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Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel
How to Knock 'Em Dead With Style
by Hallie Ephron
Writer's Digest Books, 2005
ISBN 1-58297-376-8
$16.99 paperback, 256 pages
About the Book
With the help of interactive exercises, mystery author and crime fiction critic Hallie Ephron gives you the momentum you need to turn a kernel of an idea into an intriguing mystery novel. You’ll learn to capitalize on your writing strengths and shore up your weaknesses.
This comprehensive guide covers every aspect of mystery writing, including:
- planning, twisting the plot, and constructing a credible surprise ending
- creating a compelling sleuth and a worthy villain
- deceiving and revealing with red herrings and clues
- writing investigation, spine-tingling suspense, and dramatic action
- revising—from sharpening characters, to optimizing pace, to smithing words
- engaging the reader
By the time you finish reading part one of this book, you will have a blueprint for your entire story. Parts two and three take your blueprint from idea to well-polished novel. Part four is an insider’s guide to getting it into an agent’s or publisher’s hands.
Hallie Ephron is the New York Times best-selling author of suspense and mystery novels. Her novels have been called “deliciously creepy” (Publishers Weekly), “gripping” (The Boston Globe), and “snaky and unsettling” (Seattle Times). She is a four-time finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, recognizing excellence in suspense. Her novel Never Tell a Lie was turned into a movie for the Lifetime Movie Network. She wrote an On Crime book review column for The Boston Globe for more than ten years and won the Ellen Nehr Award for Excellence in Mystery Reviewing. The first edition of Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel was an Edgar Award finalist. Hallie is a popular speaker and teaches writing at conferences nationally and internationally.
