 and we were in rehearsals for “Cheatin'” in Port Aransas, Texas. I was the director and we had pulled together a terrific cast. The title pretty much tells you the story line but the fun part and what made it so funny was it was set in….where else?…… Texas and was filled with good ole’ boys and girls. It was the highest grossing play for that theatre in many a year and won Best Production and Best Set Design (thanks to Janis Johnson’s contribution). I was very proud of the cast and crew!
- No Tell Motel from “Cheatin'”
But here’s the story I wanted to tell you…..one night after rehearsal we all went out for a couple of beers, as actors are wont to do, and to blow off a little steam. It was a fairly large cast so we pulled some tables together and ordered pitchers.
As the evening wore on one of my crew….(sorry his name escapes me) but it must have been Billy Bob or Bubba or Junior…leaned over the table and said, “Trish I’ve had this great idea for a play script for years but I know I’ll never write it….hell, I wouldn’t know where to begin….and you’re a writer so I want to give you the idea.” I nodded politely and listened. It wasn’t the first time I had been told by someone that they ‘wanted to write someday’ or that they had a great idea and I should start writing it down. His idea for a story was this: a reclusive artist watches a woman from his windows and paints her on canvas after canvas….over and over. Then one day the woman ends up dead.
I told him it was a great story line but that I didn’t write murder mysteries and he should try writing it himself. Then someone down the table shouted to me and that was that!
One day recently, a drawer way in the back of my brain popped open and out spilled this idea that Bubba had given me over a few beers,
eight years ago. And the whole story (well, except for the ending) was suddenly there in my mind’s eye. A cold water, walk up loft in the Village, a young reclusive artist, a beautiful girl in a red dress who lives across the street, and the old folks sitting out on their stoops. Book 1 of The World of Murder Series, “The Art of Murder” a short novel is available here and at www.amazon
Book 3 “The Act of Murder” in the series, ‘The World of Murder’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~